I have to do it.....

Lately I've been getting really sketched out about the back wheel on the ironhead. It came off of a klr250 dirtbike and wasn't really designed to see more than 40hp and sixty miles an hour. That was fine when it first went on there, before the turbo and all the other shit came into play. Now it's starting to look pretty flimsy. The biggest problem is the wheel bearings:

It uses these small bearings that look like if you took them apart the balls in them would be about the size of a BB, and on top of that the axle for it is a little under 3/4" and seems like it would be no big deal to bend:

The bottom is the axle for the klr wheel, the one on top of that is a bent-ass 3/4" axle out of my shovelhead, and the top is a 1" axle.

I've already bent a couple 3/4" axles in my shovel, and I know that tony has gone through a shitload (I think he ended up with a chromoly one in there). So I'm lookin' to make my life a little more hassle free and just lace up a stronger wheel for the back of the thing. I've got a 17"x4.25" akront rim off of my orange bike and some later model aluminum back hubs that take the sealed bearings. I'm gonna lace those two togheter, replace the bearings with one inchers, mill the swingarm slots to 1" and run the big axle to really give me peace of mind.




That rim's got a 150 on it in this picture, it should make a 140 spread out just sweet.