So I tried to fit up the 1998 KLX300 front wheel I bought on on eBay today, and ran into problems. First, the good news. Although there are differences between the spacers on the brake disc side of the wheel, as long as you use the spacer that comes with the 1998 axel the wheel fits up beautifully with the brake disc in the correct position. If you try and use the 2010 spacer on the 1998 wheel it will not work though.


On the other side, the speedo mechanisms appear to be exactly the same widths and the 1998 mechanism mounts up against the fork nicely.


Unfortunately, that's where compatibilities end and we start running into problems. When I tried to mary the wheel up using the 1998 axle I realised the 1998 axle is shorter than the 2010 models.


Bummer. But undeterred I thought I would just try use the 2010 axle... but it seems the 2010 axel shaft is a fraction thicker than the 1998 one so I could not slide the old 1998 speedo mechanism onto the shaft. DOH! I guess I can get the hole drilled out to be a little bigger so the 2010 axle fits... but it won't be that simple either because I would need a spacer to take up the gap caused by the 1998 axle being shorter. The other option would be to try use the 2010 model axle and speedo mechanism with the 1998 wheel, right? I'm not sure that will work though as you can see that the 1998 wheel has "male" bits sticking out to turn the speedo gears where the 2010 doesn't because of the magnetic drive I guess.


I could just cut the pieces off with a bit of handy dremel work then use the 2010 speedo mechanism to get the right space, and I think that is what I will ultimately end up doing. But there's just one more niggling problem... even when I marry the 2010 speedo to the 1998 wheel it doesn't fit properly. This is because the axle shim on the 2010 model is inset about 5mm where the 1998 is flush.


So any way I cut it I am going to need to get a spacer to use on the front wheel in order for it to work properly. I am not entirely sure how I am going to do that as I don't have access to a lathe or any decent workshop to do the necessary work. What I did wonder, and a poor-mans solution, is whether simply filling the gap with washers would work? I am sure some of you would shudder at the suggestion, but why wouldn't it work? Does anyone else have any other suggestions for me? Anyone have any info on the Zeta Speedometer Gear Canceller spacers on Wheeling Cycle Supply (http://www.wheelingcyclesupply.com/s.../index.shtml)?

 

Do you have your wheel pics labeled wrong? Looks like the years should be swapped.
Did you try putting the axle through the old wheel? If the spedo didn't fit on the axle, then the ID of the 98 wheel bearings may be smaller too. If it doesnt fit you might be able to use the 98 bearings in the 2010 wheel.
I think you will be able to make it work by removing the drive tabs on the old wheel and shimming the spedo assy out with washers.
What happened to the 2010 wheel?
Dan

 

DOH! You were right. I have sorted it out now so they are correct.

Yeah, both shafts go through both wheels, which I found peculiar. I would have thought the speedo mechnism would have had an identicle internal diameter to the wheel hub. That's why I would have no problem with making the speedo hole larger.

Cool. I will probably end up trying that before getting a specific piece machined up for the job.

There's nothing wrong with the 2010 wheels. I just have the knobbies on those rims and wanted these rims for more paved road friendly tyres as I use my bike to commute to/from work every day of the week. My plan is to just swap the whole set of wheels out when I go offroad, and swap them back again on Sunday night before using the bike for work again.

 

I had another crack at fitting up the front wheel yesterday, and only got more frustrated. I got some washers to use as spacers and bored out the speedo mechanism hole a little so that the 2010 axle would fit through it. Married up the wheel with spacers in place only to realise there was no need for them as the thicker end of the axle (on the speedo side) actually pushes up against the bearing in the hub to ensure there is no lateral movement. So I removed the washers and fitted the wheel up. So the 1997 wheel with the 2010 axle seems to fit up perfectly:

Side shot


Brake side


Speedo side


But it is not that simple. Never is unfortunately. If you look at this front on shot, you can see the wheel is horribly off centre - too far over to the brake disc side


So now that I have seen this, it looks like in order to make the wheel line up correctly I will need to get another 2010 axle and lathe down the thicker part of the bar to be the same diameter as the rest of the axle a few mm (as per the image below) and the put a spacer between the brake disc and the hub (so the brake disc is still in place but shift the hub more towards centre). Of course, by shifting the hub towards the centre it will mean the spacer in the brake disc side will not be wide enough, but I suspect using the 2010 spacer would do the trick as it is a few mm longer than the 1998 spacer. Wither that of I use the washers to take up the space.



Does anyone have any suggestions, opinions, or otherwise for me. The part that leaves me least comfortable with my plan is putting the spacer between the hub and brake disc.

On a side note, the condition of this wheel is not great. I tried to tighten the spokes and several of them are either seized or the threads are stripped, so there is no way of adjusting them and the wheel is buckled. You can also see that the brake disc is pretty thin (and is actually a little bent). So I need to be 100% sure that the hub will fit before I get it a new disc, get it re-laced and possibly even replace the rim. Depending on how much that will cost I may just have to bite the bullet and buy a new front wheel assembly.

 

Since the wheel needs a relace anyway, get spokes that are the right length to put the rim in the middle of the fork. I've built lots of bicycle wheels but never a mc wheel. Run my idea past someone who build mc wheels.

 

Have you sorted this out yet? I'm very interested, as I've got a 1995 KDX wheel that I want to use on my 09 KLX, but I haven't actually tried yet. I believe my KDX wheel will be the same as your 1998 KLX300 wheel.

On the brake rotor side, are you sure that the 1998 wheel won't fit with the 2010 spacer? Seems to me that you may just need to push the caliper toward the center of the bike. From the pics, it looks like your caliper might be toward the extreme left end of its travel.

On the speedo drive side, does the 2010 grease seal actually fit over the 1998 hub? From parts diagrams, I believe the seal on the 2010 is 42 mm ID, as opposed to the 1998 at 50 mm. To make the gauges work, I'm expecting that I'll need to turn/mill my 1995 hub to work with the 2009 speedo drive.

Finally, the 1998 brake rotor is significantly smaller than the 2010 rotor, correct? Do you get full pad engagement on the 1998 rotor?

Happy New Year!

 

Hey mate. Na, sorry, I've been out of town on holiday so haven't worked on the bike at all. I plan to this week though so will keep you posted.

Yeah, I plan to try using the 2010 spacer to see if it works. I also plan on using the old brake disc as a spacer (I'll be using the dremel to remove the disc bit) between the hub and a new Tusk disc I got off RMATV. That should get the wheel more or less centered I reckon.

The 2010 speedo mechanism does not fit over the old hub. I am not trying to use the OEM speedo mechanisms at all as I have a Trailtech Vapor installed as my speedo.

I believe the front rotor's are the same size, it's just the rear rotor that is larger on the 2010 model. I'll be able to confirm that this week too though.

Same to you mate!

 

FINALLY, I got off my bum and sorted my wheels

Last weekend I reconditioned my front wheel by removing each spoke individually, then re-installing them. Every single spoke was siezed so I had to hold the spoke with some vice grips to prevent it turning while I cracked the nipple open with the spoke spanner. I totally destroyed 3 nipples, and only 1 spoke was seized beyond repair. I had to cut it off using my Dremel Fortunately, Kawasaki sell spokes and nipples individually so I didn't have to buy a whole set. Something wort keeping in mind if you ever need to replace spokes.

Spent a good hour painfully truing the wheel up, then put a new tyre on it. Mounting it up I used your suggestion Lutz and used the 2010 spacer on the brake disc side. The spacer I used between the brake disc and hub made of the old drake disc works nicely. It pretty much centred the wheel between the forks perfectly. I used the old speedo mechanism that came with the wheel, and put 1 large washer that was about 1.5mm thick between the mechanism and fork. Again, this seemed to work perfectly.

Here's the final product, pretty much proving that the older hub will work on the 2010 with a bit of creativity.

 

Cool! Good to know it can be made to work.

 

New to the forum, but loved Arctras gone make it work creativity. I'm currently working on converting my klx 250sf into something a little more dirt worthy. Bought a 1995 klx 650 rear wheel that fit up perfectly and now I'm going to try and make a 1999 klx300 front work. If anyone has any pointers please feel free to let me know. Thanks