Any way to equip a wheel with a 20mm axle on a GS450(17mm stock)

[dedfish]

I have a GS450 project in progress and I'd like to use a wheel with a 20mm axle. Is there another model GS that uses a 20mm axle that will fit a GS450? Some modification would be ok.

Thanks for any info or help you can provide.
Jason

[posplayr]

I have a GS450 project in progress and I'd like to use a wheel with a 20mm axle. Is there another model GS that uses a 20mm axle that will fit a GS450? Some modification would be ok.

Thanks for any info or help you can provide.
Jason

front or back? Most time people make spacers to retain the stock axle, but space out to fit the wheel. Also sometimes swap out bearings to smaller ID

IIRC
All the GS1100's use 20mm rear axles
GS1100 fronts are 15mm
They are different anyway

[GregT]

Easiest way often is to swap the wheel bearings for ones the same OD and width but 17mm bore.
Check bearing catalogues - and buy bearings with 2 rubber seals, then you don't have to worry about matching seals to axle.

Greg T

[bwringer]

If the wheel you want to use has a 6204 bearing (20X47X14), then a 6303 bearing (17X47X14) will have a 17mm ID and the same OD and depth.

[Theo]

I hope dedfish doesn't mind but I read about his original problem on another forum so I know what he is asking. He is building a hardtail bike and the slot in the rear axle plates are 20mm wide; the wheel he has now uses a 17mm axle. From what I understood, he wants to go with a 20mm axle to be able to handle the increased forces it will see from not having suspension. Did I get it right dedfish? So he could do the opposite of what you said bwringer, correct?
-Theo

[GregT]

Yeah, that makes a bit more sense Theo.
I went through this a few months ago for a customer and simply turned up a pair of shouldered bushes in mild steel, axle ID, and slot size on the OD.
Make a good size shoulder and put it to the outside and you don't need washers under the nut(s).

No need IMO for an axle bigger than 17mm - unless the bike weighs a ton...
For the same weight the load on a rigid back end is exactly the same as a suspended axle - and as the axle ends are better supported torsional loading is actually reduced.

Greg T

[dedfish]

Theo is correct. I am hardtailing a GS450 and the axle plate I have is 20mm. I can't use a bushing with a shoulder because a shoulder of 1.5mm would be useless. I was trying to do this a "correct" way. That way is replacing the bearings and axle with 20mm parts, but then you have the problem with the brake drum having a 17mm hole and having to enlarge that. The other correct way would be to replace the axle plates with ones with a correct slot but I don't have the machinery to cut those easily. In the end I think I am going to have to just "fix" the axle plates so they work with my stock parts. The fix will be welding a small piece of 1/8" thick flat bar shaped to fit the bottom of the slot to fill in the gap. The stock axle and the flat bar I have make a real tight fit in the slot.

[GregT]

Yes. welding a packing piece on the bottom of the slot will be satisfactory.
I don't follow your saying a shoulder of 1.5mm - I made the ones for my customer from 30mm od which gave a nice large dia shoulder which covered the slot more than adequately. Shoulder thickness of course depends on how much axle you have to play with.

Greg T

[dedfish]

Yes. welding a packing piece on the bottom of the slot will be satisfactory.
I don't follow your saying a shoulder of 1.5mm - I made the ones for my customer from 30mm od which gave a nice large dia shoulder which covered the slot more than adequately. Shoulder thickness of course depends on how much axle you have to play with.

Greg T

With the 1.5mm bit I was referring to using a tophat type of bushing to make up the play a 17mm axle would have in a 20mm slot. You'd need a bushing with 1.5mm wall thickness.

[GregT]

Yes, so ? With the axle nut(s) done up dead tight with good large diameter spacers the assembly can't move and the vertical load is split between the axle carrying slot and the faces of the spacers/washers.
Even if the assembly is run slack,which should not happen, given a good fit for the top hat bush mild steel has enough resistance to deforming that IMO there would not be a problem.

Greg T