VIC
80 posts
Hello Land Captains,
So, I was down at Bells Beach on the weekend at low tide and it has spurred my creative juices. It's been a while since my last forey into landsailing, and if I was to get back into it I'd need a new build.
The kind of build I've got in my head seems to be roughly a class5 with a Y chassis, pretty much yankeesailor's build. As I currently have no space and no time to do said build, I thought I'd start just getting materials and ideas sorted.
So I've been looking through the forums for what wheels people are using and wondered if light-weight motocycle wheels would be appropriate. They certainly can handle side loads, Thoughts?
110 posts
Motorcycle wheels are not designed for high side loads - motorcycles lean into turns. The same can be said for wheelbarrows.
WA
215 posts
What barney said + most lighter motorcycle wheels use a 16mm or smaller axle supported at both sides.
We use a 20mm axle supported on one side. Big difference in how the forces flow.
All that asside i have a feeling you could use the front rim of a dirt bike but you would need to turn or mill the hub to fit a bearing for a larger axle. The whole thing would end up a lot heavier than what we are building. My home made big wheels are about 4.5kg each with tire and tube.
VIC
80 posts
Aaah yes. I was originally thinking "Motocycles lean over too, what about those wheels", not really thinking about the physics of it all, they lean over specifically to keep the downforce onto the wheel.
WA
5921 posts
the whhels would be fine . but you need to consider if you can mke the light enough. then put tyres on cheaply. the tyres need to be really light too MCtyres are often to heavy. start by telling us about the surface and area you plan to sail. when you mentioned Bells beach i thoght mini yacht not cl 5
