How do you use bigger idlers?

[Viktory2k1]

I see some ppl running 8"rear wheels and all kinds of stuff like that. With the skid I just put in the srx, my choise on wheels is very limited with a cat skid. The rears are 6.38 and all the rest are 5 5/8". I cant find anything that size with out plain or cat colors. How would I put a 7" wheel in the back, wouldn't that make the track wrap around the wheel before it touches the slide? I would think the bearings would last a very short time. There is an advertiser on here with these billet wheels that look neat. I just don't see how it would work unless you pretty much dont even use the slides.

 

[rx1jim]

I bought a kit with 8" dia. rear idler wheel from Mountain Performance. The kit came with a set of mounting brackets which relocated the axle up higher on the frame to compensate for the larger wheel diameter. The wheels are aluminum and i decided not to install them since for the riding I do the road crossing would eventually damage them (dirt and grit). I have seen larger rear iders installed with and without the axle relocation brackets. Without the relocation brackets, there is more load on the wheels and less on the hyfax strip on a perfectly flat trail but trailslGenerally the larger diameter rear idler wheels reduce the amount of energy required to rotate the track. I have seen small improvements in top speed on some sleds by using larger wheels, no more than 1-2 MPH. I have installed slightly larger idler wheels, on the entire skid frame of my SRX and RX-1 and have solved the rapid hyfax wear problem. I can get many thousands of miles on a pair of hyfax.

Jim

 

[Viktory2k1]

Nice, the reason I need help here is a very limited selection of wheels I can choose from. How much larger can you go without the mounting kit?

 

[Viktory2k1]

You probably made a trade off between hyfax replacement and bearing replacement. I'll see If I can find some larger wheels but no more then 1 inch I would guess. I would think you would have to match them across, like if you put a larger set on the outside, you should match them with the inside, especially the rear. Now I could find a whole bunch of nice looking wheels. Those billet aluminum ones are nice looking but like said earlier, they wouldn't look good for too long.