I've hear a couple times that the spindle on my 562 is known to be weak and bend. I really would rather run the larger spoked wheel than the 12" trailer tire. Anyone actually had the stock spindle bend or is it "i knew a guy who heard...." thanks.
Your sidecar has been modified. The orignal 562 depending on when it was made either had a 15mm or a 20mm axle and ran a 16 inch wire spoke wheel with a drum brake. Several companies do the trailer wheel conversion. I know of none that offer a brake with the conversion. Jay G DMC sidecars www.dmcsidecars.com 866-638-1793 jay@dmcsidecars.com
On the original 15mm axle, yes we have seen both bent and broken axles. We have not seen the 20mm axle give problems however we have seen spokes pulled from the hubs of the wheels. Most likley you are now running a 1 inch trailer type axle. Harley has wire wheels that run 1 inch bearings however your axle is not long enough to run the Harley wheel. You pretty much will have to change the axle to change to a different wheel, then you will need to find a wheel and tire that will still fit under the narrow fender or also change the fender. If you did all of this you might also be able to add a brake back onto the sidecar, Brakes may only slow you down but some times that is a good thing. Then you still have the ligth duty Velorex frame and shock which work find on smaller bikes but as some one changed the wheel out I suspect your sidecar is on a bike larger then a Velorex should really be attached to. At some point, A different sidecar might be the better answer. Jay G DMC sidecars www.dmcsidecars.com 866-638-1793 jay@dmcsidecars.com
It does have a new swing arm with 1" spindle on it. Sorry I wasnt more clear. I do also have the stock swing arm and wheel. It's a 1980 frame. I'll measure the spindle tonight. I have swapped shocks also. The frame has been reinforced by a few gussets and some cross bracing. I mounted it on my KLR.
The velorex spindle on yours will be a 15mm. The 20mm spindle is much more recent, only about 5 years I believe. I have a Velorex sidecar (15mm) taken from a 1980's 350 Jawa, on my R80 BMW which I understand has been on it for at least 5 years. It doesn't seem to have been reinforced anywhere and shows no signs of fatigue. The guy who built ti up used the outfit all over Europe for the winter rallies. All I need to do is give it a really good clean up with some fresh paint here and there. Val.
