200ES front end SOLUTION

[Gabriel]

SO, anyone who's read any of my threads as of late knows I been looking for a 200S wheel hub but ain't found one. I ain't about to pay the ridiculous ebay prices for one. Well, It's no longer a problem.

As any other Greasy Southern Gentry (redneck) would do; I MADE the parts I had on hand work as opposed to spending money I don't have.



SO, the 200ES front hub is too wide for an S or M front end. Not sure which i have but they are the same as far as I know.

First things first. Lets take a cut off wheel and chop off the offending length of the hub.
Next, we set that sucker up in the lathe, true it up and rebore our wheel bearing and seal surface.


https://i.imgur.com/Pz5umUh.jpg?1



Now we have a NEW problem. The ES wheel is too far off center to ever work. Damn!! Ok, I found a 10 inch aluminum wheel at the landfill a while back. All it says is DID made in Japan. No idea what it fits. It doesn't fit the ES hub though. THe ES is 150mm and this wheel is 145mm. Funny thing though, the wheel will go on the hub. Shoulda took a picture, hope I can explain. The stud holes in the wheel were much bigger than the ES studs. It took a little force but the outside edges of the ES studs made contact with the wheel and centered it perfect. OK, we can work with this. I put washers over three of the ES studs and knocked out the fourth. It took some doing but I moved the hole on center with the wheel. Installed a 1/2-20 trailer stud I had and moved on to each stud accordingly until I had 4 1/2-20 studs in place.

https://i.imgur.com/PF8SLLT.jpg


Test fit....damn! It's an inch off center. OK, back to the lathe and made (4) half inch spacers. This worked out great because the splines on the studs actually went through the wheel a bit so I made the spacers press fit onto the stud splines. They will NEVER be lost now!

https://i.imgur.com/8bOUvs5.jpg


The distributor at the warehouse we use at the tire store my family owns gave me several old stock tires. New but they discontinued them. One of them was a 22x11.00-10 mud grip.
Got it all bolted up and gave it a spin....NO wobble.
Opinions will vary no doubt but I think it looks pretty good. It tracks straight and rides perfect.

You can see why the previous owner threw the wheel away. It has a small bend in it. I put it on the balancer and the wheel itself runs perfectly true. It might be a touch unsightly but it was free, works perfect and to a poor greaser like meself....that's just fine.


https://i.imgur.com/KV1Rapv.jpg



MERRY CHRISTMAS fellow trikers!!!

[350for350]

I like it. There's nothing wrong with what you did. The best part is that you did it all yourself! Dented rim? I don't care about that either. Most of mine are dented. I can't see the dents while I'm riding.:lol:

[badasskfx]

Great job. I really like that tire also

[ps2fixer]

Looks like the tire was meant for a bit wider rim, not really a big deal, just will be a little taller and more rounded out which probably makes it fit between the forks better anyway.

Just wondering, why didn't you take off half of the excess length per side? I know some front hubs have a small plate of metal on one side, guessing for a speedometer. I guess boring out the bearing surface and such is quicker doing only one side instead of both.

Either case, it's functional, that's what counts =). Wish I had access to metal working tools like you have.

[Gabriel]

Can't really remove material from the other side. The other side has the brake hub. If you start moving that in, the cables and lever won't line up.

[schlepp29]

I think it looks cool!good job

[ATC King]

I've been running a 185S/200S fork on my 200ES for years now, with the 200ES front hub and wheel. Simply had the hub machined to the correct length and the bearing pockets machined in afterward.
http://www.3wheelerworld.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=255021&d=1539486281

I cut the headlight brackets from the original 200ES fork and welded them to the donor fork. All very simple to do. The ONLY difference in the 185S/200S fork and the 200M fork is the upper, the lower legs and sliders are exactly the same. M upper is a little wider and the fork leg sockets a positioned a bit lower, so the 185S/200S fork ends up about an inch shorter, so the tire will rub on the fender during full compression.

I never got around to putting the front rack back on, but it's simple enough to do with a welder. I've given up trying to carry anything on a hardtail rack, they're just good handholds for getting unstuck.

Anyway, that is a 25x12x9 Kenda Scorpion in 185S/200S forks and it DOES NOT rub the sides of the forks. I know some have said that tire size doesn't work in those forks, but I've been running it for years, and with the modified 200ES hub and front wheel.

185S/200S forks are plentiful and inexpensive. 200M forks sit up better and I'd say are preferable, but other than a little rubbing on the fender during full compression, the 185S/200S forks work fine. Either still require 200ES headlight brackets to be welded on if going that route.

[ps2fixer]

@ATC King

Just wondering, does your headlight not work or something, there's a sticker over it lol.

Anyway, seems like useful info to know. I don't think I've had one 200ES with good (or rebuild-able) front forks yet. I bought a bunch of junkers though.

[Gabriel]

That must be how he casts his Bat Signal into the sky. Ha!!!

[ATC King]

The sticker was from the OHV park. It's just a day pass and I had to put it somewhere. The headlight glass seemed like the easiest thing to remove it from later, besides, they don't allow night riding there unless it's a special event. No intentional bat signal :)

I've got two complete 200ES forks, neither are useable as is, but not frozen either. I've taken them both apart. Another 200ES rider I know had their frozen forks collapse after a bump and stay there, so the front end is permanently lowered. I've got two complete 185S/200S forks with hubs, wheels, brakes, everything, just sitting around as parts. Because I only have hardtails, I've amassed as small parts collection as it usually takes buying, at least, two parts machines to make one runner. I've got a few non suspension forks laying around too.

I'm using the same 185S/200S fork as Gabriel, but with a 25x12 tire instead of the 22x11 that they come with. The pinch bolts on the M fork are below the cross bar, not in line with it. That's how the M fork gets the extra height, the suspension is the exact same parts. The location of the top pinch bolts are the dead giveaway between M and S forks. Unless some company has started making M front fenders, they're not available new, which is a plus of the S forks, because Maier sells new front fenders.

Even though a ES fork may be junked, it's easy to cut the headlight and top rack mounts from and transfer them to something else. I'd cut the weld from the steering stem and keep it to, because a lot of 185S/200S forks were run with bad bearings that grooved the stem, and it's pretty easy to just cut the welds off and weld another stem in, if you have a spare one.