any way to salvage this dolly? | GTAMotorcycle.com

any way to salvage this dolly?

I

iblastoff

Well-known member
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oyIkc8g.jpg

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was taking out my bike (which is only like 390lbs) and the wheel on the dolly just broke on me.

company doesnt exist anymore. i suppose i could hopefully find an exact replacement wheel somehow. dont think i can somehow glue this **** back on either.
 
If you have long term plans for your dolly replace the wheels with quality products from an industrial supply house such as Granger.
You only get what you pay for.
 
guzzirider said:
If you have long term plans for your dolly replace the wheels with quality products from an industrial supply house such as Granger.
You only get what you pay for.
Click to expand...
Yup. ideally one with a shorter brake lever so it doesn't bind (or grind down the lever if he is buying wheels not casters).
 
iblastoff said:
oyIkc8g.jpg

gZ5aIWA.jpg


was taking out my bike (which is only like 390lbs) and the wheel on the dolly just broke on me.

company doesnt exist anymore. i suppose i could hopefully find an exact replacement wheel somehow. dont think i can somehow glue this **** back on either.
Click to expand...
I make those wheels -- Polyurethane tread on Polyolefin core.

The poly has degraded, happens over time, and the other wheels won't be far behind.

Send me the wheel diameter, width, and OD of the axle bolt and I'll give you replacements.
 
iblastoff said:
oyIkc8g.jpg

gZ5aIWA.jpg


was taking out my bike (which is only like 390lbs) and the wheel on the dolly just broke on me.

company doesnt exist anymore. i suppose i could hopefully find an exact replacement wheel somehow. dont think i can somehow glue this **** back on either.
Click to expand...
Something else I see, the casters are mounted incorrectly to the dolly - there should be no nut between the upper race and the dolly, that caster's kingpin is gonna bend if it rolls into debris on the floor -- you'll know when the caster stops swivelling or you see a bunch of ball bearings on your floor.
 
Mad Mike said:
Something else I see, the casters are mounted incorrectly to the dolly - there should be no nut between the upper race and the dolly, that caster's kingpin is gonna bend if it rolls into debris on the floor -- you'll know when the caster stops swivelling or you see a bunch of ball bearings on your floor.
Click to expand...
He will definitely need to adjust the brake lever in that case. It's already rubbing and than takes away another 1/4" of room.
 
guzzirider said:
If you have long term plans for your dolly replace the wheels with quality products from an industrial supply house such as Granger.
You only get what you pay for.
Click to expand...
Industrial-grade casters for that application will run you <$25 each - probably more than the dolly is worth.
GreyGhost said:
He will definitely need to adjust the brake lever in that case. It's already rubbing and than takes away another 1/4" of room.
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Good catch. My guess is there are locking and nonlocking casters in the kit -- they are probably installed in the wrong locations.
 
Mad Mike said:
Industrial-grade casters for that application will run you <$25 each - probably more than the dolly is worth.

Good catch. My guess is there are locking and nonlocking casters in the kit -- they are probably installed in the wrong locations.
Click to expand...

thats quite possible. i bought this dolly for 50$ from some harley folk a few years ago. it was already assembled and all i did to it was adjust the length of the 'arm' part to accommodate the kickstand for my bike.

now that i see this photo, the broken wheel in question is the one thats connecting the 'arm' with the rest of the dolly. that wheel definitely does not look like it should have the locking mechanism on it. so yah it was probably assembled incorrectly!


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Mad Mike said:
Something else I see, the casters are mounted incorrectly to the dolly - there should be no nut between the upper race and the dolly, that caster's kingpin is gonna bend if it rolls into debris on the floor -- you'll know when the caster stops swivelling or you see a bunch of ball bearings on your floor.
Click to expand...

if i understand you correctly, i guess this is technically the nut you're referring to? it seems to be just part of the design of however this works.

he2GlCv.jpg



in the installation vid you can also see it at 18 seconds in :

so i think thats normal at least for these wheels? i dunno.
 
iblastoff said:
if i understand you correctly, i guess this is technically the nut you're referring to? it seems to be just part of the design of however this works.

he2GlCv.jpg



in the installation vid you can also see it at 18 seconds in :

so i think thats normal at least for these wheels? i dunno.
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That caster is designed for a different application, even if it came with the dolly.

As for the wheel, it's a cheapie and the tread just dried out - not unusual for a consumer grade caster. Its rated for about 150lbs, which is ok for static load but a challenge if a loaded dolly hits debris or obstacles when rolling.
 
Mad Mike said:
I make those wheels -- Polyurethane tread on Polyolefin core.

The poly has degraded, happens over time, and the other wheels won't be far behind.

Send me the wheel diameter, width, and OD of the axle bolt and I'll give you replacements.
Click to expand...

so i took off the wheel and heres what i get:

EDIT UPDATED:
wheel diameter: 2.5"

wheel width: 1"

axle bolt diameter: 5/16"

im not sure if this is universal to all caster wheels but it also has this:

Raised lip on both sides of the hole
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Don’t think it matters as I’m sure I can find a different bolt if the replacement wheel doesn’t have these.

But yah let me know and I’ll gladly pay for a few!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
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Mad Mike said:
Something else I see, the casters are mounted incorrectly to the dolly - there should be no nut between the upper race and the dolly, that caster's kingpin is gonna bend if it rolls into debris on the floor -- you'll know when the caster stops swivelling or you see a bunch of ball bearings on your floor.
Click to expand...
Cheap casters have a mind of their own. Getting them started in the right direction is hard. Keeping them going in that direction is just as bad.
 
Looks like you got a fix in the works for this.

If you decide to get rid of the dolly let me know.
 
oioioi said:
Looks like you got a fix in the works for this.

If you decide to get rid of the dolly let me know.
Click to expand...

seems like a cheaply made dolly but its worked fine for me for years until this one wheel bust! probably wont be selling it.

as an update, i rode to princess auto this morning and while i couldnt find a direct wheel replacement to fit in the existing caster fork, i got one with *mostly* the right dimensions except the width. i had to dremel down the sides a bit but have a temporary fix for now.


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ultimately i will probably swap all the casters entirely at some point.

thanks everyone! was a simple process and i was probably overthinking the solution.
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