In our journey to build a cross-country-width Suzuki LT-R450 that will be featured in an upcoming issue, one of the first obstacles we negotiated was finding a way to narrow the rear end of our wide stock machine to XC width while also retaining the fairly stout stock rear axle. Considering a decent aftermarket replacement axle will set you back at least four hundred beans, it seemed wiser to throw our moldy money at a bitchin' set of wheels instead!
After a short rap session with OMF mogul "Bones" about our dilemma, he convinced us a sick-looking lightweight beadlock wheel would get us to our magic width of approximately 47 inches while still retaining the stock axle. Having flogged the dickens out of a set of OMF utility wheels in the past, I knew Bones wasn't blowing smoke, so we gave them the nod!
OMF created our custom rear wheels by adding its trick Ultra Lite Billet Centers and Super Lite Beadlocks to a set of 9-inch DWT wheels. The guys literally designed the wheel to bolt on in a direction that I would consider backward in an effort to take advantage of the difference in wheel backspacing in that configuration. Compared to a stock wheel, the backspacing on the flipped OMF wheel creates a narrowing effect and gives the LT-R a really unique look to boot! Additionally, the Ultra Lite Billet Center can be attached to the wheel on either the inner or outer portion of the wheel slug, giving the owner the ability to adjust the backspacing of the wheel 3/4 inch in either direction and change the overall width by 11/2 inches! The price for this made-in-the-U.S.A., custom-built wheel is $249.95 in a polished finish, plus an additional $9.95 per ring or billet center in your choice of powdercoating color.
OMF offers this "beefed-up" wheel for both sport and ute ATVs and side-by-sides and can even meet off-the-wall requests like ours. These wheels have been bulletproof for months and have held up from the pounding without issue while still maintaining their luster.
-Lance Schwartz
| WHEELS |
94 |
| Installation |
20/20 |
| Build Quality |
20/20 |
| Durability |
19/20 |
| Design |
20/20 |
| Price |
15/20 |
Bottom Line: OMFs are bombproof, customizable, adjustable and have killer good looks. At $270 per wheel they're salty! But as the old adage goes, "you get what you pay for."