Max "K" rims

[fomocoguy]

Could anyone tell me when max started using the "K" rims that hold the bead better? My Max IV is a 2000 and I'm trying to figure out if I have them. Thanks!

[Mike]

I don't know the year but my 1997 Max II had them. There are a couple of different ways for you to tell the difference though:

The first way is to feel for the bead in the wheel itself. Just look down at your wheels and look for the rolled bead. On the outside of the wheel it will be an indentation all the way around the wheel near the outer bead. These are 8" K-locks showing the bead from the inside of the wheel but it shows you where to look:


The next way on the 12" Max IV wheels it so look at the center of the wheel. If the center is square and the lug nuts are the conical ones then those are the old non k-lock wheels. If the center is round and the lug nuts are flat then those are the k-locks. I'll see if I can find a picture of them...

Edit:
Look at the center of the wheels on this Max IV. Where the center meets the wheel itself you can see a couple of gaps where the center doesn't touch the wheel all the way around. The center is actually a square plate that has been welded in the wheel. Those are the ones that are non K-lock:


Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of the 12" K-locks from the side but they have a round center that touches the wheel all the way around. You can almost make it out in this picture:


I went back and browsed the tire photo gallery again and found a good picture from pophamrt1 showing the circular centers of the 12" K-locks

[racerone3]

our 97 Max II has the non K-lock wheels, so i think that might have been a transition year.

[Robinhood02]

id heard somewhere that 97 was the first year for 8" rims and late 97 or early 98 for the other rim sizes (they had to use up the old stock)

[fomocoguy]

Thanks for the great info guys! It looks like I have the K lock wheels.

On that note, what do you guys feel is the lowest tire pressure I can run with the original tires and not worry about busting the bead?

[wfo]

ive ran 0 psi in the dunes and never had a problem and thats at 600 ft above sea leval

[fomocoguy]

Awesome! I took her out for the first time the other day and she really beat the crap out of my back. It had 7 pounds in each tire. The tires say 20psi max, so I thought 7 was pretty low, but that was before I did some research and realized you guys are mostly running somewhere between 0 and 3psi! I dropped them down to 2 today.

[Mike]

That will definitely make a huge difference. I typically run around 2 psi as well.

[Dirty Harry]

Low is the way to go! The Max IV that I bought had way too much air in the tires. The seller complained of the rough ride. Well, it turns out that he saw that the tires recommend 20 psi and thought the ride would be comfy by going way low and running them with only 15psi in them!!! Ouch!! My poor back! no wonder he hated the machine. A little investigating would've have made him so muich happier, but then again he never would have gotten rid of it and I would not have gotten such a great deal. I typically run about .5 - 1.5 in each. The 26" are stiff no matter what, but much better in this psi range. The K-lock should allow you to run litterally zero psi as long as the tires & rims are in good shape.

[fomocoguy]

Thanks for the info! I can't wait to use it again, especially since I'm installing a suspension seat in it too. It should be a world of difference.