New Wheels for Guy Martin's Martek
Many of you will be familiar with Guy Martin’s pet project, the Martek. This is the very same machine that he used during channel four's Speed programme when he competed at the infamous Pikes Peak hill climb event in the US. The Martek has evolved over the years and it’s flattering that he chose Evotech Performance to advise, design and perfect the next stage of development: race wheels capable of handling the turbo power of the Martek. Our engineering pedigree has been called upon to ensure performance and safety for his unique machine.
Martin has been running the bike with old-school 5 spoke magnesium Marchesini wheels, often seen in the World Superbike series in the late 90s. In consultation with Evotech (during a curry night), it was decided that these may not withstand the severe forces that his self-tuned 300bhp turbo-charged engine will generate. With this in mind, it was decided that we fit a set of new modern aluminium wheels which would be much more robust. A set of 7 spoke Marchesini were supplied by our long standing customer, Ian Edwards at Mode Performance, and it was our job to make them fit.
The uninitiated would consider changing a wheel to be straightforward. But nothing is ever that easy, this is a one off special machine where standard parts simply won’t fit. The hub widths, and diameters, between the old and new wheels were considerably different yet the brake disc placing was not to be altered. New wheel spacers and front disc bells were required, parts that we regularly create and supply for many teams throughout the WSBK and BSB paddocks. The front brake rotors on the Martek are very unusual in that they are a vented T-Slot Brembo, which required a bespoke and rather unusual design. Here the Evotech know-how came into play using Solidworks 3D modelling in conjunction with 3D printing of the prototypes.
The rear wheel provided more of a challenge with the need to juggle not only the wheel alignment but also ensure that the chain and rear disc line up. The rear disc bell bolted to the new wheel using 5 bolts, but the disc fitted to the bell using 6 mounting bobbins, of course 5 into 6 would not work which left us scratching our heads for a while. The puzzle was solved with a 2 part disc bell system where one part bolted to the wheel, thus creating new mounting points for the disc bell. This worked perfectly. To complete the installation, we milled the sprocket carrier, so that the rear sprocket landed in the correct place, and manufactured brand new sprocket mounting pins.
When collecting his pride and joy, Martin was impressed with our handiwork. Of the new wheels he said: ‘Looks a treat. Love all the details. Perfect!’
On paper, this seems such a simple job, replacing wheels, but high performance racers need precision engineering on their bikes. And that’s just what Evotech Performance delivers. We can’t wait to see the bike in action in the very near future.