Well I was out in the shop for a couple of hours and decided to take apart a stock front rim to see how much offset you could get by flipping the center hub around.
In the pics you can see that I did not drill through with the half inch bit. Just drill deep enough until you can see the rust ring appear. Then smack out the center and flip it around.
Originally the stock measurement from the center to the table is 6" exactly and when you flip it then the measurement will be 4". If you look at the pic it is at 4 1/8" but I just did not smack it through enough. You can get that extra 1/8". Also you will have to re-drill another valve stem hole.
I also found a rim number but not sure if it means anything (Last picture).
So basically you can get 2" of offset from stock.

more

WHY ?? you may be asking --- answer: because we can.
Why not just buy spacers ?? --- answer: because as a few people here have found out, getting parts for these machines can be a job. Also spacers are very expensive for what a guy is actually getting and that's if you can even find them. They also can add a lot of weight and the oddy J arm bushings are a whole other issue, aren't they ??

Is there an advantage to widening the front end? How does it affect the handling or turning radius?

My brother and I have found that the oddy handles and turns better with a wider front end. You want a square footprint if you can get it (same front and back c-c measurement). In stock form the oddy pushes like a pig in the turns and you basically have to pitch the buggy into the turn. If you try to drive into the apex it just pushes. Pitching the car is not my driving style and I don't like it. I like to stand hard on the brakes, then let off, and line up for the apex. This however requires the car to take a set and that's not something the oddy does well. My brother likes trail braking into the apex. I don't like that driving style because it's unstable and doesn't allow you any bail out room. He is also a left foot braker and I am not. We all have our different driving style but at the end of the day the oddy seems to us to handle better with a square foot print. In stock form the front is too narrow on an oddy.

That makes sense, while its fun to pitch it in a turn, there are on occasions where if the tank would just make a turn it's better, the trails at the dunes is what will give me grief.

No matter what you do though, an oddy will never turn like an F1 car.
The problem is the gearbox. These machines do not have a differential, so both rear wheels are driving at the same rate. That causes bad push. A square foot print does help.

I did the other front rim tonight and dialed them both in with a dial indicator.
Welding tomorrow and I still have to drill new valve stem holes.
Stock was 6" and now at 3 7/8".
So basically each wheel is about 2" out further than the stock one.

Sweet set up. Makes me feel midevil.

Doesn't this throw the scrub radius out the window?

More leverage on the yolk, more feedback through the yolk?

Why not widen where the J arms attach?

Yes
Yes
and because that's a huge job.

I currently have after market ITP rims on the front and everything seems good enough.
You can't get stock offset rims for these machines anymore.
The offset on the ITP's is a lot. So I just thought I would do the same to the stock rims I had.
It's all just a proof of concept anyways.

I knew you'd have a good reason!

Ahhh... just hack those fancy tube end bearing thingys off and add a bit (that's Australian) of tube and weld them back in?

You have a point there and it does give me ideas .
Maybe when that clown finally bends my tubes for the death machine rebuild (he's had them since march) then I will have to think about your idea.

Although not the exact offset, you can get pretty damn close. The Yamaha Timberwolf 250 2x4 front wheel is a direct bolt on which is extremely close to the stock offset.

A few have done this and here is a quote from Randy J.....

"97' Yamaha Timberwolf 250 2x4 rims i just received from power sports nation.The rims match up nice even though they are a inch wider than the oem (1"to the inside). The other drawback is the don't have the access hole to inspect/adjust the front shoes."

I believe the offset is 1/2 inch greater to the outside than that the Ody wheel.

Also take note that the type of tire used has a great deal as to how the Ody turns also. A tread pattern with lugs that are in parallel lines give better directional turning. I have a pair of Kenda Max tires on mine on stock wheels and the turning radius is a lot better than the Kenda Dominators with the Douglas aluminum wheel with the 3x2 offset.

The only downside of the aforementioned tires is that they don't offer the stopping power of a more conventional tire.

Rand

Done.

Nice job CO!

I second that. Looks awesome.

Update:
Well my buddy just tried to put on one of my tires onto the rim. Unfortunately my welds were bad and I have an air leak at every spot I welded. Moral of the story do a good job welding. I'll fix them.

Coat the inside of the wheel with Flex Seal.

Ha Ha, I just found out here at work that we may be blending and packaging it for them.

If not the Flex Seal then use a boat load of clear silicone.

Rand

Yeah I was thinking similar because if I weld it again and still have a leak then I got seal it anyway.
I was using flux core wire so that was a mistake. Should have used stick or miki wire and gas.

Good morning CO, I read through and myself like to tinker in this area. Got any numbers to see what the offset change does those numbers. Going wider in front will help square up as you say. This will have great impact on set up. From shocks to steering geometry. I myself like to have the best of all three. Have you factored in the weight transfer to front in conjunction with wheel traction available for the car to set at what point you can accelerate with out removal or remove to much weight effecting over / under. With the stock shocks I do see this helping much. Most control via throttle and rear traction force adding and removing front traction forces. With the front drum braking forces or weight shift to front control much harder. And again with stock front shocks almost worthless. After all we're talking about Weight distribution and Dynamics. We're changing a static setting effecting the dynamic. By going wider in front you have altered the amount of lateral weight transfer. You being a race car driver would understand more than my self in this area. See why it peaks my interest. Any way back to T, this is what changed for the L W T. Without some kind of low speed compression not sure if one can dial in to be effective. I mention this up because it will impact body roll. And you do not have a- arms to change the static camber and low speed to reduce roll effect. I would think the traction loss due to camber (available force on tire patch) effect would offset the change in T. I see this as slowing you cornor down from set and move Apex further back. Which men break sooner and accelerate later. Basically slowing you down. This will also change your crossover from under to over more radical and require more throttle change and it will get Skippy.
Any way I really look forward to progress and the seat of pants feel and if you can some of the numbers. I really like learning this stuff.
Adnoh

Final thought tire pressure and height with side well stiffness.

Thanks for sharing.

very good point on tire height and side wall stiffness as I remember running stock rims and the tallest tire I could put on the front I could turn sharper then one with stock rims and tires .
this is because of tire side roll and or soft side wall . most of the time I was picking up the rear end cutting corners

Sweet read thanks SpeedChaser

Sweet read thanks SpeedChaser

Good morning adnoh -- speed.
I am not a suspension guy that's for sure. You guys know way more than I do.
No I do not have any numbers and will be running the stock shocks (which are worn out). Also the frame still has a 1/4" twist which I will adjust out with the rear shock. All I know is the oddy seems better with a square foot print. Basically I drive what I got. A driver will compensate a lot for what he is running. This is why when racing you should only make two laps or so and then come in and make an adjustment. If you run more laps than that then you will automatically compensate as a driver for the shitty set up. If you have ever watched the old Indy cars during practice that's what those guys did. Two laps come in - change - repeat. The death machine I am rebuilding will get these rims and I will most likely be selling it. If I don't get the high price I will be asking then my buddy will be driving it this summer when we go riding. All of his Quads are busted (all 3). He crashed one (Polaris scramble HO) a few years ago and broke his ribs and collar bone. Destroyed the front end and he still hasn't put it back together. Not sure how much time I will have this year to go riding as I will have to get a job FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.