rearenginekarts.com

Am I the only one who would rather be pecked to death by ducks than use an Azusa steering wheel? I know they are available and cheap, but they show up on nearly every "totally restored" kart on Ebay, and every well used kast on Craigslist. A few minutes ago, I googled "Covico" and found a 12 inch, three spoke, stainless steel wheel that looks great. The price is around $55, but that should'nt be a deal breaker. Just thought I'd pass this along.

Mike,
The mounting bolt pattern is 1/8" off in diameter on a Covico....but the 20 minutes is worth it for the "mod".
A very nice product that you only have to purchase one time.....unless momma finds the 2 spares in the cabinet.
Highly Recommend!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom

Mike, I've bought 4 Covicos, and they're a great wheel. A real reliable source is Rex Marine:
Covico Steering Wheels:
http://www.rexmar.com/page92.html
Like Tom says, you have to elongate each mounting hole 1/16" to accomodate a standard kart hub. The stainless of the spokes is HARD as heck! I use a chain saw file; it cuts stainless steel very well and cleanly. The vinyl covering is quite "sticky" and will pick up lint from any cloth that contacts it. Armor All Cleaner makes the vinyl like new again. Be careful who you buy from, some marinas charge twice what Rex Marine does! Ted

The Rex Marine Covico's are a nice steering wheel, but they're slightly larger in diameter, deeper dish and have a thicker coating on the rim. I have a couple of them and they are relatively inexpensive and still look more vintage than an Azusa. The Azusa wheel has been around since the early 60's, but doesn't look very vintage to me. It's probably because they're still in use in such large numbers and not just on vintage karts. I talked with Covico a few years ago with the hope they would produce a batch of the steering wheels they once made for karts, but they weren't interested because we represent a very small market for their products.

Michael

Can anybody please help.
Is 12" Covico 12" outside diameter or to centre of grip? How deep is actual dish?
DonT

remember jc whitney ,well last i new you could still get grant 3 spoke classic foam padded 12" 3 spoke steering wheels 27.99 ..you gotta make sure they send you 12" chrome every once in awhile they try slip me a black chrome 13" ...P.S. they drill easy too.!!

I just measured 3 of mine and they are 10.75 diameter on the tubing centerline (5.375 radius) and 2.375 dish. The outside edge diameter and dish can vary slightly depending on the thickness of the vinyl coating. The dish was measured with the steering wheel rim side down on a flat surface and to the back side of where it bolts to the steering hub.

Thanks Michael, very close to Azusa dimensions, perfect.
DonT

Don, the Covico I measured is 12" outside diameter, 2.5" dish, mounting face to face of grip, and the grip is 1.125" in diameter. All of them I have here are close to the same. The stainless isn't as highly polished as chrome, but still quite shiny, and durable.
Don't forget, you can still get the Stinger type of wheel from Bug at www.kpmfg.com. TJ