Steve-C Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Dunno if this should be here on in 'renching...mods please feel free to move as appropriate! So the time comes to replace the front tire on my trusty K... Here's the brief instructions "reproduced without the kind permission of Mr Haynes...." Remove the spindle-retaining nut, slacken off the fork clamping bolts, and twist out wheel spindle using a Tommy bar. (Yeah right, why does Haynes always make it sound so easy?) All went fine right up to the twist out part. Looks like one of the bearings had collapsed; heat welded itself to the spindle (judging by the bluing to the spindle) and wouldn't let the spindle come out. So after cutting an old wheel brace down to make a large drift, I proceeded to utilise a hammer to "persuade" the spindle out. Finally got it out far enough to get the wheel free after removing the front discs. Then back to beating the spindle free of the remaining fork. So now I need a new bearing, spindle and several Elastoplasts for my knuckles and thumbs...but at least I can go get some fresh rubber! On a side note, turns out that the wheel brace from an old (not BMW) Mini is the perfect S-Shape to undo the disc bolts whilst clearing the forks if the wheel is still between said forks... As you can see, I subscribe to the "Ride it don't clean it school...." Link to comment
Boffin Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Hey Steve, I have some black duct tape for that seat if you want Andy Link to comment
Don_Eilenberger Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Finally got it out far enough to get the wheel free after removing the front discs. Was the disk removal required by the collapsed bearing? The usual way to R&R the front wheel is to remove the calipers and leave the disks on the wheel (and I'd suggest reinstalling them before mounting it back on the bike - and being careful to do a criss-cross torquing of the mounting bolts..) Link to comment
tallman Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 +1 on what Don said. Rare to need the calipre removal. Plus, it'll be easier to put back together if you clean it first. Link to comment
Steve-C Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 Was the disk removal required by the collapsed bearing? Not really. I'd got the spindle almost all the way out, but the bearing was fixed rather firmly to it. Since the bike was jacked up at this point, I couldn't get a direct line through the wheel with the drift, and really couldn't be bothered to try and line things up. The extra thickness of the bearing was stopping me getting the wheel out with the discs on. Besides, the wheels are easier to clean without the discs! Once the wheel was out the way, a couple of whacks had the spindle flying across the garage. Oh and all that dirt of the front wheel is due to me having cast iron discs. Definately better than the OEM BMW ones (and cheaper), but crickey do they give off a lot dust as the surface rust wears off. Since I use the bike daily, I rarely clean the wheels since it would be a daily task. Its (ahem) slightly run down appearance seems to keep it safer from prying eyes. And to be honest, I'd rather be riding than cleaning! Should have new tires tomorrow, spindle Weds so thats me back on the road by Thursday... I CAN'T WAIT! Link to comment
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