Front tire change mistake

[Rob L]

I've changed a lot of tires over the years, but this was my first on the "new" bike, a 2006RT that I bought last year. The 3 year old tires reached 10,200 miles and were in need of replacement. I replaced the Pilot Roads with Roadsmarts. The rear went OK, although the old and new tires were very stiff and hard to work with. When I got to the front, I had to make an axle tool. No big deal, I found a hex that fit inside and welded a socket to it. I removed the calipers and figured that I was good to go. The tire change and balance went well. I reinstalled the wheel and went for a test ride. The ABS light kept flashing! I checked the wheels and noticed that I had broken the front sensor when I reinstalled the wheel. I called 2 dealers, none in stock. I ordered from Chicago BMW.........$89 plus shipping. This was one expensive tire change Lesson learned-remove the sensor before removing the wheel. There is 1 screw holding it. Takes maybe 20 seconds to remove

 

One question: where is the end of the sensor cable plugged in? With MY luck, I'll probably have to remove the gas tank!

Rob

 

PS. The new tires sure do work nice. They follow a line through a curve perfectly!

[rglassma]

I have found that you don't necessarily have to remove the sensor. I had to do the following:

 

1) Remove the sensor wire from the clip to ease removal of the front left caliper.

 

2) Be aware of the sensor position and when removing the wheel, be careful not to upset the sensor.

[mneblett]

I've changed a lot of tires over the years, but this was my first on the "new" bike, a 2006RT that I bought last year. The 3 year old tires reached 10,200 miles and were in need of replacement. I replaced the Pilot Roads with Roadsmarts. The rear went OK, although the old and new tires were very stiff and hard to work with. When I got to the front, I had to make an axle tool. No big deal, I found a hex that fit inside and welded a socket to it. I removed the calipers and figured that I was good to go. The tire change and balance went well. I reinstalled the wheel and went for a test ride. The ABS light kept flashing! I checked the wheels and noticed that I had broken the front sensor when I reinstalled the wheel. I called 2 dealers, none in stock. I ordered from Chicago BMW.........$89 plus shipping. This was one expensive tire change Lesson learned-remove the sensor before removing the wheel. There is 1 screw holding it. Takes maybe 20 seconds to remove

 

Anyone know whether the '06 sensor arrangement is any different from the '09? I recently removed/replaced my '09's front wheel, without removing the sensor (or even doing anything different than usual for a front wheel removal), and damaging the sensor or its lead was not an issue. I'm curious as to what's different about the '06's that could create a possibility of damage, at least when ordinary care is being used.

[Rob L]

The sensor changed when the power assisted ABS system was replaced with the manual system sometime in 2006. I had to give my vin to the parts guy to get the correct part. Of course mine uses the more expensive part

[Rob L]

One question: where is the end of the sensor cable plugged in? With MY luck, I'll probably have to remove the gas tank!

Rob

 

 

I thought that I would answer this question myself after completing the work. Maybe the info will help someone else down the road to replace the front ABS speed sensor!

The plug is behind the glove box compartment on the right side of the bike. To access the plug, remove the right fairing pieces (both), and then remove the glove box. The glovebox is held by 2 T25 torx screws. The left caliper also needs to be unbolted to fish the cable through to the sensor mount.

 

Pretty easy fix

 

Rob