| Author | Message | ||
     Jmhinkle |
Followed the directions to get the rear wheel off. To turn the axle the 15 turns was a nightmare and over 150ft/lbs that the torque wrench was set to click at. It got harder with each turn. I stopped at the 15 turns and it seems like the swingarm is spread out, the wheel is stuck on the right side and the belt still has full tension. Is this normal or do I need to do something else? I cannot remove the tensioner at this point. Please steer me in the right direction as to what is wrong here.   | ||
| Motornoggin |
Looks like the axle threads might be hanging up on the left side swing arm. Might give it a gentle whack with a soft mallet to get it broken loose. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Did you loosen the pinch nut on the right side?? I really have no idea, just a wild guess... | ||
| Motornoggin |
Oooh yeah, make sure the pinch nut/bolt is loose. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Man, I hope you haven't hosed up your swingarm. That thing is spread WAY out. I think I would re-tighten it until the swingarm is close to being in alignment before I tried anything else. IIRC there have been several cases of the axle being frozen/corrosion welded to the wheel bearings. Probably be a good idea to hit them with some PB Blaster or equivalent and let it soak for a while. THEN make sure the pinch bolt is loose, turn the axle a few turns, whack it with a mallet and repeat. Heating may be required. If you do get it loose, be sure you apply a coating of anti-seize to the axle before reinstalling it so you don't have this problem the next time. (Message edited by hughlysses on May 23, 2007) | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Look on the bright side! You can now fit a 200mm rear tire! Just kidding. Good luck! | ||
| Jmhinkle |
Pinch bolt is completely out laying on the floor. It seems as if the bearings are frozen to the axle. I'll try the PB blaster and the mallet. Thanks guys. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Sounds like they forgot the anti-seize. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
Sprayed it down with WD-40 as my PB Blaster was missing. Beat the crap out of it with rubber mallet. Turned the axle back in about 8 full turns and BANG! the wheel popped loose. Is this the corrosion you mentioned? Bike has 4500 miles and I live in the desert. I can't imagine what other bikes look like where there is humidity or even salt in the air. There is absolutely no way I would have been able to change the belt out on the road. Should I attempt to get the axle and bearing replaced under warranty or just clean them up and put them back in?    | ||
| Motornoggin |
Looks pretty typical as far as corrosion goes. Two different metals (steel axle/bearings and aluminum swingarm) touching each other will cause that. My V-Strom had the same thing going on. One thing I do out of habit is give the axle a good thwhack with a rawhide or urethane mallet before I even start twisting it out. The shock seems to break things loose and lets the axle come out freely. | ||
| Ulyssesguy |
The Shop i took mine to when they changed the rear tire gave my axle a liberal coating of anti seize to prevent this same problem... The mechanic even said that they have built a special tool for this very purpose, the tool holds the swing arm in dimension while the axel is removed... I was told this is very common on the XB's especially if they are ridden year round in the pacific north west... | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
My axle looked similar. Not quite as much "ash". From what I understand, the ash is normal. Anti-seize will prevent much of it. Wipe the bearings down, and I'll bet they don't look as bad as you think. I thought mine were hosed. I wiped them down and they were clean. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I'm sure the axle is fine, but I'd sure give the wheel bearings a good visual and spin the race to make sure it's free. All that side-loading you applied while trying to get the axle out could have displaced the bearing or damaged it. Hopefully all is OK. Glad you got it out without further grief. | ||
| Dave |
Mine did similar the 1st time out but not quite to the extreme. I used a chunk of 2x4 to dislodge the axle. Use anti-sieze going back in. Like lok-tite...it's your friend. DAve | ||
| Roadrailer |
So where are you whacking it with the mallet?? I'm removing my wheel for the first time this weekend, and this has me a bit nervous. | ||
| Jlnance |
Roadrailer - A tip for removing the wheel... The service manual says to remove the idler pulley. You don't need to. | ||
| Fastmag |
Mine looked exactly the same and did the same thing. It was stuck on pretty good and popped free when I was going to give up and just put it back together. It was a pop and then everything was ok and it came right out. It had me very nervous for a while. Spreading cast parts is never any fun. They only move so far. But after putting everything back together mine lined right back up. I coated the living daylights out of mine with anti-seize. I hoping that after another 7500 miles when tire change comes again it will not do the same. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Roadrailer - A tip for removing the wheel... The service manual says to remove the idler pulley. You don't need to. Thanks for the tip. I had actually read that somewhere else on the site; sounds like leaving it on speeds up the process. But where should I be whacking with my mallet? (that sounds dirty...) | ||
| Jmhinkle |
"The service manual says to remove the idler pulley. You don't need to" Much like everything else in the manual, if you took off the idler pulley, you have to revert to another section to remove the right side foot peg framework, etc... I just took the nuts off and it allowed enough movement of the belt to get it off the sprocket easier. As far as using the mallet, I used a rubber one and popped the belt pulley a few times not too hard. I also spun the wheel and hit it on the outer edge as it went around. I don't think it helped much. I would recommend working the axle in and out as you try to remove it. That is what seemed to pop it loose. | ||
| Teeps |
For what it's worth, had the same experience when removing the rear wheel on my bike at 5600 miles for tire change. The white compound Buell calls antiseize acts more like a locking compound... | ||
| Motornoggin |
Whack the axle with a mallet, not like you're trying to kill it, just enough to break it free. | ||
| Arcticktm |
I just did a wheel R&R for a new tire last weekend, and had similar issue. I ended up using spray penetrant and running the axle back in a ways. It finally popped loose and looked just like the photos. Teeps: The "white compound" is corrosion, not anti-seize. Apparently, the factory does not read the service manual. I have had the same happen on KTM's before, but not this badly. Anyway, clean up the axle with a brass/wire brush, maybe gently wipe with emery cloth, put on a thin coating of anti seize (the real stuff), and it all went back together very nicely. I also did not have to remove the idler pulley, I was just very careful not to pry on the belt. It helps to loose fit the axle through the wheel/swingarm when you are re-installing, to allow you to roll-on the belt a little at a time, like with a chain on a dirt bike. Removing the idler involves a LOT more work and other parts. That swingarm is a work of art. I would hate to wreck it. | ||
| Teeps |
Arcticktm Posted on Thursday, May 24 Teeps: The "white compound" is corrosion, not anti-seize. Apparently, the factory does not read the service manual. I guess it could be, but the white stuff was pasty like zinc-oxide ointment. Either way it's gone now and "proper" anti seize is in its place. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Since we're on the subject of wheel removal, what size hex key do you need for the pinch bolt and caliper? | ||
| Jmhinkle |
Now that I have it all together and have run it a few days, I have noticed another issue. My belt does not run completely on the rear sprocket. Hangs off about 1/8". Should it be running completely on the rear sprocket? If so, how do I get it in line better? | ||
| Windrider |
Jmhinkle, If your belt was tracking OK before and now is hanging off of the rear sprocket something is wrong. The outside or the rear sprocket is open. The front sprocket has a rim on both sides. If you have a tracking problem then the front sprocket will have to pull it in against its rim. Over time this will wear the belt and cause fraying. If you have the service manual check out the section on belt tracking. Check the belt idler pulley and the removable section or the swingarm. If your swingarm was "sprung" from all of that force shown in the first picture I believe it would also cause the belt to run off of the right hand side or the rear pulley. Does the bike track when you are riding it or does it want to dive to the right or left? Take it for a ride and sit on it perfectly neutral. Slowly, remove all handlebar input to the bike (back your hands off of the grips) and just let it go where it wants to go. If it takes off to the left or right you could have a bent swingarm. | ||
| Beachbuell |
The wheel bearing seized on the axle, there by making them like one. Make sure you lightly sand the axle, clean and use plenty of anti seize upon re-installation. I had this same thing happen to my Firebolt. | ||
| Sparky |
All the banging on the axle may have been enough to bend/ damage the swingarm pivot bolt. This can skew the swingarm enough to cause the belt to ride off the sprocket a little. This issue was discussed recently in another thread on the BadWeb. A check on the condition of the swingarm pivot bolt is to follow the procedure to remove it. If, upon unscrewing the pivot bolt, the swingarm starts moving around, then the pivot bolt is history. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
Windrider, I believe my belt was tracking correctly before because it was on the sprocket, but when I had my wheel off, the inside of the belt shows wear and cords from rubbing. Hard to say it was correct originally now. There are definitely no new signs of rubbing in the dust on it since being reinstalled. As far as tracking, that is a hard test for me. Something in the way I sit or an inner ear issue or who-knows-what causes every single motorcycle I have ever owned to slowly go left when I remove my hands from the bars. Not necessarily track left like the back is steering the front or like a dog runs, but it does slowly go left like a minute lean or tiniest push on left grip. If I were to make that determination, I would have to say it doesn't track left because it behaves normally to me. It will eventually go left, but I believe that is me not the bike. If I touch the grips with no force at all as in my fingertips only the bike goes straight, but this has always been my experience on any bike. I looked at all the sections on the belt in the manual that I could find, but nothing really mentions a tracking issue or how to fix one. All I found was axle alignment is not adjustable. In the troubleshooting section on 1-28 Table 1-8, it mentions excessive edge wear (mistracking), but I don't have that currently. No where does it mention not riding on the sprocket fully is actually an issue. That is why I questioned where the belt should actually run. If it indeed runs against the inner flange on the rear, that will cause premature wear in my opinion, but there is not a lot of room on the sprocket to not run against it and not hang off either. Beachbuell, could you give more detail as to what you had happen on your Firebolt? Are you talking the whole situation and sanding the axle allowed the belt to get back in line or what? I thought I cleaned the axle good and I covered it in Anti-seize before reinstalling, but I can imagine what you mean about the bearing not getting back into position. |
