| Author | Message | ||
     Rocketman |
So it's been well documented on BADweb about Rocket's rear hub problem and how some fellow BAD....persons thought my belt tension was to blame. Well, I'd like to hear what you guys with the X1 arms have to say about this............ After getting the CF Dymag repaired with new bearings installed I've done near on 200 miles or more. Yesterday I was popping a couple of wheelies when suddenly I thought the gearbox had gone t i t s up ! Hears what happened. The belt tension is set by using the bolts with the double nut affair in the end of either side of the arm. Only last week someone posted asking if these bolts were threaded in to the arm itself, but as we know, they are not. Well, often I have a problem with these two belt adjusting bolts because they come loose, and as I tighten them up from time to time, I reasoned that this might explain the over tightness of my belt pre-Croix. So last Sunday after riding about 70 miles, I noticed these two bolts were loose again. Last night I was about to set off for a quick burn up the coast when this gearbox thing happened. I'd forgot about the bolts been loose and when I popped those wheelies the rear wheel spindle had moved forward a good few millimeters, which meant the belt went very slack, hence the juddering. Well it turned out to be no problem. All I did was re-tension the belt (correctly  ) and align the the rear wheel, and jobs a good 'un ! Hear's the $64000 question. The spindle was torqued to 72lbs\ft, per manual, and with a 36mm ring spanner on the nut I can still turn the spindle. This means I tighten the spindle some more (which I've done) to stop it turning, rather than rely upon the belt adjusting bolts holding it in place and risking them working loose yet again and screwing with the belt adjustment and wheel alignement. So are my bearings gonna be loaded up sideways causing more stress, and possibly causing another hub failure, or should I be relying upon those two bolts to keep the spindle in place given the torque procedure in the manual despite the spindle not actually been absolutely tight enough to stop it turning with applied force from a spanner ? As a side note, I have the spindle the opposite way around, with the nut on the left side, for ease of rear wheel removal\fit, not that this should make any difference , right ? TIA Rocket in England ps; Blake, if you feel the need to reply, none of that scientific bull stuff. Laymans terms OK for us mentaly impaired thick gits from England. | ||
| Jmartz |
Rocket: Although I do not have a 99 SA after servicing the rear wheel, aligining it with the 9/16" nuts and torquing the axel nut to 70 ft./lbs. these nuts become loose at least on 1 side causing the endplate to rattle. This is as if in torquing the axel moved slighly on one side. That side is the head side (I do keep the nut in the stock location, right when sitting on the bike). So I mearly retighten the 9/16" nuts and off I go. Bike tracks straight and I have never spun a bearing (have PM wheels). It is as if upon tightening the axel centers itself releasing slightly one side. It would seem to me that once tightened it would not move even w/o ajusters especially on the all aluminum X1 arm where floating carriers are forced tightly against the arm itself. Jose | ||
| Aaron |
Rocket: I don't personally see how more torque could hurt the bearings. It's the inner bearing races that are being squeezed, against a spacer that sits in between them. Try the German torque spec, that's what I do, no problems with stuff moving around. I have noticed, however, that the belt often gets quite a bit tighter when it's hot. I notice it on the dyno a lot. AW | ||
| Mikej |
What is the German torque spec, is it in the manual? | ||
| Aaron |
Gudentite | ||
| Mikej |
I was afraid you were going to say that. | ||
| Hans |
Rocketman, Maybe a very stupid remark but it seemed to me that you torqued the spindle. Did you or did you torque the nut on the spindle ?? In the first case the nut was undertorqued very much. I know from the times, long ago, when I had only one adjustable wrench and a pipe wrench to fiddle with. You could immobilize the (round) spindle with the pipe wrench easily without forceful pinching and still firmly torque the nut. Hans. | ||
| Rocketman |
Well you can tell I was asleep this morning when I wrote that. Once again I couldn't see the woods for the trees. Can you imagine what a squashed bearing race would look like ? GUDENTITE it is  Rocket in England | ||
| Blake |
And Hans' point is VERY important. ALWAYS torque the nut (for Rocket: "Nut"... that's the internally threaded hexagonal... er six sided... er the thing with the same number of sides as the number of fingers on one of your hands ), not the axle bolt itself. Rocket, seems like an overtight belt might easily help pull the rear axle forward, especially on the drive belt side. Remember my blathering about the "tight belt BAD!" scenario? | ||
| Rocketman |
Hey, READ MY LIPS I've turned the spindle around so the NUT, the thing with six sides (has it ?) (that was irony), is now on the left of the bike. Like Aaron said, forget the rec. torque setting, use the German one. And thanks Jose, I reckon you're right. That's what I've concluded too ! Rocket in England | ||
| S2no1 |
Blake, Rocket gets confused easily since he has to deal with Whitworth fastners, Torx, Allen, Metric, English, US, BPT, etc... Heck, I'm get confused now. Rocket, Just what is a whit worth? Arvel | ||
| Mikej |
'bout a buck three ninety five. | ||
| Blake |
Rocket, no matter which side is where, what Hans conveyed, and what I tried to confirm (rather poorly though I guess) is that you had best be torquing on the nut, with your backup spanner on the spindle/bolt head rather than vice versa. | ||
| Chuck |
Blake, do you and Rocket really have 6 fingers on one hand  | ||
| Hogluvr |
Hi all: Can anyone offer any tips/suggestions on removing/replacing the front wheel on my S1? I guess I wasn't paying much attention to the front tire when I bought her, and it will need to be replaced soon. Any potential problems I should be aware of? Also, I don't have a lift that will work on this bike, so any recommendations as far as a lift goes would also be appreciated... Thanks, Mike P.S. Anybody have any input, good or bad, as far as replacement tires go?? I'm kind of surprised how fast these things are wearing... | ||
| Rocketman |
OK so you can't read my lips....... When I TORQUED the NUT to 72lbs I then used a long 36mm ring spanner to the same NUT to test the tightness of the (rec. from Buell manual) TORQUE setting, and yes I can turn the spindle by using the spanner on said NUT. This is why I asked the question. No I ain't nuts  just crazy Rocket in England | ||
| Rall |
Hogluvr If you don't have a lift for the front end. You could do as I just did when I pulled the forks off my S-1. Remove the gas tank-use soft ties on the frame- 4x4 in the rafters of the garage-hook rachet tie downs onto the 4x4 and soft ties- rachet the bike up untill the front wheel is off the floor. I have a set of rear axle stands that help maintain stability. You will have to remove the brake pads then brake caliber to remove front wheel. I hope this helps. I would advise you to get a service manual if you are going to work on your bike much. Mark | ||
| Leeaw |
Hogluvr, Protect the wheel when taking the caliper off. Use a towel or something so you don't scratch the rim. | ||
| Hogluvr |
Thanks for the input, guys. BTW the first accessory I got for my bike was the service manual, thanks to Tripper & BluzM2 Mike lookin' all stylin' & such in his brand new spiffy Team Elves T-shirt | ||
| Bigblock |
Hogluvr, I've tried 205's, Pilot Sports, 207' and, now, my favorite, Avon Azarro II AV39 and 40 front and rear. They have given me IMHO the best stability and handling of above mentioned rubber, and performed flawlessly at one very HOT track day at Thunderhill, about 90 mi. of tire torture that day. And seem to be wearing better than 207's, not quite as good as 205's. I've heard the Bridgestones give good handling with reasonable wear, I haven't tried 'em. I am real hard on tires, my 205's were useless after 3,000 mi. I would also STRONGLY recommend you change both tires out at once, ESPECIALLY if changing brands! Ray. PS as you have a S1, you may not have the stability problems with the 207's my M2 has. | ||
| Dvnt |
HOGLOVER::: If you do alot of long distance rides, mostly upright try Metzler Z4's they seem to never wear out, If got 3600 miles and climbing!! Jeff "DVNT" "823" | ||
| Dvnt |
IS THE REAR PM (CHROME) WHEEL WIDER THAN THE STOCK WHEEL? I've read that they are both 5" wide and I've read that the PM wheel is 5.5" and the stock is 5". Mine has the stock wheel and it's 5". CAN ANYONE CONFIRM THIS?? Thanks Jeff "DVNT" "823" | ||
| Blake |
The rear PM is 5.5" | ||
| Javahed |
Howdy! Speaking of rim sizes, how wide of a tire will properly fit on a 5" rim. I want to put some 180/55 r17 Dragons on my bike but worry that they are too big for the rim and/or may rub the drive belt. Anyone already try this? Thanks Dan | ||
| Blake |
Javahed: The 180/55 rear tire on a 5" rim won't rub, but the too narrow rim will cause the tire profile to distort and you will compromise the tire's performance. The prescibed 170/60 is the best tire for the Buell 5" rim. | ||
| Blake |
Questions for Tony re his 07/07/01 post on the Blast Board Tony: How many miles do you get from the rear Pirelli MT75 on your Blast. And you say "they stick way better" too? In wet, dry, or both conditions? I get 5000 miles from the Dunlop D205 rear tires on my M2. Tried Michelin Mac 90 cause some said they had better longevity. The Mac 90 was no better and actually a bit worse for me considering that it was on the bike during some easy long distance touring. If Pirelli's are actually more durable, I'll have to give them a try. Thanks, Blake | ||
| Aikigecko |
Blake, I had just under 4000 miles on my rearMT75 before the wreak and the tire was cut through at least a quarter inch of tread until the centerline. The tread depth of my tire now is about equal to that of the stock tire. Sadly that is yet another thing that has to be replaced. I figure I had well over 1500 miles left on it which is more what the double stock tires gave me (bald at 2400 and 2700 miles). All the mechanics at my dealer sing praise of Metzler/Pirelli. They put more rubber on a casing which may help their wear. As for how it sticks. Hawaii has but two type of weather sunny and rainy and one usually gets both in the same day (sometimes in the same 15 minutes which makes for cool rainbows but I digress). Nothing like Seattle rain but at times it will come down. My favorite road to ride has 50-60 turns climbing and decending a 2000' mountain in roughly 8 miles with the Dunlops dry or wet I had a push in the corners and was forever worrying about the rearend getting loose (even when it was dry). The first thing I noticed about the Pirellis was the loss of that push (welcome at that) and secondly was the drop in my average time (almost a minute) on the "hill" as I call it (MT Tantalus is it's real name) mind you this isn't a one time thing as I record every time that I ride it. Nor was it me getting better because a few times I have blown it and I still record those time. The tires, for me, just performed better and allowed me to perform better. The wet weather grip far exceeds the OEM tires to the point that there is no comparison for me. I know that most of the Harley guys I've met (as well as a number of BWM Cruisers) swear by Metzler/Pirelli. Good tires that are no longer the "Flavor of the month" BTW in case anyone doesn't know Metzler and Pirelli are the same tire from the same factory with the only difference being the name and the tread pattern. At the low end of the spectrum Metzler and Pirelli trade off covering certain size ranges. Pirelli's tend to be a bit cheaper as far as cost goes than Metzlers but that's it. That's my experience with Pirelli's I'm pleased and would buy them again without thinking twice. I'm a happy customer YMMV. | ||
| Blake |
Okay, I'm going to try the Pirelli. Mike Paladino claims ho got 10K from a Pirelli on his S1W. And the way that boy rides, the tire must be stacked with some extra rubber. Thanks, Blake | ||
| Davet |
I just put 180/55 Bridgestone BT56SS tires on stock 5" rims and noticed no difference in handling. The BT56SS tires are the only 180 tire that I could find that was manufacturer recommended for 5 or 5 1/2" rims. They are real sticky, and turn in real smooth. They look good too. | ||
| Javahed |
Thanks for all the info guys. Guess I may have to do some "accidental" burnouts to justify some new Dragons Dan |
