removing front wheel and discs

[plasmatron]

I've got a set of alloy wheels arriving tomorrow... Since 85% of my riding is done on-road I'm going to put a set of 020's on these new wheels and take off the spoked wheels that came with the bike and fit TKC's or something suchlike later...

thing is, since I rarely ride offroad, I didn't bother getting a whole set of brake discs and bolts etc, for both sets of wheels, the plan is to transfer the original discs and ABD wheel from the spokes onto the new alloy wheels...

anything to look out for in doing this?

also I've heard removing the rear wheel is dead easy but what about the front, I've got a 22mm hex socket, easy to come by in the land of "Made in Taiwan" and the requisit Torx bits, but is it necessary to remove the calipers and ABS sensors etc?...

Cheers!... and BTW thanks for the wealth of info you guys collectively provide... I've learned so much from this site, that I had no choice but to 'fess up and become a sponsor...

 

[Mouse]

Removing the front wheel is pretty easy:

First, undo the brake calipers, and support them (with a bungee or something) so they are out of the way. But careful not to put undue strain on the hydraulic lines. I usually attach the other end of the bungee cords to the engine bars, this pulls the calipers out of the way sufficiently.

Then undo the small torx pinch bolt at the base of the right hand fork leg. You don't need to remove this, just loosen it.

You need to support the bike somehow, either by putting a large weight on the rear seat (like a bag of sand) or preferably by putting a wooden block or a car jack under the bash plate. Even with the front wheel off the bike is still front heavy.

Then undo the front spindle using the 22mm box spanner - support the front wheel as you unscrew it. Once the thread is clear pull the spindle out all the way while supporting the wheel. Then the wheel should just lift clear of the bike. No need to remove the ABS sensor - but be careful not to damage the wire going to it.

There's nothing in particular to watch out for when transferring the brake discs (something I did recently too). Clean the threads of the bolts once the discs are off, then apply new threadlock before using the bolts in the new wheel. I think the torque for these bolts is 24 Nm but check the list of torques that's linked to in the FAQ section

Take the opportunity to give your brake calipers a clean while you're at it

Hope this helps.

 

[Clive]

There's nothing in particular to watch out for when transferring the brake discs (something I did recently too). Clean the threads of the bolts once the discs are off, then apply new threadlock before using the bolts in the new wheel.

I thought I read somewhere that the disc bolts had to be replaced rather than reused ?

 

[Mouse]

I thought I read somewhere that the disc bolts had to be replaced rather than reused ?

I'm sure BMW would love to sell you another 10 disc bolts at some horrendous price

Actually, when I moved my discs to my new wheels, I did use new bolts, because I bought some with sensible hex heads instead of that torx nonsense

If anyone knows of a sound engineering reason to replace the bolts every time you undo them, feel free to correct me, but it sounds a bit over the top to me. Then again I had a different bike for 55,000 miles and never changed the sump plug washer when I changed the oil

 

[TerryM]

Right Mouse

You have to be right about not replacing the bolts, the torque is quite low when attaching to the alloy casting, as they are not going to stretch under that load. Also agree about that torque junk, any good fastener stockist will have allen bolts at a fraction of the price. And stainless is not much more expensive. But a word of warning about stainless, it is not suitable for high stress applications. HT steel is far better suited.

 

[Mouse]

Agreed, I made sure the new bolts I bought were HT steel, they were 23p each.

 

[Rod Souter]

If you have a newish 1200, you'll need to source the box spanner! The only spanner now supplied is a 17mm open end

Rod

 

[plasmatron]

excellent... sounds like even I can do this successfully...

Thanks for the advice gents and I appreciate the 'how to' Mouse... I'd also heard that BMW want you to replace the bolts everytime you look at them, but agree that it hardly seems necessary... I'll mark them once they're on and keep en eye on them to make sure they don't do anything untowards...

 

[plasmatron]

sorry if posting twice is poor form... wouldn't let me edit my previous post...

I wonder if anyone could enlighten me about the proper proceedure for inserting valves into new wheels... I mean it's obvious that you just push them through from the inside, but is it advisable to use any kind of adhesive?.... I'm guessing it's not... just some soapy water to get the damn thing in and then forget about it?...

 

[Intrepid Ken]

Push, you'll never get it in

You’ll push until your blue in the face! To get the valve stem in you’ll need to use a valve stem puller or something that you can screw onto the thread to pull the valve through. Step 1 insert the valve so that it is poking through the rim. Step2 screw puller on threaded end sticking out of the rim. Step 3 pull. No need for soap or any kind of lubricant. You will be surprised how far it will stretch before setting

Obviously the next question is where can you get a valve puller or something that will do the job. You could buy a valve tool which should work or you could take it down to the local tyre shop and pay to have the tyre fitted …. it is so much easier.

 

[Skippy]

Are the spokes up for grabs?

Am I getting too excited here and jumping the gun or not read the thread properly?

Are the spokes up for sale??

Can you call me asap on 0118 969 4399 and let me know please.

I'll pm you too.

Skippy.

 

[Skippy]

Doh!

I'm a dozy twat!

Taiwan! Well that'll be easy to post then!

Anyone else got a set of spokes going?

Skippy.

 

[ktmmark]

?.... I'm guessing it's not... just some soapy water to get the damn thing in and then forget about it?... [/B][/QUOTE]

It's just pulled through the hole with a tool that screws on to the thread . just take it to a tyre fitters it's a 3 second job

 

[plasmatron]

thanks for the info...

in the end I took it to my local official BMW dealer, "GoChen BMW" in Taichung city... and guess what they did... pushed like hell from the inside, swore a bit, greased the hell out of it, pushed some more, denied the existence of a valve puller tool and eventually grabbed the threaded section with a pair or cutter pliers and forced it through... damaging the threads...

in the end I ended up changing the discs myself since the BMW mechanic was getting grease and crap all over the discs whilst he unscrewed the bolts... and he also claimed it wasn't necessary to torque the front axle or caliper bolts... "just really tight is fine"... obviously I'm going to re torque everything myself...

they also claimed there was no need to balance the brand new rear wheel... I insisted they did and evetually they admitted that they don't have the adaptor for the balancing machine and had to reluctantly take the wheel to to a car shop to be balanced...and they scratched the rims doing it...

oh, and they buggered up my order for 020's and got Anakee's instead, they tried to claim that they were almost the same as 020's... I insisted they order 020's like I told them to.. they say there are none on the island and it'll take 2 months to get any...

so, all in all good think I let the BMW "experts" handle it, and didn't do a home bodge job eh?... welcome to Taiwan the most high tech third world country around...

 

[Mouse]

and he also claimed it wasn't necessary to torque the front axle or caliper bolts... "just really tight is fine"...

I'm guilty of not torquing those bits myself, except I think the correct tightness for the caliper bolts is "pretty tight" - the front spindle is indeed "really tight"

 

[birdseye]

Re: Right Mouse

You have to be right about not replacing the bolts, the torque is quite low when attaching to the alloy casting, as they are not going to stretch under that load. Also agree about that torque junk, any good fastener stockist will have allen bolts at a fraction of the price. And stainless is not much more expensive. But a word of warning about stainless, it is not suitable for high stress applications. HT steel is far better suited.

Wrong about stainless - we used to supply the stainelss steel used in jet engine fan blades. By comparison, holding a disc on a bike is micky mouse. Just make sure you get good quality high tensile stainless if you are worried. That means bolts made in Europe or the US.