I'm getting ready to change the tires on my bike, which will (probably) require having both wheels off at the same time. (2004 R1150R)
Questions
1> I've heard people mention tying the center stand to the exhaust pipe and using that to support the bike. Seems like it would be safe as long as it didn't fold up. Comments?
2> Should I do anything special to hold up each end while on the centerstand? I was thinking of just using a beer case or something that is the correct heightm there shouldn't be much weight on either end.
3> Should I take the discs off the wheels to keep them from being damaged? Is taking the discs off just a matter of five bolts each? I'd keep left and right marked, of course.
4> I saw a motorcycle jack at Sears the other day. Can you jack the r1150r up by the bottom of the engine?
1) Take a cargo strap and secure the center stand to the crossover exhaust pipe. Done.
2) I removed the front wheel first. Once it was removed, I placed a plastic bucket under the forks for support. Once you remove the rear tire, the front end will settle on the bucket.
As for jacking the 525+ pound bike up by the bottom of the cantilever designed Aluminum crankcase, I would NOT do that either. Even if others have done so and nothing broke or cracked. It looks like it will not balance from there anyway.
Last October we attended my Niece's NJ wedding so before we left I removed both (worn out) wheels and took them along the 770 miles to my shop in NJ to change them myself. Two birds with one stone. After just over a year of retirement from there, it was still oddly second nature and 20 minutes work. The front naked rim's heavy spot 5" away from the valvestem was already marked with magic-marker years ago by me, so placing the Z-6 tire's red dot there meant no weights were needed for a near perfect balance. Sometimes you get lucky. The rear wheel still needed a weight, but less than if the red dot were put at the valvestem. We adopted the rim balance policy, a one-time, extra 2 minutes for the mounting on the balancer and waiting for it to swing stop at "heavy low" and marking it, because every subsequent tire change saves weights we don't have to "eat" ($) -and- the customer doesn't have to clean around or look at. About 20% of the time, NO weights are needed, but 100% of the time LESS weight is needed. You may be able to sell this sound, proven logic to your tire change dealer as a customer friendly, resource saving, 1-time procedure. SportBikes that consume a rear tire every 1,500 - - 3,000 miles benefit the most from the rim balance, heavy spot internal marking. We got one complaint when a customer said someone noticed, then told him: "They put the tire on wrong cause the dot 's not at the stem". After his repeating our detailed explanation about who was really wrong and why, we gained more tire customers.
Back to . . . . Removing both wheels:
1- Without the bags on the bike it balances on the CenterStand, so remove them.
2-- Tie-down strap the CenterStand to the crossover pipe.
3- Put it in 1st gear and loosen the rearwheel lugnuts for only 1 turn. This prevents worrysome stability woes later on when the front wheel is already off the bike. You should also make sure the rim will separate from the final drive by kicking the tire from the right side toward the muffler. For one that's really stuck, sit on the floor and kick the now 2 turns loosened lugnut wheel with your shoeheel hitting HARD on the rubber toward the muffler until it breaks free. Turn the wheel and kick toward the muffler again until it's wobbly free.
4- Remove the front wheel first, reinsert front axle so huge heavy things on the axle will hold the front end down on a solid supporting object. I used a full 6 gallon gas can and the axle wedged between the spout and the handle at the perfect height. You can also force a water filled gallon milk jug (8.4 lbs each) over each handgrip to keep the frontend down.
5-Remove the pre-loosened rear wheel.
6-Unless you're OK with the bike falling and possibly injuring any kids, lock the garage and unplug/disable the opener -or- tell them severe punishment, and a repair bill, will be given to everyone if anyone F's with dad's BMW.
7- Your less than 1/2 done. Take the wheels to a dealer and don't worry about the bike.
Last edited by CycleRob on Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Rob,
Retirement is making you more generous by the day. Why didn't you tell us about this 5" rule a long time ago?
Thanks Rob. Just kidding of course. You always come through and even though it's been over 4 years since I've been gleaning motorcycle mechanical wizardry from you, I still learn something new from each of your posts.
When I removed the rear wheel ( first time) on my 2004 last summer, the wheel was seriously stuck due to corrosion. Sprayed WD-40 on the hub and let it soak awhile... and used a rubber mallet on the rim. This didn't work. I ended up using a BFH and a sacrifical 2x4 to finally loosen the wheel. You may have a similar challenge:smt011
Cycle Rob, anything you would suggest ( other than my ham fisted method) if others run into this problem?
Thanks!
I just edited item #3 in my post above to deal with stuck on rear wheels.
Boxer, It's not a 5" rule, it's a balance rule. The heavy spot can be anywhere on the rim relative to the valvestem. Mine just happened to be only 5" away. My rearwheel's heavy spot is 120 degrees, or 1/3rd turn, away.
BTW, I already described my shop's rim balance procedure in detail in at least one old posting on tire changes . . . likely older than a year from today.
This is nice info on wheel/tire balance, but my jury-other members- has yet to respond to my question about your experience with ceramic balance beads??? I did quiz the company as to why they say these cannot be used with lower than 70 aspect auto tires yet work on a motorcycle; yet they sell them specifically for bikes? When the tire is already on the rim and needs rebalance they seem to be a solution. I presently have a front michelin oem tire @ 4k that is showing some scallops and runs very smoothly up to( I wont tell)...
[quote]You take the calipers off before taking the wheels off, right?/quote]
You can remove the rear wheel without taking the caliper off but you'll need to take it off to get the rear wheel back on.
Never took my front wheel off, so don't know about that end.
'03 R1150R
Life member 365
Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
Yes, you take the calipers off first, and here's a tip: use some masking tape on the rim to keep from nicking them when you do. Also, rotate the front rim so the caliper is between spokes to remove it. It's tight, but it does come off easier if you recess the pads a bit by pushing and pulling on the caliper beforehand to push the pads/pistons back in the bore a little to get a bit more clearance from the rotor.
CycleRob wrote:For one that's really stuck, sit on the floor and kick the now 2 turns loosened lugnut wheel with your shoeheel hitting HARD on the rubber toward the muffler until it breaks free. Turn the wheel and kick toward the muffler again until it's wobbly free.
Thanks CycleRob
I removed both of my wheels yesterday so I could take them to get fitted with new Z6's. The front tire came off easy. But the rear tire was stuck on good. I knew that there was some corrosion because the lugnuts were all rusted. (should I put some never seize on them when I re-install?)
So I couldn't figure out how to get it unstuck. Ahh, let me do a search on the message board. I took CycleRob's advice and presto, off came the wheel with easy!
FiremanLI: Neversieze isn't recommended on the lug bolts because it will lubricate them and allow the torquer to overtorque them and risk a failure of the bolt. This would be bad--very, very bad! The torque spec is for a clean, dry bolt. I stopped the rust in my hub using a the o-ring sealed center wheelcap from Keith Haynes, (it should help keep the bolts clean too).
Sunbeemer wrote:FiremanLI: Neversieze isn't recommended on the lug bolts because it will lubricate them and allow the torquer to overtorque them and risk a failure of the bolt. This would be bad--very, very bad! The torque spec is for a clean, dry bolt. I stopped the rust in my hub using a the o-ring sealed center wheelcap from Keith Haynes, (it should help keep the bolts clean too).
Ahh a good reason to buy something more! LOL .. thanks for the advice!
Sounds great.
Reviving an old thread. I'm going to be dismounting my wheels (2004 R1150RS in super-fast two-tone blue). I knew someone had done a good write-up on this at some point. Many of you have moved on to bigger and better (or smaller and slower) things. I'm still kicking along on a great bike that makes me smile every time I ride it. New Metzler Z6 Roadtec Sport Touring tires will be mounted soon. I'm shocked (they arrived today) how much more tread there is on these than what I have heh. Cyclerob, thanks for a good write-up. Hope everyone is doing well. Has bash location for 2015 been decided yet?
Took the wheels off yesterday. I didn't realize how many additional steps would be required as compared to the R1150R that I had done previously. Ended up taking about an hour and fifteen minutes. as really displeased with the looks of the charcoal canister (hadn't had the bags off in a few years). It was all pimply and rusty - dripping rusty water down on the final drive occasionally. It's gone now!
kantuckid wrote:This is nice info on wheel/tire balance, but my jury-other members- has yet to respond to my question about your experience with ceramic balance beads??? I did quiz the company as to why they say these cannot be used with lower than 70 aspect auto tires yet work on a motorcycle; yet they sell them specifically for bikes? When the tire is already on the rim and needs rebalance they seem to be a solution. I presently have a front michelin oem tire @ 4k that is showing some scallops and runs very smoothly up to( I wont tell)...
I've been using the balancing beads for about 8 years and 2 bikes now--about 70,000 miles worth. I love 'em. No weights on the wheel, the balancing is dynamic--re-balances every time you start moving so the tire remains in balance for the life of the tire. I even re-used them on my last tire change. I change my own tires and as long as no tire lube/soap solution gets into the old tire as I'm removing it I'm good to go. I use 1 oz in the front and 2 oz in the rear.
The Older I Get, The Less I know. (in honor of MikeCam
'05 RT
'04 R
'03 R
CB750
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