Front wheel removal

[nicolap99]

Hi
Can anyone help please, it can't just be me, can it?

I am trying to remove the front wheel, so I follow all the steps in the service manual.

Jacking the sump up with wooden block protector, wrestling with the calipers - got them clear, undo spindle - wheel falls down onto floor.

Ummm, won't clear the front mudguard - mudguard bolts don't want to be undone.

Any suggestions?
Let back tyre down to gain extra pivot and raise engine higher so wheel clears mudguard arch, let front tyre down to achieve same.

What about rear wheel removal!!!! but worried about jacking the front up beyond the point of no return.

I can't be the only person to have had this problem? the manual mentions nothing about mudguard removal.

[adamski49]

Denis

I leave the rear wheel in place while I jack (trolley jack) the front up enough to get the front wheel out. Once it's out I lower it to a sensible level and use wooden blocks under the engine to hold it. I then remove the rear wheel (nuts loosened before putting it up on the workshop stand).

Because my bike is pretty tall I have to put a sheet of ply (or similar) under the workshop stand to get enough height to be able to leave the rear wheel in place while I jack the front up.

There are a few embarrassing pics on the ukGSer forum where people have managed to tip the bike off the stand so that it's sat on the floor without wheels... cringe

HTH

Adam

PS Yes, it's just you

[winger]

When you say mud guard bolts won't come out which??the two on either side or the one underneath that goes into bottom yoke?? have always found the ones on the side a pain cuz their always loose,and you can't put too much pressure on because of the mudguard.

Have to say the only way to work on an S,is with a decent paddock stand,the BM one takes some beating,and a front paddock stand that takes the front wheel of the floor,because it tips the bike backwards and the rear wheel touches the floor place two strips of wood under the the rear paddock stand so it a little higher same as Adam.

You can get the front stand from Dennis Trollope raceing 01179570821 about 33 quid number 5

Chris

[nicolap99]

Hi
It's the two bolts on either side of the fork legs which refuse to budge, dread to think about the hidden one under the yoke. Best left alone

[winger]

If you don't takes that single bolt out,that goes into the bottom yoke then you'll never get it of,i'm amazed about the two piddly bolts that screw up to M/guard theres nothing to e'm,get some heat on e'm nothing to radical use a hair dryer.

Chris

[Jason M]

Like Adam says - if you have a centre stand, just put a bit of 2x4 under it and put it up on that - then when you jack the front up you'll have plenty of room.

I think the manual (the bikes one that is) says something about compressing the front before taking the wheel off - you know when you pull away after braking to a stop, the front unwinds a bit, well I think it means something like push the bike and pull the brake to compress the front suspension before removing the front wheel - does that make any sense? probably not!

good luck anyway - and leave that mudguard on!

Jason

[theseadog]

WTF is all this about ??????

Is the setup different on later bikes ? I've got a 98 and the front wheel comes straight out with no dicking about with mudgaurds. The only bit I found fiddly was getting the calipers clear of the wheel without scratching the rim and that just took 10 seconds.

I took the front off at the same time as the back wheel with the bike on a w/s stand and a trolley jack with a block of wood ( to stop fin damage ) under the sump. Do later models have a different front setup or am I missing something here ? ( entirely possible as I'm not the sharpest tool in the tool box )

[stempy]

Never had any trouble getting my wheel out either

[nicolap99]

Further update on the front wheel saga.

My R1100S is a 99 model, and placing the bike on the centre stand would not allow enough clearance to take the front wheel out.

It got worse when I changed the rear shock for a Hagon replacement, the rear shock is actually slightly longer, thereby reducing the clearance of the back wheel to ground on the centre stand.

Placing the bike with the centre stand on a platform of 30mm thick timber has helped to improve the pivot on the bike to increase the clearance to get the wheel out.