Topic: Front Wheel Removal

[nancy]

Well I got new tyres on the 750. Bridgestone BT-45's. 100/90/19 Front and 120/90/18 rear. Took the wheels into the local HONDA specialist and they charged a small amount NZ$48 to fit and balance - goog value. I had a Metzeler on the front and a Chin-ping-ding-death 110/90 on the rear and am looking forward to some better handling from the new set. I have had some nagging doubts about the front end and have rebuilt the head bearings, repacked the frontfork springs with spacers, drained oil and refilled etc. Nothing major - just a wiggly uncertainty. Feels a bit loose up front. Honda showed me the front wheels innards. The tube was old as the hills, the rim liner was burnt toast and the tube had 3-4 lumps the size of gold balls inside - he guessed these to be solidified remains of tyre goop - not totally hard - still pliable. Enough to make the front wheel misbehave though I'm picking.
Anyway - got the wheels home, got the rear on but am stuck on the front - for the 2nd time. Each time I drop off the front - I stuff up the caliper and can't get the wheel back on as the pads have moved in. I can sort it out by removing the caliper etc - but how should this be done? If I have a flat and want to do a roadside repair to the tube - what should I do? Should I be packing the caliper pads open with an insert before dropping the wheel?
Advice appreciated.

[flybox1]

shouldnt need to prop them open.
releasing all tension in the caliper adjusting bolt/spring should give you more space to slide the rotor in.

i would think that if you pads want to slide in when you remove the rotor, you've got excess pressure and are constantly rubbing/heating the rotor, and wearing it and your pads down...
check your pad wear....

oh...and if youve got a rotor slightly deformed, this might give you the shakey feeling, especially if you've got pad drag.

[MCRider]

I stick a tire iron shielded by a few layers of cardboard in between the pads and pry them apart, caliper on bike. Slow and steady leverage pressure to move the live pad and in turn its fluid back into the master cylinder. Should be able to get plenty of clearance that way. Be sure to pump the brake lever before riding to get the pads back where they should be.

Upon disassembly I slip several layers of cardboard in between the pads to keep them apart, and of course, hands off the brake lever.

[weekend_junkie]

I'm not sure if this is an approved method, but I take my biggest flat head screw driver and carefully coax the brake pads apart enough to get the disc in between.  Then some gentle *thwack**thwack**thwack* action on the front of the tire usually pushes the wheel and disc the rest of the way into place.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Check to make sure you didn't put the fork brace on the wrong side.

[nancy]

Fork brace? You mean the bottom clamp with bolts? Anyway I didn't get these mixed up - labelled them with arrows pointing forward and L and R side.
My rotor is not heating and wheel does free spin when chgecked off the ground with brakes operation - so I don't have brake drag.
From the comments about cardboard - I gather that my guess was correct and I should have packed the sucker out before the final drop out of the rotor. I'll try the cardboard and brutal levering tip 1st.
Thanks guys.
It's too cold to test ride anyway. 8 degrees celcius here at 8:39am Saturday.

[ekpent]

Not easy on the road but in the shop loosen the two large hex head bolts that hold the caliper together to get a little more spacing to slide the disc in.If your caliper has not been cleaned out in a few years would not hurt to give it a go with some freash fluids,they get pretty grungy inside and easy project.

[MCRider]

When levering, I like the tire iron over the screwdriver as it has a larger flatter surface to distribute the levering forces.

If you think about it, you don't want to apply force to the perimeter of the live pad, it will cock in its surroundings and bind a bit. Put the tip of the lever in the center of the pad, shielded with a sliver of clean sheet metal or cardboard so that you get a straight push into the caliper.

If the caliper/pad area is dirty, might be the chance to loosen the 2 bolts and separate the caliper as suggested, remove the live pad and clean around it.

But quick and dirty, the lever should work.

[mystic_1]

This is a bit hard to describe, but while you're rolling the front wheel out of the forks, you can sorta tilt it to the side a bit while the rotor is still inside the caliper, and it will spread the pads for you.

Front view, before:

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Front view, after:
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mystic_1

[nancy]

It's done. Took off the caliper, bled the system and pumped for 5 mins to get it going again. Fits OK. Twice bitten thice shy = next time, I'll stick a wedgie up that sucker..
Thanks for the feedback guys..now gotta scrub the slippery coating offa these new tyres B4 I hit the road so to speak..