Flat #1

[97tiger885]

The riding gods have been kind to me so far this year.  Trial 1 was Memorial Day weekend when the clutch cable on the K100RS partially tore in CT.   The gods were kind because it happened a mere 5 miles fromt the rally site I was heading for and not crossing the GW Bridge or some such nightmare of a place.  I did what all right-thinking riders do in this situation. I stopped and bought beer in case I was stuck at the rally site.  I managed to limp in.  At that point I realized my cabinmates were aliens when they asked what I was going to do and they realized I was not one of them when I told them I was going to drink a beer and put on the spare cable.  Who other than aliens don't carry a spare clutch cable?Back to the point.

Trail 2 is now.  I came out this morning and the front tire on the Tiger was flat.   This was a joke on the gods' part because Sunday I was telling a friend I had never met anyone who had a flat on the front and it was a kindness because it happened at home.  Yesterday, I was banging around on logging roads 50 miles from home.  I need advice on removing the wheel and tire and replacing the tube, tire and wheel. I haven't done a tube in 25 years.  I am tempted to patch the old one for practice and put it back in.  What about rim tape?  Do I need to replace this?  Do I need to remove the calibers to remove the wheel?  I do have the repair manual which I have yet to look at for tube repair.  

Flat number one occurred at 13 months and 21,000 miles.

[Mustang]

the axle nuts are 22 mm and it's a lot less time consuming to go ahead and take the calipers off now instead of later after you try and get the rotors thru them and hold the speedo drive and wheel spacer all at the same time , you will take the calipers off in the end anyway .

if out on the road/trail and you get a flat a patch is ok , but in the comfort of the garage use a new tube just to be warm and fuzzy .
the rim rubber should be fine ...........

[97tiger885]

I managed to get the front wheel off and the tube in.  I learned two things.  My spare tire kit is adequate for getting the tube in but it is not for removing the front wheel.  The BFH I carry despite the head shakes proved crucial not so much for breaking the bead as for hammering the tire iron around the rim.  Without the hammer, the 240 mm irons are useless and the tire is not getting over the rim.  The caliper bolts are torx which I do not carry but an allen key works in the field.  The philips screw holding the speedo cable is nicely recessed so that only a person with the strength of ten ordinary men or an off-set screwdriver can remove it.  I have added an off-set to my toolkit.  I did not own 22 mm wrenches of any kind, but 7/8 is close enough for the front axle bolt in the field.  I bought a 22 mm socket for proper torqueing, but have added two ancient 7/8 inch wrenches to the tire spare kit for emergency use.  

It is now clear I am not prepared to remove the rear wheel.  I have not done that yet.  It looks like three things have to happen:  (1.) Removing the rear caliper, same torx as above; (2.) Loosening the two pinch bolts, same torx as caliper (?), and (3.) Removing the rear axle bolt.  It looks like the rear axle requires a flat-head screw driver to remove the metal clips and two sockets to reach the RECESSED axle bolt head and nut.  (What were these guys smoking?)  I need to size the  bolt head and nut.  After driving the bolt out, I assume you move the wheel forward to allow the chain to come off of the sprocket.  Are there spacers or other things that fall out at this point?  Is this right so far?  Anything else have to happen to remove the rear wheel?  Anything especially difficult in reassembly?

[JetdocX]

Don't forget to put two allen wrenches in your kit to tension the chain when going back together.

What were they smoking???  It's really sad that it takes eight tools to remove the rear wheel.  And that none of the tools is useful for removing the front wheel.  British engineering, i guess.  Don't go on tour without a support vehicle. :roll:   That totally explains Ewan and Charlie's touring habits.   :lol:

[Sin_Tiger]

What were they smoking???  It's really sad that it takes eight tools to remove the rear wheel.  And that none of the tools is useful for removing the front wheel.  British engineering, i guess.  

This was late 80's design remember, by then they had moved on from smoking to the serious stuff you just snorted  :shock: British engineering is done by comitee, "Oh bugger, we've forgotten to design somewhere to plug the kettle into when we need a 'brew"  :lol:

[coachgeo]

Don't forget to put two allen wrenches in your kit to tension the chain when going back together.

What were they smoking???  It's really sad that it takes eight tools to remove the rear wheel.  And that none of the tools is useful for removing the front wheel. ...

Can anything be drilled out and tapped new so things match better or completely front and back?

[JetdocX]

No.  Edge distance becomes a structural issue when drill everything out to a 22mm hole. :lol:

[97tiger885]

I have now read the repair and owner's manual.  

The pinch bolts stay-initially anyway.  The axle takes 19mm, not 22 as on the front.  I managed to remove the rear calipers.  If I am reading the manual correctly, the top bolt gets torqued to 28Nm and the bottom to 40Nm.  Is that right?  I really struggled to get the top one loose.  I was afraid I was going to snap off the head.  (There is precedent for that.) Luckily, it came loose and I am now drowning everything in antiseize.  

It took me a while to figure out which way the axle bolt was in.  I used the diagram in the manual.  Is there a way to determine which is the nut side and which the head side by looking at the bolt.  I haven't looked carefully but they looked the same to me.  I had to use the largest ratchet I owned and it was a struggle to break that nut loose.  I managed with one socket on the nut side.  I am hoping that was not luck and I will not ordinarily need a second socket on the head side to hold it.  If so, it becomes a two-person job and it means I need to carry two large ratchets.

By that time, I was done and it was getting late, I didn't take the axle out and the wheel off.  I will do that sometime in the next week.  How do I drive the axle out?  Can I use the ratchet on the head side to pull the axle far enough out to grab it or do I need a drift of some kind?  This mc is the opposite of the K75.  Rear wheel removal was a 5 minute snap with  that mc.  

One other thing: Does either the repair manual or owner's manual specify the size of the tubes for the tire sizes?  I did a quick look.  The repair manual directs you to the owner's manual and I didn't see anything at all in the owner's manual.  Do folks have a preferred brand of tube?  My local dealer is using Kenda.  The replacement I used was Metzler.

[JetdocX]

Use whatever tube gives you the warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I don't bother removing the real caliper when removing the wheel.  It's not a big deal to line it all back up when going back together.

The axle should slide right out unless it has rusted itself in place, then you will need to thread the nut back on (avoiding thread damage) and use a drift to drive it out.

[coachgeo]

No.  Edge distance becomes a structural issue when drill everything out to a 22mm hole. :lol:

well.... but 22mm everywhere would certainly lighten the bike up though!!

But actually was thinking of the other thread holes like the torx bit bolts mentioned.  

Just curious cause it could be something I could do while the bike is all apart and various parts are being machined for my engine swap.

Open to suggestions on common bolt(s) and thread(s) to go too (if at all possible) as I machine things.  

While Im machining things.... any ideas on what I could possible change (with in reason, dont want to redesign the good things Triumph did) that would make maintainance, field repairs less of a headache?

[oxnsox]

While Im machining things.... any ideas on what I could possible change that would make maintainance, field repairs less of a headache?

.... change to a bicycle     :lol:  :lol:

[coachgeo]

While Im machining things.... any ideas on what I could possible change that would make maintainance, field repairs less of a headache?

.... change to a bicycle     :lol:  :lol:

8) hmmm half day commute time at few MPH on a bicycle or ... half hour commute time at 70mph hmmmm...   think I'll stick with MC. :idea:

Anway, bicycle  defeats the part of the quote you left out "with in reason, dont want to redesign the good things Triumph did"

[JetdocX]

No, you just can't really fix what's been knackered by the designers.  Get used to it, and roll with the punches.

[coachgeo]

No, you just can't really fix what's been knackered by the designers.  Get used to it, and roll with the punches.

Amen Brotha :D

[Bruincounselor]

No, you just can't really fix what's been knackered by the designers.  Get used to it, and roll with the punches.

Amen Brotha :D

Says the man who will bin the triple and go Diesel.......
:roll: