| Author | Message | ||
     Hogluvr |
Wow, even Court has gotten in on this. I'm humbled  Please, please, puhleeeze, don't fine me with more Team Elves stuff. I'm losing my job again, & I think I still owe you from the last time  | ||
| Bad_Bart |
Why am I not surprised?  | ||
| Hogluvr |
Sorry to offend you Bart. I don't have my bike or a service manual sitting in front of me. I'm not a professional mechanic, just the backyard variety. I would rather ask stupid questions than pretend to be an expert. That's why I'm on this board, asking the people I consider to be the REAL experts... On the other subject, the reason I am losing my job is because the company that bought us out (yes, the same French company that bought out my previous employer of 11 years and shut them down, then recommended me for my current job) felt it would be more profitable to consolidate our manufacturing facility with our other facility in California. I am one of 68 people who are losing their jobs at the end of the month. So, if I feel in any way responsible for losing my job, it is only because I was ignorant enough to accept it in the first place. I felt it was better than accepting unemployment... I'm not sure why I feel I owe you an explanation anyway. I aplogize for bringing bad vibes to the board... Mike | ||
| Hogluvr |
Well, I've come to the conclusion that it's been a bad day: 1) I get insulted by someone who calls himself Bad_Breath or Butt_Breath or something like that (yeah, I know, it's DOT 5 brake fluid - well, EXCUSE ME)... 2) Once again, after numerous attempts, I still cannot get the caliper off. I tried angling it upward like Dan suggested, but to no avail. I tried keeping it in line with the wheel like Henrik suggested, but again, no luck. I made sure to look at what Al was talking about, but it's just not going. I will BET that it is simply a matter of getting just the right angle on it, but after almost an hour of eyeballing and fussing around, I have given up for the evening. I guess I just don't have the "Buell Zen" or something lately. The one conclusion I HAVE come to is that I can't for the life of me see where the pistons come into play. I am clearing them from the rotor completely at any possible angle. I think I may be going about this all wrong, because it still seems to me like the lower "ear" that bolts to the fork, hitting against the rotor, and the innermost upper portion of the caliper, hitting against the rim, are where my problems lie... 3) I went in the house in search of my digital camera to take a couple of pictures showing what I was attempting to do, in the hopes that someone could point out what I was (obviously) doing wrong. As luck would have it, the batteries are dead, and I'm just too dog tired to run down to the store tonight... With this in mind, I have decided to admit defeat (for now), hang up my tools for the evening, and join in an intense game of "Demolition Derby: Thomas-the-Tank-Engine-vs.-RC-from-Toy-Story" with my two-year-old... Talk to you guys later (well, most of you anyhow) Mike | ||
| Al_Lighton |
Mike, You are using THIN tape to protect your wheel, right? The clearances are THAT tight. But it WILL come off. You might be able to use a file with it in place and LIGHTLY dress the one corner of the caliper. But I gotta believe after doing it a few times and seeing how perfectly aligned it needs to be to come off that you just haven't hit the right angle yet. You've got a 98 rotor, right? One other possibility, rather than loosening the rotor-to-wheel bolts ( a task that will likely dwarf this caliper removal task, with a 50% chance you'll bring the wheel to a welder to weld hex nuts onto the flat head screws), is to remove two of the bolts that go thru the ferrules I referred to ealrier. I'd bet that will buy you a tiny bit of rotational freedom and lateral displacement on the rotor itself, and the caliper will slide right off. I've not tried this, it's a guess. I replaced my 98 rotor with a 2000 spec rotor, and those ferrules aren't removable now. Al | ||
| Hogluvr |
Al: I am using masking tape (admittedly, I am paranoid about scratching my wheel & may have two or three layers in that area), along with a VERY thin styrofoam sheet (maybe 1/16" thk.). The styrofoam will compress to paper thin (trust me  ), and even though I am close, I don't think removing this will help me out enough to get her off. I have been thinking along the same lines as you more and more, considering loosening the fasteners between the rotor and the carrier. I think Jmartz suggested this earlier. I saw some posts from Henrik that made me shudder, but I think his difficulty (and yours also I assume) was removing the bolts holding the carrier to the wheel, not the rotor to the carrier. Unless someone else has another suggestion, I will play around with it a little more in my spare time before moving on to loosening up the rotor-to-carrier bolts. Will this present a problem? They look pretty easy to get to, and there are nuts on the back side, so I won't have to rely on putting all the torque on an allen wrench. Thanks Mike | ||
| Al_Lighton |
First thing I'd do is get that masking tape and styrofoam off and use plastic shipping tape. You won't scratch the wheel thru it. And you need the clearance, it is THAT tight. Al | ||
| Hogluvr |
Al: Are you talking about the clear plastic stuff? What an excellent suggestion, I would've never thought of that! O.K., anything's worth a shot at this point, I will let you know what happens... Mike | ||
| Loki |
Mike, you got mail Loki | ||
| Jmartz |
Hoglvr: Those cone bolts are a bear to remove most of the time. Ping me off line for my method if you want to go that route. The PM caliper comes off easily on 1996 and 1997 models. In 1998 Buell went to the Nissin caliper that will not easily come out of there. If you remove the top of the reservoir you might be able to push the pistons on the left side in all the way for more clearance. | ||
| Hogluvr |
Loki: Thanks, I'll have to check it when I get home this evening... Jmartz: I'll ping you if I decide that is the only way to go. I'm only gonna do it as a last result, when I've exhausted every other option. Something tells me I'm only going to end up with more trouble if I go that way. It still seems like the pistons are not getting in the way, it is the sheer bulk of the upper portion of the caliper, as well as that doggone lower ear, that is causing my frustrations...  Mike | ||
| Blake |
Hogluvr: Al is so right. If you leave just a single layer of tape, your caliper will come off easy as pie. | ||
| Hogluvr |
Blake: You and Al seem to be in total agreement on this one. I still think it has more to do with "operator error" than anything else, that somehow I am not going about this in the right way. I feel deep down there is some "magic angle" I need to find in order to remove it, if this is at all possible. It seems hard to believe that eliminating a couple of mils worth of tape thickness will provide the clearance I need, but that is why I ask the experts. It is obvious that everyone is coming to the same conclusion: it IS a tight fit. I like the shipping tape idea. It should provide the protection I need without the bulk, and I will give it a try... Mike | ||
| Hogluvr |
4:55 Hogluvr stops at WalMart & picks up batteries for his digital camera. 5:15 Hogluvr arrives home Hogluvr: "Hi, honey, I'm home." Yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah, kiss, kiss. "The guys on Badweb gave me a great idea to get my caliper off. Where's the shipping tape?" Wifey: "Gee, honey, I used the last of it the other day." (Re-read first sentence)  5:45 Hogluvr eats dinner. 6:03 Son wants to go on bicycle ride. "Hey, I don't have the tape, so I can't work on the Buell, so what the heck." 6:07 Hogluvr & son go bike riding... 7:00 Hogluvr arrives home. "Well, I can't work on it, but I can still take some pics. Hopefully, someone will tell me what I am doing wrong (or right?). I'd better take that stoopid styrofoam sheet off of it first, it makes it kinda hard to see what's doing..." | ||
| Hogluvr |
Damn Let's try that again...  | ||
| Hogluvr |
Oops, guess that was BEFORE I took off the stoopid styrofoam I wonder if, if I angle it this way, yeah, and give it a little tug...  | ||
| Hogluvr |
HOLY SH  T!!! It's off!!  | ||
| Hogluvr |
You guys are awesome!  Al & Blake were right! (I would also like to give credit & special thanks to Henrik, Dan, Jmartz, Ara, Loki, Aaron, Court...Gee, I hope I didn't miss anyone...I would like to thank the academy...) Oh crap!! I just thought of something... 1) I still have to get the tire off. I hope it's nothing more than two pinch bolts & the axle, and... 2) I have to put the frickin' caliper back on  | ||
| Hogluvr |
Anticipating a beautiful day in Ohio tomorrow, and knowing his precious S1 is temporarily out of commission, Hogluvr prepares his "Stealth Buell", the 1998 FIREHOG...  | ||
| Hogluvr |
Internet connection: $9.95 Last minute run to Sears for metric allen-head sockets: $27.99 Time spent B.S.ing on internet trying to get this stoopid thing off: worthless Getting the stoopid thing off: PRICELESS  | ||
| Henrik |
Awesome, Mike - congrats  Henrik | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Hey Mike, I thought I heard cheering from the east earlier this evening! Feels good to finally get it off right! Brad | ||
| Loki |
Ahh another sucessfull surgical strike. | ||
| Andys |
You see, that's the difference between me and everyone else here, damn the stupid wheels, they're for holding sticky tires. Not for looking at (is that why my PMs no longer shine?) I just take the damn thing off. "Protect" this! No wonder I was confused. I couldn't understand why the caliper wouldn't come off, as mine just slips right off after the pads are removed. Lazy Ass, Andy | ||
| Blake |
Thanks for sharing your caliper trials. I'm still chuckling at your well timed humor. | ||
| Blake |
Andy: He is still suffering from chromitis excessivus. He'll soon ween from those dark and evil ways.  | ||
| Hogluvr |
Blake: You are absolutely right, as evidenced from the "FireHog". As far as weening off the shiny stuff, I'm afraid that is highly unlikely with two Hogs in the garage. Oh, and if you think this chrome obsession got started by Harley, you've never seen the engine on my 'vette, have you?  I have been a good boy with my Buell, seeing as the only piece I have replaced so far has been the muffler, and that was with a V&H can. I'll admit, though, she would've REALLY stood out with a set of chrome fishtails! Mike | ||
| Caboose |
It's time to replace the worn Dunlop D207's on my X1. I'm wondering why my bike with a 5.5" PM rear wheel comes from the factory with a 170/60 rear instead of a 180/55? Aren't the 170's designed for a 5" rim and the 180's for a 5.5" rim? My concern is that the 170 is "stretched" to fit the 5.5" rim, affecting the bikes handling characteristics(not that I've noticed any flaws). | ||
| Sandstorm |
Hey Buellers...Sandstorm has a small problem but can't figure it out. Last summer my speedo cable went. Due to the small tab breaking that's attached to the gear housing that connects to the wheel.(Did you understand that???) During the winter months I replaced it with a new cable. I just got it back on the road again for the spring and I only got 50 miles, and the damn tab broke on the new cable!! I'm not sure!!! Could it be my front bearings wearing out?? Hook me up with some clues | ||
| Kevinhern |
It's almost time for new tires for me as well. Has anyone tried the new Dunlop 220 (205 replacement)? I also hear that the Avon is a dual compound tire (harder in the middle and softer on the sides). I've gotten about 5,000 miles out of my 205's. How do the Avon's compare with the 205's. I like the idea of a dual compound tire. Any finally, the tire I REALLY want is the new Metzeler Sportec but I'm affraid it will wear out too fast. For those of you running the new Metzeler, how's it wearing? Thanks Kevin |
