I spent the day working on replacing all three tires (the spare tire remains a Duro HF308). I used my full range of tire changing gear and had no major issues. I did however, manage to bend the metal rod that comes with the Harbor Freight Tire Changing Tool. Dang cheap chinese steel! :)
Oh, I did manage to rip one inner tube on the first tire change though, but since I had spares, no big deal.
I must say, I really love the mojo lever (which I slightly bent the tip on as well) to remove the old tires. I remain ecstatic about the No-Pinch tire tool to put the new tire on the wheel! Awesome tools to use in conjunction with a tire changing tool/station.
Disappointingly, I found the final drive splines and pusher wheel splines dry as a bone with
a light coating of rust! It appears I need to check for the existence of grease more
often than every 5000 kilometers! For the record, it had been 4500 km since I had to swap
my pusher wheel for the spare because of a flat during the Ural National Rally Day ride.
The sidecar wheel hub splines and drive splines had grease, I put more on.
A blurry (sorry) view of the dry hub splines on the pusher wheel.
Note how the splines are now field-replaceable without having to replace
the entire hub as on the older models with the drum brakes.
One unpleasant surprise, since I was removing the final drive to check the grease on the main driveshaft (it was good to go, but I re-coated it anyways), I found the grease zerk on the u-joint missing!
I knew it was a 6mm Grease Fitting (zerk) from previous experience so
a quick dash (by car, oh the shame, but it was snowing) and I got a pack of
replacement zerks. I used blue loctite to make sure it stays in place.
So, all u-joint zerks re-greased, splines checked on both the main and sidecar drive shafts. The splines showed evidence of grease, but now they've been re-coated.
In the process of put everything back together I found while remounting the sidecar brake caliper that one of the two mounting holes on the mounting plate which holds the caliper had stripped threads! Dammit.
So, two options at this point, disable the use of the sidecar brake until I could get a helicoil kit to fix the stripped threads on the mounting plate......or
Find a thin nut and use it to secure the bolt in the stripped mounting hole for now until I find a helicoil kit.
I opted for the second option as you might surmise since I hate not having a fully functional rig, especially with all the beautiful snow that fell all day as I worked. Tomorrow will be a snow-riding Sunday for sure!
The brass colored nut now holds the M10x1.25 bolt securely.
It's not quite the right thread pitch, so I will get a similar sized nut
with the 1.25 thread pitch.
Yep, took all day but I tend to be very slow and methodical when wrenching to avoid buggering things up through rushing things. Kind of bugs me the threads on the brake caliper mounting plate were stripped, I try to be very careful about putting bolts/screws back in place. Oh well. Now I get to learn how to use a helicoil repair kit I suppose.
Scarlett now has new shoes, three Heidenau K37 tires, she's ready for more snow and the upcoming Elephant Ride in February. Not only that, but the spline lubing is done before the upcoming 15000 Kilometer Service Interval. Note: Current mileage on Scarlett: 14,479 Km.
Previously: First Riding of 2015
8 comments:
I guess the stripped caliper bolt isn't a warranty item. Does the caliper need to be pulled every time the wheel is removed?
Anything that utilizes something known as a zerk probably should not be allowed to operate on a public highway. Just saying...
Changing tires on the Vespa -- time for the snow tires. My process was somewhat simpler that yours.
Step 1: Put tires in back of Honda Fit.
Step 2: Drop tires off at Kissell Motorsports.
Step 3: Ask them to mount tires on scooter after the new fuel pump is installed.
I will admit I admire your determination to work on the URAL and BMW but it's one of those things I only seem to admire in others.
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
Sounds like it was a good thing you decided to change up the tires.
Nope I don't it is a warranty item RichardM, and yes, on all three wheels....sigh, progress? I will look for helicoil for long term fix perhaps but current fix will do the job, don't you think?
Steve, I thought about your method more than once yesterday but my way I know the wheels were inspected, the rubber belt covering the spoke heads which keeps their metal edges away from the inner tube are in good order, and I do have the tools.
Most of the time taken was in lubing operations and disassembly/assembly to get at stuff.
VStar Lady, agreed, I must inspect pusher wheel splines more often, I would have spotted the missing zerk at the 15k km service. Now checking for it will become part of weekly checks!
Are your tire choices limited by the size? or just price? could the price reflect their durability and performance?
Diamond Dave, URAListi are indeed limited by tire size due to clearance for the drive shaft. 4.00 x 19 is optimum. Also, the pusher or rear tire on the motorcycle wears out much faster due to loads and job.
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