Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet with the UCE engine => Topic started by: aikischmid on September 06, 2011, 10:39:07 pm
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Ok, so I removed my front wheel to attach one of those cool front fender number plates on my new '11 G5 Classic. I followed the instructions in the owners manual, and everything went perfectly, looks great. But when I reattached the front wheel and took the bike off the center stand, it felt like the front end kind of slumped down, and the front wheel just wouldn't move.
Has this happened to anyone else? Any idea what I did wrong?
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Is the brake disc between 2 brake pads ? Is the wheel straight ? Does the front wheel rotate when bike is on center stand ? Are the nuts tight ? Can you wiggle wheel when on center stand ?
Take a few pictures and post.
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Did you happen to hit the front brake accidentally when the front wheel was off? If so your caliper pistons may be a bit over extended. If repeatedly squeezing the brake lever and rolling the bike doesn't free it up. They may have to be pushed back in manually.
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I know the owner's manual mentions to be careful not to hit the front brake lever, so I thought I was real careful not to during the whole process - but I suppose I may have accidentally hit it. Umm, the wheel's nice and straight, but even on the center stand the front wheel just won't turn, like it's locked up.
That disc brake is on the LH side, and it didn't even get messed with during the whole wheel removal process. Could I have flipped the spacers around during the re-assembly? I'm wondering if I should just take it off and try the whole thing again? (I did take some pics with my phone, just waiting for them to get sent to my email...)
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Welp, if it is the brake pads squeezing on the rotor, you should be able to look in there and see it. Any space between the pads and the rotor? Can you slide a business card between the pad and the rotor ? The thinest feeler gauge you have? Get the idea? I'm not sure if the wheel would go back on centered, if you had the spacer's flipped.....
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Are you sure you put the axle and all spacers back in the proper order? That will always lock a wheel up for sure. Loosen the axle bolt and see if the wheel starts to come loose.
Scott
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I would think if the calipers had moved the pads out far enough to interfere with the disk it would have been impossible to reinstall the disk between them.
aikischmid
You did take a look at your new nuts and bolts on the number plate didn't you? They might be interfering with the front tire.
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I did try loosening up that main axle a bit, but that didn't do anything. I'm too much of a noob to really tell if the brake pads are squeezing on the rotor or not. The bolts from the fender plate are definitely not interfering with the tire.
A good buddy of mine has got many years of riding and wrenching experience, so he's gonna stop by within the next couple days and have a look at it. And since the weather forecast for the foreseeable future is nothing but rain and clouds, I guess that works out just fine.
Of course, when I figure it out, I'll post about it!
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Could I have flipped the spacers around during the re-assembly? I'm wondering if I should just take it off and try the whole thing again?
That is a good point. The spacer for the right side is different from the left side. Right side (Speedo hub side) spacer is a uniform round sleeve.
Left side (Disc side) spacer is a flanged bushing - 2 level surface.
Here are a couple of pictures.
The first one, starting from RIGHT side - Right fork leg, then Speedo hub drive, then right side spacer, then wheel -
coming to LEFT side - bi-level spacer (slimmer side faces wheel), then fork leg, then washer, then large nut.
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In addition to what Singh posted, make sure the two little tabs for the speedo drive are properly located in the two little notches on teh wheel. I'll try to post the exploded view from my parts catalog tonight,
Scott
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Remove the two bolts that hold the caliper on. Slide the caliper off the disk. If it won't slide off, you've found your problem, but I'll bet it will.
Then remove your axle and check the spacers and speedo drive. when you get all the parts assembled right, and the wheel will spin, tighten the axle nut, (make sure the tire still spins). Then replace the caliper. Do not tighten the bottom pinch bolts for the axle until you take the bike off the stand and work the forks up and down several times to align them. Tighten the pinch bolts.
Bare
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I just removed the front wheel and assembled it today in order to mount new tires. I recognized that it´s pretty easy to miss these speedo tabs. If you loosen the axle nut the speedo drive must spin freely. If it doesn´t, it´s tilted.
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In addition to what Singh posted, make sure the two little tabs for the speedo drive are properly located in the two little notches on teh wheel. I'll try to post the exploded view from my parts catalog tonight,
@Scott - The catalog and manual pictures are sometimes hard to see and are usually not so clear. But I have my own pictures in my collection (They are clear) so I am posting them here. It will save you some trouble of taking pictures of catalog and then posting.
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OK, so I must be getting somewhere. I removed the two flathead bolts on the side of the caliper. This revealed two hex bolts, that when loosened allowed me to spin the front tire.
So what should I do now? Should I stick something between the brake pads and the disc, and then tighten up those hex bolts again? And then try to remove the thing I stuck between the brake pads and the disc?
It's making some kind of sense to me... anybody know what I'm talking about? (Thanks again for everybody's help here!)
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The two scres are just covers for the bolts. Remove the bolts and you can take the whole caliper off. Do that and hang it by a wire so it's not hanging on the brake hose.
Then tighten up the front axle bolts. If it spins after tightening the caliper was the problem.
Look in the caliper, you should see the two pads. Put a large, clean screwdriver between them and wedge them apart gently. You will be compressing the pistons that press on the pads. Once there's plenty of room re-install the caliper making sure the disc goes between the two pads. Tighten the mouting bolts, put the cover screws back on. Does the wheel still spin? Good.
Now you'll need to pump the brake several times. It will go righ to the bar, don't be alarmed. You're just moving the pads back to where they need to be. Sooner or later it will catch and work again. I think you'll be ok now. Make sure to test it by pushing the bike by hand and using the brake to stop it before you go for a ride ;)
I suspect the disc is wedged in the caliper with both pads on one side, a minor re-installation mistake. Ask me how I know ;)
Scott
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Did you remove the brake assembly by taking the two bolts hat go through the fork leg brackets into the caliper? I'm not sure what bolts you removed. Are they the ones that release the pad caliper from the piston side, or the ones that remove the whole assembly? If you have removed the one side go ahead and remove the bolts that hold the whole assembly on, the two crown bolts that go through the fork leg mounts. If you have the entire side off you can just push the pistons back in by hand. If you take the caliper off intact, you can stick a screwdriver between the pads and give it a twist. If the brake was actually locking up the wheel there may be something misaligned there. When you get the pistons spread a bit reattach the brake assy to the forks. Then is the wheel still turning?
If you have tightened them, loosen the two pinch bolts on the bottom of the fork that tightens the axle on the opposite end of the axle from the axle nut. The axle nut should be tight. Give the brake lever several pumps to get the brakes operating again, then take the bike off the stand and, holding the brake, push the forks up and down several time to get them realigned. Retighten the pinch bolts. You should be ready to go.
Bare
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Good call Bare! I think I'm thinking of the two allen bolts that hold the pads in the caliper.
Ignore my earlier post, I haven't had enough coffee today.
Scott
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Scott,
I'd ask you how you knew, but I almost did the same thing. That was when I determined that removing the caliper when the wheel comes off was a much better option.
Bare
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Yeah, it's such a hassle to get the disc right in between the pads. Easier to yank the caliper, spread the pads, and just put it back with lots of room to spare.
Scott
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WE DID IT!
First of all I'd like to thank God, and my agent, my PR director, and my beautiful wife and family, but most of all I'd like to thank Ducati Scotty, SinghG5, Barenekd, and all my friends on the Royal Enfield Community Forum - I couldn't have done it without you. Oh and I can't forget to acknowledge Pete Snidal's UCE Bullet Manual for some great illustrations of the front caliper assembly.
So yeah, it's fixed. Thanks alot Ducati Scotty - I did just what you said, and it worked out just like you said. So I must've somehow activated that front brake when the front tire was off, and it got pinched and bound to that front disc. I just rode it around the block, and everything's back to cool.
Only 25 more miles and I'll be due for my first oil change (300 miles) - let's hope I can manage it without having to blow up this forum again!
Thanks again everyone - RE folks are GOOD folks!
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Good ridin', Dude! :D :D
Bare
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Glad it worked out and you're back on the road. There's nothing worse than a broken motorcycle in summer.
Scott
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Good on you and the forum - thats why when I put my front plate on the fender I lifted the fender up - supported it with 2 blocks and didnt remove the tire ! Too much work to take it off to drill two holes and put on the plate ;)
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WE DID IT!
Only 25 more miles and I'll be due for my first oil change (300 miles) - let's hope I can manage it without having to blow up this forum again!
Great work Aiki, saw the picture you have posted on Photo Gallery.
RE's moto "Converting riders into mechanics for the last 100 years" ;D !
About oil change, here is a link to a video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo0IW8JVS_I
Also there was a good write up by Arizoni on the forum that you can search or may be Arizoni can show you the link.
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I lifted the fender up - supported it with 2 blocks and didnt remove the tire ! Too much work to take it off to drill two holes and put on the plate
Unfortunately, for you G5 owners, that won't work. You can't get the bolts of the mounts because the wheel is too close.
Been there, done that. >:(
Bare
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So I successfully completed my first oil change at 300 miles. Nothing looked too bad or gnarly. A little paint, metal flakes. Tilted the bike back and forth a bit to try to get a little more out, was able to add about 1.7 liters of fresh 20/50 oil. Biggest pain in the arse was trying to get the spring-loaded cap mechanism back on after replacing the oil filter, but eventually got it done. Road it a few miles around town a little bit, no smoke or anything, rode great. So I take it I must've done it correctly!
Thanks alot Singhg5 - your video was especially helpful.
I'm considering ordering that EZ Oil Cap from NfieldGear (http://nfieldgear.com/enfield-store/e-z-oil-cap-uce.html)
Think it's a smart investment?
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Think it's a smart investment?
It'll save you most of the hassle you just went through the next times you change oil!
Bare