Remove Front Wheel

Brock Kickass

Brock Kickass

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There must be instructions on here somewhere but I don't know if search is just crappy in Tapatalk or something because I can't find anything.
How do I take the front wheel off a GenII? Do I need a giant hex head? Anyone have any tips/tricks I need to be watching for? It should be a simple job but after looking at the hardware holding the front wheel on I figured I had better look it up and stupid search gave me absolutely nothing. I would line to accomplish this task with standard tools. I don't have a hex head in my kit as big as the one on the axle. Do I need to find one?
 
Also, I just realized I started this in the wrong spot. If one of the mods would kindly move this to GenII Garage/Mechanical Help I promise I won't do anything stupid again today.
 
Brock Kickass said:
There must be instructions on here somewhere but I don't know if search is just crappy in Tapatalk or something because I can't find anything.
How do I take the front wheel off a GenII? Do I need a giant hex head? Anyone have any tips/tricks I need to be watching for? It should be a simple job but after looking at the hardware holding the front wheel on I figured I had better look it up and stupid search gave me absolutely nothing. I would line to accomplish this task with standard tools. I don't have a hex head in my kit as big as the one on the axle. Do I need to find one?
Click to expand...

attach a pic, its been a while since I have seen how the front tire attaches to a fz1
 
Right fork:
busebure.jpg

Left fork:
y3aberyj.jpg
 
Would be perfect except my plug socket has the little rubber gripper inside that grabs the plug so that when you are working on a Civic you don't need a magnet to get the plugs up out of the heads
 
you need a 19mm allen hex. You can by them for 3/8" ratchets at cycle gear or motorcycle superstore:

Access Denied

Other than that loosen the 6 mm hex bolt first than remove loosen the axel, the brake calipers must come off to remove the front wheel.

Torque the brake caliper bolts to 40 Nm, the Axel to 72 Nm and the 6mm hex bolt after pressing hard down on the fork to settle the axle to 23 or 24 Nm.
It's really a piece of cake.
 
Half inch shaft bolt the head is the perfect size for it. I welded a jamb nut on mine but you may be able to gorilla grip some visegrips on the shaft and pull the axle that way.
 
Not sure why I can't thank posts, but thanks for the good info. I hate cowboying stuff, so I'll just have to buy the tool. Tell me more about having to pull the callipers to remove the front wheel.
 
Brock Kickass said:
Would be perfect except my plug socket has the little rubber gripper inside that grabs the plug so that when you are working on a Civic you don't need a magnet to get the plugs up out of the heads
Click to expand...

The rubber thing can be pushed out. I just went out an d bought the proper hex shaft socket attachment.

Brock Kickass said:
Not sure why I can't thank posts, but thanks for the good info. I hate cowboying stuff, so I'll just have to buy the tool. Tell me more about having to pull the callipers to remove the front wheel.
Click to expand...

Just remove the two bolts that hold the caliper to the swing arm lower on each side and carefully pull the caliper unit back and out of the way. I used bungee cords to hold them out of the way. Make sure not to accidentally squeeze the brake lever while they are off the rotors. Easy.
 
Oldschool said:
The rubber thing can be pushed out. I just went out an d bought the proper hex shaft socket attachment.
Click to expand...

It won't be the last time I take the front wheel off this bike so I'm just going to get the proper tool and be done. Does the wheel have to move over a bit to come off (not just drop perfectly straight down) and that is why the callipers have to swing up and clear of the rotors?
 
You should have the tool in your tool kit. You can almost disassemble the whole bike with the full kit. If not Harbor freight has a full set including the 19mm allen for like 20bucks
 
The wheel is wider than the space between the inside edges of the calipers. The rotors prevent twisting sideways to get it past. No good shortcut as the clearances are tight.
Yes the tool in the kit may work, but it is fairly crude and no comparison to a proper socket and ratchet or breaker bar.

 
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Brock Kickass said:
Would be perfect except my plug socket has the little rubber gripper inside that grabs the plug so that when you are working on a Civic you don't need a magnet to get the plugs up out of the heads
Click to expand...

The rubber part should come out easy enough, i just did mine last week.

Not sure about the Gen 2, but on the Gen 1 you need to remove the Brake Calipers first.
 
Oldschool said:
The wheel is wider than the space between the inside edges of the calipers. The rotors prevent twisting sideways to get it past. No good shortcut as the clearances are tight.
Yes the tool in the kit may work, but it is fairly crude and no comparispn to a proper socket and ratchet or breaker bar.
Click to expand...

Completely agree that the tool is crude and you should just buy a tool for the garage, but it does work fairly well. Using the provided extension and wrench you can turn it in small increments. At this point its good to know its there (along with all the other tools) in an emergency. Unfortunately that is how I learned it works.
 
I wanted to remove the front wheel of my 2009 FZ1 to take the tire off to change it as the tire had developed a dangerous bulge and I didn't want to chance a blowout riding it down to the dealer, but I could not get the axle to budge (yes, I loosened the pinch bolt first). No amount of WD-40 and hammering would get it to budge. The axle had not been removed in the five years from the manufacturer date so it was on TIGHT. In the end I had to ride it down at a slow pace. The dealer said the factory often tightens them a bit too much and after a few years they really freeze up. Just don't be surprised if you have difficulty getting it off, it depends on how long it has been on there. I tried the same trick that everybody mentions (spark plug socket turned around) but it just didn't work for me. Perhaps if I had a breaker,or cheater, bar I could have gotten it off, but a standard size socket wrench wasn't long enough. Good luck.
 
I think you go the right way. Always use a breaker bar and a good tool when working on high torqued bolts or nuts! The axel as well as the sprocket and other parts that are high torque need good tools so you do not damage the bolt or nut with cheap tools. The emergency tools under the seat are great in emergencies but please do not use them for regular maintenance they are very crude and will only work a few times and in case of a real emergency they might be already worn out and that can really suck if you get stuck in a remote place.

BTW always use a torque wrench to tighten the bolts, especially for things (like the brake caliper) that are kept by two (or more) bolts. Here the abolute torque is not the most important thing but that all bolts are at the same torque. Unevenly tightened bolts get loose much faster and more likely.
 
Bought the proper tools this morning and went at it. I put a lot of miles on, so everything had been off not too long ago. The front axle was a touch tight but it came free without too much trouble. With the wheels off, I figured it was a good chance to degrease the axles and associated parts and regrease them. I like to remove the grease because it gets rid of any grit that has accumulated. I also cleaned a few of those hard to reach places around the swing arm and cleaned up the sprocket while it was off.
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