Clutch Spline Failure/Rebuild, Bolts Broken in Shaft Drive

[Bonesheal]

I have a new-to-me 2002 R1150R. I had ridden only about 400 miles on it over a couple of weeks before the transmission completely failed on the road. There is no drive, and I can't shift in to any gear. There is noise in the gearbox without the clutch pulled in, and it increases/changes when I pull in the clutch. I'm pretty sure, from what I've read, that the splines have been stripped on the transmission input shaft. I have modest experience taking care of much simpler bikes, after seeing what I have to do I realize I'm in a whole different league now.

So, I've been taking it apart this weekend. Everything went fine until I got to the rear wheel. I broke all four bolts that hold the wheel to the final drive. What did I do wrong? I took them off with a 24" breaker bar, while my son leaned on the brake.

What do I need to do to get these out?

[Bonesheal]

I'm sorry my first post here so baldly exposes my ignorance, I turned the bolts the wrong way until they broke. I sat there after I wrote the post thinking through the process and realized I'd been pushing down on the breaker bar. I got them out with a drill and a screw extractor.

[riceburner]

I'm sorry my first post here so baldly exposes my ignorance, I turned the bolts the wrong way until they broke. I sat there after I wrote the post thinking through the process and realized I'd been pushing down on the breaker bar. I got them out with a drill and a screw extractor.

oooops!


Has to be said - when I start getting heavy duty kit out, I always stop myself and ask "What's gone wrong here, why am I hefting a 6' scaffold pole....."

[kirby]

I'm sorry my first post here so baldly exposes my ignorance, I turned the bolts the wrong way until they broke. I sat there after I wrote the post thinking through the process and realized I'd been pushing down on the breaker bar. I got them out with a drill and a screw extractor.

Bugger!

You must have put some serious torque on those bolts!!!!

Remember "righty..tighty"

Glad you were able to extract the sheared one without too much drama! Live and learn.

[Bonesheal]

I guess what I learned is that I can make the most elementary mistake possible and have to pay closer attention.

[kirby]

I guess what I learned is that I can make the most elementary mistake possible and have to pay closer attention.

Amen!

[Sunbeemer]

In my shop there are some parts I've broken over the years hanging under a sign that says,
"THINK 1st!"

Sorry for your trouble...take a breather when things aren't going as expected!

[towerworker]

Bonesheal.....

Don't beat yourself up. I could near write a (probably) bestseller with all the dumb things I've done both on and with my bike as well as other hobbies I'm involved in. But I will say........I wouldn't want you mad at me........you must be darn big and hellishly strong to break wheel bolts!

Anyone can make a mistake like you did. Takes a hell of a BIG man to admit it on a public forum like this. You have my respect sir.

[riceburner]

That said, I have known some stupidly tight bolts.

We once had to undo the gearbox sprocket nut on my brother's ZX6R. We had a 6ft scaffold pole on the end of the breaker bar, with my entire weight on it, the end of the pole arced through about 45-50 degrees before the nut undid itself.

with me at 13 stone, the calculation works out at 1046.9092103861033Nm.

(from here http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/torq2.html
conversion here : http://www.convertunits.com/from/stone/to/newton).

[Bonesheal]

Thanks guys! The fact is, if I had figured it out before I had posted, I probably would not have confessed it here. I broke the bolts, then posted, then thought about what I had done.

[kirby]

Thanks guys! The fact is, if I had figured it out before I had posted, I probably would not have confessed it here. I broke the bolts, then posted, then thought about what I had done.

Hey, if you haven't put it back together yet I would recommend that you closely inspect the lug holes in the wheel for cracks! You put allot more than the 80 or so ftlbs of torque on the bolts, in fact maybe as high as double or triple the torque specified. ( If you have put it back together, if it was me I would take the wheel off again and inspect)

Check 'em OK! Loosing a wheel on the road might ruin your whole day!!

[CycleRob]

As a retired M/C mechanic I have some sound advice. Considering you broke not just 1, but all 4 wheel lug bolts with a 24" breaker bar, I suggest you automatically cancel any future wrenching plans . . . . as the consequences very likely will be a lot more expensive and/or dangerous.

[Bonesheal]

Hey, if you haven't put it back together yet I would recommend that you closely inspect the lug holes in the wheel for cracks! You put allot more than the 80 or so ftlbs of torque on the bolts, in fact maybe as high as double or triple the torque specified. ( If you have put it back together, if it was me I would take the wheel off again and inspect)

Check 'em OK! Loosing a wheel on the road might ruin your whole day!!

Will do, I won't get back to work on it until the weekend.

As a retired M/C mechanic I have some sound advice. Considering you broke not just 1, but all 4 wheel lug bolts with a 24" breaker bar, I suggest you automatically cancel any future wrenching plans . . . . as the consequences very likely will be a lot more expensive and/or dangerous.

Hey, you're not as nice as the other guys! When the first one was so hard, I wasn't surprised when the rest were just as hard.

[towerworker]

Well CycleRob is pretty much the respected expert on this forum. He's a really nice fellow and extremely knowledgeable on all things BMW. Pay real close attention to stuff he says. Sharp fella. (I am too........kinda sorta)

[riceburner]

When the first one was so hard, I wasn't surprised when the rest were just as hard.

How did you not notice that you'd broken the first bolt??

[peels]

Did you BREAK them, as in, snapped the heads off, or just STRIP them? How is that possible? Did you jump up and down on the wrench or something?

I cant believe you could break a lug bolt, and then keep trying on the others. STRIP them because your'e using the wrong socket, and too much torque...... MAYBE.

but.... even having the bike in gear, and the wheel on the ground it would turn that hub.

Man......If you seriously BROKE all 4 bolts.... I'm not sure motorcycle work is for you.

[Bonesheal]

OK, I'm not saying this isn't embarrassing, but here is clarification so you can know what you're laughing at.

I had so much trouble removing the wheel bolt that I went and got a breaker bar. The bolt was very hard to turn, but I did it, and it broke. I thought, "Huh--that was in so tight it broke instead of coming unscrewed." And then I did it three more times, then came inside to post a question about it, and as soon as I'd posted I thought about what I was doing and realized I'd been pushing down on the bar.



I realize that the time when y'all come to me for mechanical advice is not close at hand, but I'll take my deserved lumps and continue to look for solutions on this forum.

[kirby]

OK, I'm not saying this isn't embarrassing, but here is clarification so you can know what you're laughing at.

I had so much trouble removing the wheel bolt that I went and got a breaker bar. The bolt was very hard to turn, but I did it, and it broke. I thought, "Huh--that was in so tight it broke instead of coming unscrewed." And then I did it three more times, then came inside to post a question about it, and as soon as I'd posted I thought about what I was doing and realized I'd been pushing down on the bar.



I realize that the time when y'all come to me for mechanical advice is not close at hand, but I'll take my deserved lumps and continue to look for solutions on this forum.

Hang in there man, you learned something, just remember that if something is waving red flags and seems to not be right, take a break and think about it. Its a lesson we have all had to learn at some point.

:-)

[peels]

LOL man. you have the right attitude about it. we've all been there at least once. AND, were all RIGHTLY raked over the coals for it too! I don't care what they say. I spent 10 minutes on the phone with 3 parts suppliers once trying to buy spark plugs for a diesel engine. (shop class guys can be such jerks)

your'e obviously not scared of that work... tearing into the splines...you just started badly lol It's not as difficult as I thought, i did mine last winter (to check and lubricate) I did it differently than most. trans and rear swinger all yanked in one piece.



good luck!

[Bonesheal]

So starting out with such a dumb mistake really spooked me, thinking about all the things I could screw up on my way to getting the clutch in. However, after a year and a half I finally got it done and running today, after changing the clutch, putting in a new (used) transmission, and removing the ABS and charcoal canister. I've only ridden four miles because it's missing a couple of bolts in the footpegs. For the time being I'm checking the bolts in the back wheel after every ride to see if they are still torqued. So far so good, after 3 short rides.