place the bike on the center stand, remove the mounting bolts that hold the pipe and swing it out of the way. Then loosen the lug nuts and remove the wheel. Removing the Front Tire
I don't have a front stand anymore so I used a block of wood and a sissor jack, just let the block rest on the header pipes, that is how it is described in the owners manual. Before you lift the bike, Remove the Calipers from the forks first, Left side has 2 hex key bolts, the right has 2 10mm bolts. remove them then loosen the 4 fork pinch bolts at the bottom of the forks. Unscrew the axle bolt, mine was on like a Mutha, It was too tight, but I managed to get it off by getting a pipe for leverage, I almost lifted the bike off the center stand so be carful when loosening that bolt. Once you have that done raise up the front end, then remove the axle, if you have a rod you might have to pound it out, just don't go crazy or damage the treads where the bolt screws in. Remove the wheel. Do not squeeze the brake lever while the caliper is off!
I used my handy dandy Miguel balance, 2 jack stands and gravity, I spin the wheel several times to find the heavy spot then move the clip on weight to balance it. Came out fine!
When replacing the wheel and before you tighten down any of the bolts you must check the brake disk for clearance with the brake pads with a feeler gauge (.028") check to see if the gauge slides in easy if not spread the forks apart or together until the proper space is availible for the disks, then tighten down the bolts!
I just re-installed both wheels on my '03 non-ABS. I'm a worry-wart and am concerned that the axle on the front wheel isn't in the fork all the way - is this possible? Or is the spacer on the right side of the bike bigger than the left side? I took her down the street for some fuel and a test spin, and the new tires and brakes seem to be working great.
Am I safe? I just don't want my front wheel flying off tomorrow on my 55 mile trek to work.
I'm assuming if somthing was wrong, I would have felt it on my test ride.
Just curious if the front axle bolt is a reverse thread or regular. I've been pulling like crazy and..........nothing. Maybe I just need to pull like a Man??? I didn't want to strip off the corners of the bolt by pulling the wrong way. :blink:
Time to put on the MAN pants and grab a breaker. I have stripped of a reverse nut in the past and didn't want a repeat. Thanks. .....................now to find a good piece of pipe.
both of mine are regular. Once the axle bolt is out, just pull the axle out by rotating it. I put a slim screwdriver in the whole on the end to aid in turning it out.
Note about the front wheel; I found it very helpful to remove the fender; there are just four small bolts holding it on, so it comes off and goes back on in no time, but really opens up the space.
Also, be sure to check the gap between the caliper and the disk as the manual and HS state; upon putting mine back on today I found that the outer side on the left had no clearance. It took some pretty good muscle (pulling the fork with my right hand and pushing against the wheel with my left) to get the necessary clearnance.
pseal, Mar 4 2006, 06:46 PM Note about the front wheel; I found it very helpful to remove the fender; there are just four small bolts holding it on, so it comes off and goes back on in no time, but really opens up the space.
Also, be sure to check the gap between the caliper and the disk as the manual and HS state; upon putting mine back on today I found that the outer side on the left had no clearance. It took some pretty good muscle (pulling the fork with my right hand and pushing against the wheel with my left) to get the necessary clearnance.
Payne
Also, be sure to check the gap between the caliper and the disk as the manual and HS state; upon putting mine back on today I found that the outer side on the left had no clearance. It took some pretty good muscle (pulling the fork with my right hand and pushing against the wheel with my left) to get the necessary clearnance.
Hello all,
I'm a new member to this board since recently acquiring my 04VFR. I am remounting my tires and came across this info about the caliper / rotor clearance thing and I have a few questions. 1. Does this clearance apply to the 02-05models? 2. If so, could someone please elaborate a little more on what needs to be measured here? The reason I ask is because normally when you re-install the caliper you might have to spread the brake pads a little in order to get the caliper to slide down on the rotor. In this case the brake pads are not in contact with the rotor until you squeeze the brake lever and force the pads to mate back to the rotor. So where does the .028" clearance come into play. Any advice / pictures would be sincerely appreciated. Also, can someone advise me of the torque specs for the bolts that mount the caliper to the fork? 4 bolts total, two per side, two allens and two regular.
I'm a new member to this board since recently acquiring my 04VFR. I am remounting my tires and came across this info about the caliper / rotor clearance thing and I have a few questions. 1. Does this clearance apply to the 02-05models? 2. If so, could someone please elaborate a little more on what needs to be measured here? The reason I ask is because normally when you re-install the caliper you might have to spread the brake pads a little in order to get the caliper to slide down on the rotor. In this case the brake pads are not in contact with the rotor until you squeeze the brake lever and force the pads to mate back to the rotor. So where does the .028" clearance come into play. Any advice / pictures would be sincerely appreciated. Also, can someone advise me of the torque specs for the bolts that mount the caliper to the fork? 4 bolts total, two per side, two allens and two regular.
Many thanks for your help.
vfrvern
Do yourself a big favor and invest in a service manual. It's the best money spent on your VFR. As far as the clearance goes, It's my understanding that it is the clearence between the rotor and the inside of the caliper, not the inside of the brake pad. You are correct, once you pull the brake lever a couple of times you won't be able to slip even the smallest feeler between the pad and rotor. The service manual recommends that you bounce the forks and pull on the brake lever a few times before tightening the last pinch bolt and measuring clearence.
Torque specs I don't remember off hand. If you do a search you might find a link to download a service manual, it was posted a month or so ago. I bought mine from the dealer, $50 spent, smart money.
Just for the record I have ordered a manual however in the mean time...the photos do not show both wheels removed simultaneously, I presume that when the rear is removed before the front that it is then front heavy and the weight is taken by the jack. Then reassemble in reverse order.
HispanicSlammer, Jul 22 2002, 08:23 PMHow to remove the wheels The procedure is well documented in your owners manual page 171.
To remove the Rear tire,
(IMG:http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/uploads/tires/tire03.jpg) place the bike on the center stand, remove the mounting bolts that hold the pipe and swing it out of the way. Then loosen the lug nuts and remove the wheel. Removing the Front Tire
I don't have a front stand anymore so I used a block of wood and a sissor jack, just let the block rest on the header pipes, that is how it is described in the owners manual. Before you lift the bike, Remove the Calipers from the forks first, Left side has 2 hex key bolts, the right has 2 10mm bolts. remove them then loosen the 4 fork pinch bolts at the bottom of the forks. Unscrew the axle bolt, mine was on like a Mutha, It was too tight, but I managed to get it off by getting a pipe for leverage, I almost lifted the bike off the center stand so be carful when loosening that bolt. Once you have that done raise up the front end, then remove the axle, if you have a rod you might have to pound it out, just don't go crazy or damage the treads where the bolt screws in. Remove the wheel. Do not squeeze the brake lever while the caliper is off!
I used my handy dandy Miguel balance, 2 jack stands and gravity, I spin the wheel several times to find the heavy spot then move the clip on weight to balance it. Came out fine!
When replacing the wheel and before you tighten down any of the bolts you must check the brake disk for clearance with the brake pads with a feeler gauge (.028") check to see if the gauge slides in easy if not spread the forks apart or together until the proper space is availible for the disks, then tighten down the bolts!
cozye, Mar 23 2006, 09:19 AM Do yourself a big favor and invest in a service manual. It's the best money spent on your VFR. As far as the clearance goes, It's my understanding that it is the clearence between the rotor and the inside of the caliper, not the inside of the brake pad. You are correct, once you pull the brake lever a couple of times you won't be able to slip even the smallest feeler between the pad and rotor. The service manual recommends that you bounce the forks and pull on the brake lever a few times before tightening the last pinch bolt and measuring clearence.
Torque specs I don't remember off hand. If you do a search you might find a link to download a service manual, it was posted a month or so ago. I bought mine from the dealer, $50 spent, smart money.
Thanks cozye,
Yeah, I am working on getting a manual. I've always had a manual for all of the bikes I've owned. I'm just pressed for time (track day coming up this weekend) and figured I could get away with a simple tire change. I'm glad I found the vfr discussion board!!
Looking at the calipers there seems to be only one place at the top of each caliper where you can take this measurement without the pads being in the way. I'm going to make adjustments from this point and go with it.
Noob wrench here. Cost savings has me doing my tire change myself for the first time ever. All is going wonderfully but there is one question. The front wheel is back on and the clearance between the disk and the caliper is well within spec however, there is no clearance between the disk and the pads. Is this the way it is suppose to be? Owners manual says the wheel should spin freely but there is definately some drag when i spin the wheel. 2004 non abs, btw.
did you squeeze your brake lever at all while tires were off? Wheel spacers are all correctly seated etc. Large one on the left side as you are looking at the front?
I was careful to NOT squeeze the brakes while the wheel was off and the larger spacer is on the left while looking at the front. I'm assuming from your line of questioning that a slight drag between the brake pads and disk is not normal?