Wheel Spline Questions

[mpilot]

I have a set of Lester mags that I am refurbishing. The drive splines on the coupler of the rear wheel are very worn and I would like to replace the coupler. Would this be easy to do myself or should I send it out to be replaced? If I send it out, who should I send it to?

TIA

[Wirespokes]

It is something you can do, but don't try replacing with rivets. I've heard that's a difficult one to get right - and that's an area where you definitely want it right!

But they can be bolted on.

Fill out your profile so we can see where you're from. That can help in our recommendations. If you can send it to Hansens in Medford Oregon, they can replace it for you.

[AntonLargiader]

Only you know if you can do the job. If you're great at old-fashioned riveting, you can do it. Or you can go with the bolt option, which isn't all that difficult. I rivet them myself but I don't recommend that to anyone. If you're close to Hansen's (Oregon) they are very experienced with this.

[disston]

I did this job on the rear hub of my R90/6. I used rivets. The rivets that BMW give you now are longer than the original. I had a friend helping me and figured he knew what we were doing. Turns out I was wrong. We put those rivets in with a 20 ton shop press. (getting the old rivets out is almost another story. It was also not easy.) Each rivet my friend and I installed was bent more than flattened. The drive hub has a small amount of radial looseness. Something I have always considered not to big a problem except that over time it should get worse and eventually this rear wheel will be unusable and unfixable.

This repair, if I can call it that, has been on my bike for 11 or 12 years. The hub still rotates a tiny amount in the hub. It actually has not gotten worse. I have always thought the axle positioned the wheel so the hub movement has not been a problem. If I was to do this job again, to another wheel, I would use the bolt method. I don't think I will ever try to save this wheel I have. If it ever needs repair again I'll throw it away and get another.

I think details on the bolt method are on Snowbum's Tech Pages.

[bmwhacker]

Originally Posted by mpilot

I have a set of Lester mags that I am refurbishing. The drive splines on the coupler of the rear wheel are very worn and I would like to replace the coupler. Would this be easy to do myself or should I send it out to be replaced? If I send it out, who should I send it to?

TIA

I'm in the exact same situation with my sidehack rig....someone told me one can acquire some "aircraft type" low clearance nuts / bolts...not sure what the proper terminology is or where to find them.......Torque ratings? Probably a good prospect for Red Loc-tite?

[batoutoflahonda]

They look like this and are self locking, no lock tight needed:

http://www.lasaero.com/site/products...le?id=G1PQFW4D

from here:
http://www.lasaero.com/site/products...y?id=S006O60CD

You could also use them with a hi-lock, which are an interference fit designed to work harden the hole as they go in. You need a minimum of 1 thread protrusion for the locking feature to work. (I guess they say if it's flush with the top of the nut now)

And yes, if the rivets are too long they bend over before they fill the hole, which is why your stuff is loose. The rivets need to swell in the hole as they are being "bucked" or set in metal. In softer material it's different story. You can cut, or file them down to make them work.

[disston]

Originally Posted by batoutoflahonda

And yes, if the rivets are too long they bend over before they fill the hole, which is why your stuff is loose. The rivets need to swell in the hole as they are being "bucked" or set in metal. In softer material it's different story. You can cut, or file them down to make them work.

I'm sure it could have been done better. We considered cutting them. They were too small to cut, no way to hold. Didn't have a machine that would do that for us. I did not understand the operation of a rivet hammer back then. My friend said the press would work.

It has not gotten any looser over the years. It rotates only, no wobble or side to side. The total movement is 1 or 2 degrees.

I don' think at this point it needs to be fixed. I might have to someday get another wheel. Or have one made from the parts I have.

[nhmaf]

What would be the proper bolts to use with these? Assuming matching thread, say, could any Grade 8 bolt that fit the available space work, or does it require higher standards?

[disston]

Here is the relevant page from the Snowbum site about rear wheel splines. The part that talks about which bolts to use is about 1/3 of the way down.

http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/rearwhlsplines.htm