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I went for a ride on Sunday from my place to the Vines Resort (Perth Western Australia) to see some friends and show off my recently aquired 1980 GS1000G.
Just a few hundred metres from my destination I rounded a corner and the back end wobbled all over the place. I instantly new something was wrong and looked down to see a flat tyre. I pulled up on the side walk and soon found the head of a nail sticking out of the rubber.
Well I never thought I would be glad to have picked up a nail but it turns out I am. Here's why....
I removed the rear wheel following the intructions in the manual as I have never done so on a shaftie before. It all went smooth except I was concerned when I found the rear axle nut was loose and basically being held by the cotter pin. I took the wheel to a bike shop and had it repaired and balanced. The trye was brand new, obviously put on to sell the bike and I have only done about 1000km on it.
When I put the wheel back on the bike I found as soon as I tightend the axle nut I could no longer turn the wheel. This did not seem right to me.
I checked the forums here for any ideas and things to check for.
I could not find anything wrong on the outside so I took the wheel off again. I looked at it every which way until I noticed there was no spacer against the left bearing. I am an electronics technician not a mechanic but I know enough that I thought there should be a spacer up against the left bearing to stop the wheel sliding along the axle. I even made measurements of the hubs thinkng that perhaps the design was such that the hub assembly some how provided this function but that did not compute!
I checked the drawings in the parts manual and I could not find part number 7, the left hand long spacer, that the drawing suggested should be there. It appeared to be missing from my bike.
This would explain why the axle nut was loose because when tight the outer hub of the drive assembly and the hub of the rear wheel would be squeezed together jamming the wheel.
Luckily on Saturday, the day before the flat tyre, I bought and collected an almost complete 1979? GS1000G initially intended for parts although I did get it running so I might restor it yet. I pulled the rear wheel from it and noticed its axle nut was tight but the wheel was free. As soon as I dropped the wheel I could see the long left hand spacer where it should be according to the drawing.
I took the spacer and installed it in my other GS and did up the axle nut. Now the rear wheel turns freely when the nut is tight and there is no side ways movement.
Had I not picked up that nail in the tyre I might not have discovered the missing spacer for quite sometime. It appears there has not been any but I hate to think what damage could have been done if it had been left for some time. Perhaps the spacer was misplaced when the previous owner had the new tyre fitted.
So now I am looking for a new spacer to put back in the other GS1000G.
Just a few hundred metres from my destination I rounded a corner and the back end wobbled all over the place. I instantly new something was wrong and looked down to see a flat tyre. I pulled up on the side walk and soon found the head of a nail sticking out of the rubber.
Well I never thought I would be glad to have picked up a nail but it turns out I am. Here's why....
I removed the rear wheel following the intructions in the manual as I have never done so on a shaftie before. It all went smooth except I was concerned when I found the rear axle nut was loose and basically being held by the cotter pin. I took the wheel to a bike shop and had it repaired and balanced. The trye was brand new, obviously put on to sell the bike and I have only done about 1000km on it.
When I put the wheel back on the bike I found as soon as I tightend the axle nut I could no longer turn the wheel. This did not seem right to me.
I checked the forums here for any ideas and things to check for.I could not find anything wrong on the outside so I took the wheel off again. I looked at it every which way until I noticed there was no spacer against the left bearing. I am an electronics technician not a mechanic but I know enough that I thought there should be a spacer up against the left bearing to stop the wheel sliding along the axle. I even made measurements of the hubs thinkng that perhaps the design was such that the hub assembly some how provided this function but that did not compute!
I checked the drawings in the parts manual and I could not find part number 7, the left hand long spacer, that the drawing suggested should be there. It appeared to be missing from my bike.
This would explain why the axle nut was loose because when tight the outer hub of the drive assembly and the hub of the rear wheel would be squeezed together jamming the wheel.Luckily on Saturday, the day before the flat tyre, I bought and collected an almost complete 1979? GS1000G initially intended for parts although I did get it running so I might restor it yet. I pulled the rear wheel from it and noticed its axle nut was tight but the wheel was free. As soon as I dropped the wheel I could see the long left hand spacer where it should be according to the drawing.
I took the spacer and installed it in my other GS and did up the axle nut. Now the rear wheel turns freely when the nut is tight and there is no side ways movement.
Had I not picked up that nail in the tyre I might not have discovered the missing spacer for quite sometime. It appears there has not been any but I hate to think what damage could have been done if it had been left for some time. Perhaps the spacer was misplaced when the previous owner had the new tyre fitted.
So now I am looking for a new spacer to put back in the other GS1000G.
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