Summary of recent work:
- Repaired center stand mounts, re-installed Reynolds ride-off stand
- Lube bushings with red lithium
- Added lock washers
- Used Blue Loctite on center stand bolts
- Repacked front wheel bearings: NLGI 2 with moly
- Replaced right seal (original missing spring)
- Re-used left seal (only managed to order one)
- Mounted and balanced new front tire: Metzler Lasertec 3.25h19
- Balanced with 40g
- New Tube
- Tire Pressure:
- Front: 34 psi
- Rear: 37 psi
- Front wheel and axle:
- Axle nut torqued to 26 ft-lbs
- Axle clamp torqued to 11 ft-lbs
- Re-installed Exhaust
- Installed New Exhaust Nuts
- Used red-copper anti-seize on the exhaust nuts and on the mufflers.
After problems I documented in a previous post with what was supposed to be a factory center stand I re-installed the Reynolds Ride-Off center stand. I used the bushings from the factory stand to replace the broken bushings. The bushings were lubed with red lithium grease. I installed the bolts with blue loctite (instead of red) and added BMW lock washers. The decision to use blue was to allow the stand to be more easily removed later for painting or powder coating. I purchased new bolts and springs for the center stand. The new bolts are pre-coated with red loctite, so I held off using them. The Reynolds stand stretches springs more than the factory stand, so I’ve saved the new springs for installation at another time.
With the center stand installed I could work on the front wheel. I installed a new tire and tube, and then balanced the wheel. While the wheel was out I inspected and greased the bearings. As you can see from the pictures below, the bearing races are in great shape. I packed the bearings with fresh moly-enhanced NLGI 2 multi-purpose grease and installed a new seal on the right side. I was going to replace both seals, but somehow only one got ordered (or was delivered). The right seal was missing the spring. I’m not sure about the left seal spring, but since I only had one new seal, it was a moot point.
As noted in a previous post I had to destroy the exhaust nuts to remove the headers. I purchased new factory nuts from Max BMW, who’s service, by the way, I was not very impressed with. I’m even less impressed with the new nuts. They felt significantly lighter. In fact they’re 12% lighter. The old nut weight 94g, the new, 83g. From the picture you can see why. The fins are both thinner and shorter. This reduces their heat-conduction effectiveness and makes them more susceptible to breaking, the later of which I suspect was BMW’s primary motivation, that and saving a few pennies in materials. The new nuts were installed with red-copper anti-seize. I’ll be loosening and re-coating those on a regular basis. These exhaust nuts aren’t cheap. Given another chance, I wouldn’t buy BMW exhaust nuts. On the plus side, now that the bike is 22g lighter it should be significantly faster.