Cam Sprocket Bolt Removal

[Phil Y]

All, I'm on the fence. Have several good ideas for proceeding but all have the potential for making the bike unrideable without some professional machine shop ($$) intervention. For right now, I think I'll button her up and be happy with "stock."

In retrospect, I did a few things wrong:

First, I had the trans in first gear as instructed. Even with my wife standing on the rear brake, the engine turned--put the trans in 5th or 6th, not 1st.
Second, before I cut off a piece, my hex wrench was long (about six inches), making for a sloppy fit and axial play.
Finally, when I fitted the electric impact wrench, it appears that I didn't have it completely seated to the bottom of the hex hole, even though I thought I did.

If I were to try to do the other side, I'd invest in a high quality, e.g., SnapOn, 8mm hex wrench fitted to a socket, even though I couldn't find one listed on their site.

Anyone want a set of Lennies sprockets for $125, including shipping in the U.S.??

[ROXTR]

Am I the only one that had T50 torx bolts on my sprockets and not allen bolts? I put in a set of Lennie's 2nds about two weeks ago on my 05 Rockster and struggled to break the bolts free on the stock sprockets. The left side broke free with a loud snap and went back together without issue torqued down to 60Nm. The right side was the opposite, I ended up snapping 2 T50 sockets in half and putting a twist in a 3rd one. This was after heating up the bolt with heatgun. When the 3rd socket twisted it marred up the bolt a bit, but it eventually broke loose and I was able to torque it back down to 60Nm during the reinstall.

[phoenixtexoma]

A dealership wrench can loosen the bolts for you and get you a new set probably at not too much expense. The TRW allen head tool I used had a very tight fit, and I used a 30" Craftsman break-over bar. But, if this is making you uncomfortable, you're probably right about just buttoning it back up.

[Guest24]

Don't sell your sprockets now. Hold on to them until the winter. If you had put them in they wouldn't be available for sale at this point. If you live close to another pelican maybe he could stop by and help you out. Try to work through this and you'll be glad you did.

[Phil Y]

ROXTR, can you give us an assessment of the sprockets. Worth the effort??

[phoenixtexoma]

I'm not ROXTR, just noting that there are plenty of evaluations on the forum about the sprockets. Best money you can spend on this particular bike.

[ROXTR]

I'm going to hold off on my review until after I adjust my valves (they're getting noisy again, and ever so slightly beginning to surge). But it does feel a bit punchier around the 3800-4000rpm mark. Also like Lennie advertises, it does seem to require less twist of the wrist to achieve the same thrust as before.

[lennie]

Phil,

There are many good suggestions here to remove the bolt.

I would try to have a large nut mig welded in place and remove the bolt that way. I would make up a coned protector out of a beer to cover from the cam to the access hole to stop anything getting intot he engine. The heat from the welding will also free up the loctite to aid in the removal. Use a length of pipe over the breaker bar and be sure to support the pivot point firmly with your other hand.

All the other ideas are good as well but this is a quick and simple way to get it out.

In all the years of selling the sprockets, this is the first time I know that this has happened.

What I can say is with all the sets I have changed there have been times where I have been very wary of applying any more pressure even with a pipe over the extension bar. When they break loose finally the noise is quite frightening.

As an example.

I went to the Sunshine coast 4 years ago for my brotehrs 50th. I met a customer with a R1150RT and after great effort I refused to apply more pressure and left it up to him to break the bolts loose. They did come loose again with the loud crack.

We started to remove the bolts on my brothers R1150R and thet would not come loose.

2 bikes and 2 different torques or loctite to hold the bolts in.

Since moving to Melbourne I have fitted 2 sets to a R1200GS and a R1200S and both came loose without too much difficulty.

As phoenixtexoma says, try to get the sprockets fitted as you will definitely have a different bike to ride.

A guy in Romania Dan Cata who does the throttle body rebuild kits installed a set. He now uses 5.3 ltrs/100 km down from 6 ltrs/100 km or an 11.5% improcement and this was 2 up riding over varied types of road and speeds.

Hang in and keep trying.

[phoenixtexoma]

Lennie & ROXTR: I've never used Locktite, just proper torquing to the specified amount in the manual. Have about 34k miles on the sprockets with no problems. I really like the use of Lennie's pin rather than that tiny stock tab.

[phoenixtexoma]

P.S. I removed the K&N and added an electrostatic air filter to the super induct to basically double the air flow. Robert will kill me, but I removed the FRK when I installed the K-Bike fuel regulator and Collins 271 injectors.

[boxercup]

Originally Posted by phoenixtexoma

P.S. I removed the K&N and added an electrostatic air filter to the super induct to basically double the air flow.

Robert will kill me,

but I removed the FRK when I installed the K-Bike fuel regulator and Collins 271 injectors.

Greetings phoenixtexoma,

Under the terms of our agreement, I have just issued Executive Order 4304-FRK-Death Reprieve.

In summary you are correct as your bike would be over-fueled by the cosmic E85 and Nitro mix that you are running - with your other ingenious underlined items above.

You may dispose the supplied Pentobarbital Sodium in an environmentally safe way and you don't have to worry!

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BTW, phoenixtexoma, my back thanks you for your rubber mesh seat pad! I use it on my desk chairs so my back does not scoot forward!

Keep on inventing!!!

[phoenixtexoma]

Robert: I'm sending you a couple of free pads, reply with your zip code. I may have it on the box. You're right, the bike was running too rich, a lot easier to remove the FRK than the K-Bike regulator and I didn't want to let go of my Collins injectors. The Brisk DOR14LGS plugs are burning perfectly, altho I've been told they're a heat range too hot. Nonsense, I can hold my hands on the valve covers after a hard run in 95 degree temps here in Texas. Here's the right one at many thousands of miles.

[boxercup]

Greetings phoenixtexoma,

Thanks for the offer of the pads but I have sourced them and they are already fit to my task chairs.

Molto apprezzato il Professor!

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The plugs look great!

No indexing necessary with these plugs !

Be well, keep inventing and enjoy life!

[phoenixtexoma]

Robert: No need to reply, just a note that I fabricated a spark plug tool from a kit, welding a socket on the top so you could use a 1/4" drive torque wrench, rather than spend that ridiculous amount BMW wants for a spark plug tool. Alas, it didn't sell. With the mixture I'm running, the bike will easily redline in top gear, but I got that stupidity out of my system when a deer jumped across the road about 30-40 yards in front of me last fall.

[boxercup]

Greetings phoenixtexoma,

Send me the info with pictures-price per the spark plug tool.

I will review and see if I can give it some exposure as thanks for removing my back pain.

[phoenixtexoma]

Robert: I can't get the picture to upload (not the first time). It's a standard $10 tool kit spark plug tool with a 10 cent steel washer welded to it, with an inexpensive 1/4"-drive socket extension welded to the washer. The extension was about 50 cents, from a cheap tool place, I'm sure much cheaper in bulk. If you want to do something with this thing, go with it.

I've written a novel (The Chicken Plucker Ballroom) and have an agent in California. There's where my interest is focused right now.

[phoenixtexoma]

Robert: Sent the pic via e-mail since the site won't download it.

[lennie]

phoenix,

Most of the installs I have done the stock bolts have some sort of thread lock from the factory and they all take varying degrees of effort to break loose.

[phoenixtexoma]

Lennie: There wasn't any threadlock on my stock bolts, but there WAS a scary bang when they broke loose. So I installed your sprockets without it also. Have checked the tightness 2-3 times in 30k miles with no variance. On the tightness side, that is, I wouldn't dare attempt to loosen them. They are holding at exactly 49 ft. lbs. each. My instinct tells me that after 30k miles, they aren't going anywhere, especially the way I ride the bike. Now that you've gotten me paranoid, will check again since it's been about 11k miles.

[phoenixtexoma]

P.S. I use a 30" breakover bar, Craftsman I believe.