The day before yesterday I managed to rip the valve from my tube, so I figured as I would need to take the rear wheel off I will take the opportunity to fit a rim lock and new tyre. So I took the wheel off last night and have a couple of concerns that I am hoping some of you experienced guys can help me with.

When I tried to slip the wheel back in as a test, I could not fit the brake disc in between the brake pads. Will I need to remove the pads to refit the wheel?

And on the brake pads, I have never changed pads before, and I figure now might be a good time to check and change them if necessary. Do you have any hints and tips for me? According to the manual I just:
- remove the calliper cover then some pin,
- slip the pads out,
- push the piston in with my finger as far as it will go,
- put an anti-rattle spring in,
- then the new pads,
- and put the pin back in.
Is that about right? No bleeding or anything necessary?

And back to fitting the wheel up again, should I put some fresh grease on the axle shaft before putting it back in?

Thanks for your help in advance guys.

 

Flat head screwdriver to remove the "cap" that cover the allen head bolt, this holds the pads in. The other side hooks in. Push the piston in, replace pads, put bolt then cap back, put wheel on, pump the brake pedal. your done.

If you don't replace the pads it's easier to fit the rotor in if you spread the pads apart EASILY with a screwdriver. then remember to pump the pedal otherwise you'll end up in the ditch.

Wheel spacers are Right and Left sided they should be marked if you mix them up.

I always clean and grease the axle, it can get stuck.

 

The caliper does not self retract so you may need to use a C clamp to push the caliper all the way in before putting the tire back on. If it came off without removing the pads, you should be able to put it back on without removing them also

Changing the pads is very simple, probably more simple than a car. The vendor manual gives pretty good details and if you have slight mechanical ability, you should be fine. No bleeding required since you will not be breaching the fluid system.

As far as the grease goes, it's always good to regrease bearings, I recommend marina grade grease which is water resistant and will keep your bearings a little happier.

Cheers,

Anthony

 

Thanks for the advice guys. Refitting it turned out to be a lot easier than I expected in the end. Wedging the pads apart gently with a screwdriver did the trick and after that it was pretty easy. Except for aligning the wheel properly. The 2010 model doesn't have the snail adjuster - it just had a bolt on each side that you screw in/out. The first time I tightened everything up then had a quick test ride, the chain made a hellava noise. So I rechecked the alignment visually and made a small adjustment - seems a bit better now but I still don't think it's 100%.

As a side note, the D606 rear feels a bit higher but is surprisingly stable at higher speeds on paved road. Can't wait to see what the improvement is like offroad ompared with the stock tyres.

 

Motion Pro makes some very nice tools to work on bikes, once every couple of months I reward myself with a new MP gizmo.

This one is really handy for visually checking proper rear sprocket alignment.



--
Mikko

 

That's an ingenious little tool indeed! I'll see if I can do a bush-mechanic version of it when I get home tonight

I also came across this video on You Tube to get your wheel alignment correct. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB4Ds...eature=related
It seems the simplist solutions are the best. To align it just measure the distance from the swing-arm bolt to the axel bolt and make sure it's identicle each side. Also like the suggestion of putting an 8mm wrencg in the chain to take up the slack once it's aligned before tigtening the axel bolts to make sure the wheel doesn't shift back at all.