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Author Topic: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1  (Read 2533 times)

Offline Justin B.

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R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« on: March 17, 2007, 04:58:50 PM »
Stainless steel has to be one of the coolest things ever invented!!!   ;D  It looks sooo much better that rust...

I whittled out a rear axle yesterday and I'm pretty pleased with the cosmetics, except it makes the rest of the bike look that much nastier...  :-[

Ken (from OK) was down here Monday and we were sitting around talking about pretty much anything Beemer related and I told him I was going to turn out some stainless rear axles and always thought that the big external attaching nut detracted quite a bit from the overall clean line of the final drive.  I told him I was thinking about drilling and tapping a hole in the end of the axle and securing it with a bolt like was done on the later Airhead front axles.  We kicked the idea around and finally decided that this fastener really didn't have any stress on it to speak of so the bolt should be just fine.

Here is rev. 1.0:



This is installed with new pinch bolt:
  


And here is the other end looking much more streamlined with the bolt and custom machined washer:



I used an M8 bolt in this version but I may re-bore and tap for an M10 bolt.  I think the M8 will be plenty strong but the M10 may look better...

All-in-all I'm pretty happy with the results and it will NEVER rust!
« Last Edit: March 17, 2007, 05:00:26 PM by admin »
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Justin B.

2004 BMW R1150RT
1981 R100RT - Summer bike, NEKKID!!!

Offline Ed Miller

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2007, 12:46:44 AM »
That looks nice.

The only stress I can think of the nut having is enough to preload the wheel bearings correctly.  The pinch bolt is what keeps it from falling out.  I think the later wheels whence you got the idea have different bearings than our rear wheels do.  I doubt that makes any difference, I just wanted to mention it.  I've never even seen one of them, that I noticed anyway.

As you tightened that bolt, did you wiggle the wheel slightly to be sure you were taking up the wheel bearing play?  I just don't know if that set up would give the same feel upon tightening as the nut/washer combination does.  I guess getting the length of the axle perfect would be slightly more important, or am I misunderstanding how things work?  Wouldn't be the first time.

Of course, you have to make them for the front axle too!
 ;)
« Last Edit: March 18, 2007, 01:17:53 PM by Ed_Miller »
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Ed Miller
'81 r65
Falls City, OR

Offline Justin B.

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2007, 08:43:34 AM »
Yeah, I'll give it the wiggle test tomorrow.  Seems like a lot of discussions with Duane A. indicate he feels that most folks tighten the axle nut way tighter then needed so we'll see.  Ya gotta admit, the bolt and vbeveled washer look a helluva lot better than the nut!
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Justin B.

2004 BMW R1150RT
1981 R100RT - Summer bike, NEKKID!!!

Offline Ed Miller

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2007, 01:23:56 PM »
I'm not knowledgable enough to agree or disagree with Duane, but what he says makes sense to me, so I don't torque mine, I just tighten it until the free play goes away.  I'm sure it's much less than ...18 foot pounds?  ...now I can't remember what the listed torque for that nut is, anyway.  

And yes, I think yours looks better than the original.  I think the vendors who sell ss axles still use the original style, which would make yours better.

Do you always orient that tommy bar hole in the axle vertically?  I keep mine horizontal so that I can fit the tommy bar (a long bolt, actually) into it to work the axle out.  Your way might keep mud and water collecting, which would help slow down rust, but that's not a factor for you any more, is it?   ;D

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Ed Miller
'81 r65
Falls City, OR

Offline Justin B.

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2007, 01:42:31 PM »
Seems I remember the dealer telling me (I bought a /7 new in '78) their preference was to keep it vertical for the reasons you speculated.  But, you are correct, it wouldn't matter on this one.  ;D

I ordered some M10 bolts and a tap and will go to the bit beefier retaining bolt.  Although I think this one will be fine the M10 will at lease make it LOOK more robust and proportional!  ;)
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Justin B.

2004 BMW R1150RT
1981 R100RT - Summer bike, NEKKID!!!

Offline MrRiden

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2007, 04:18:24 PM »
My what nasty wheels you have! The axle & custom end do look good.
Rich
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"We can't stop here. This is bat country".

Offline Justin B.

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2007, 08:02:46 PM »
From the sadly neglected e-Bay LS...  :P
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Justin B.

2004 BMW R1150RT
1981 R100RT - Summer bike, NEKKID!!!

Offline nhmaf

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2007, 08:56:36 PM »
You just might have some potential sales in this, Justin.
I've got to spend a chunk of money on my LS to get it ready for spring, but
I'd consider a shiny new custom rear axle for it if you start taking orders
later in the year...
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Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours

Offline Semper Gumby

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2007, 08:59:08 PM »
Seems like I torque down the end nut before tightning the pinch bolt.  I never wiggled.  The clymer says nothing about wiggling.   :-/

Nice looking axle though.  Really.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2007, 09:01:51 PM by Semper_Gumby »
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Offline Justin B.

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2007, 09:42:18 PM »
In case nobody has ever read Duane's method of all things "tapered wheel bearing" you might want to take a look.  It is specifically geared toward the /5 but the same bearings were used up till the monoshock bikes.  From reading through this again it sounds like around 20 lb/ft is about what he is shooting for.  This link is everything you always wanted to know about this stuff but was afraid to ask! http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/wheel_bearing/  The wiggle/shake test procedure is down in there somewhere...
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Justin B.

2004 BMW R1150RT
1981 R100RT - Summer bike, NEKKID!!!

Joan

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Re: R65 LS rear axle rev. 1
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2007, 02:52:23 PM »
Quote
My what nasty wheels you have! The axle & custom end do look good.
Rich

+5!

As usual, Justin's work is finely crafted. Tasty wheels indeed! Well hit!  ;D
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