Article [13] ST1300 - Maintenance - Front & Rear Wheel Install and Front Axle Animation

[Igofar]

Right I figure it was mud guard, fork brace and break line support causing some misalignment.
What could be the consequence of this? Need I loosen all that and reset the wheel?

Standing by the

 

[shadowknows977]

Looking to confirm tool sizes for the front and rear axle
Front - 17mm hex for the left side of the axle and 21mm (22mm?) socket for the right side?
Rear - 27mm socket

 

[Igofar]

To remove the front wheel you’ll need a 6mm Allen socket for the pinch bolts(if civilian model) and SMC mounting points, and a 12mm socket for the right caliper mounting points, and the pinch bolts on PD models, and a 17mm axle tool, and a 22mm socket.
For the rear wheel you’ll need a 27 mm socket, 8mm Allen socket to hold the axle, 14mm socket to tighten stopper plug BEFORE axle nut is tightened, and a 5mm Allen to remove all the pad retaining pins unless it’s an 08 or newer, then you’ll need an 8mm wrench.

 

[Sidekick]

Larry is just indefatigable and always accurate...

Thank you sir!

 

[MSgt-R]

Another great "save your butt" article!
The last associated front fork PITA I've done was my V65 Magna. The ST is generations removed from that.
Thank you. I had to change the front tire on it just yesterday (used bike purchase). Got it all in right, but have lots of new-pad drag. I'll loosen up the axle and do these steps again. MUCH better than the cryptic manual, for sure!

Thank you.

 

[Honda-st-team]

Nice !!!!!

 

[Bright Rider]

Thanks to all for the advice. I have to change the rear wheel on my new to me bike for the first time. This article and additional input provide me with the information and confidence to at least try to change it myself.

 

[Sadlsor]

Just take your time.
I bet you'll come to appreciate the no-chain approach.
It's a luxury I've come to take for granted.

 

[Sidekick]

I am maybe missing something obvious or just not understanding the purpose of the process.



I have been watching this a hundred times and I still can't understand the logic.
How can you modify the alignment of the wheel when:
- the right side of the axle clamp on the right fork leg shoulder stop and the right spacer and then the bearing on the hub shoulder
- the left side of the axle have a shoulder pushing on the wheel spacers and the left bearing
I don't see any play possible or the wheel being able to move laterally in any direction?
The only thing I see able to move laterally is the left fork leg axle support from the vertical play of the tube, not the wheel.
Were is the variable or possible play?

 

[jfheath]

It is to make sure that everything is settled into its proper position

The axle which is clamped to the right fork leg, can be twisted slightly in relation to the left hand fork leg, or the fork legs can be strained slightly - think of the fork leg as a separate component and it is secured to a fixed axle by its pinch bolts. the fork leg is in an upright position, not attached to anything else. The axle is held firmly . It cannot move. Now imagine pushing on the top of the fork leg - trying to move it like a clock hand from the 12 oclock position. You will have some success. Some reasons:

The axle will twist slightly. Yes, metal bars will twist. Think torsion bar suspension, beam type torque wrenches
The moving parts will exhibit some 'play'
The fork leg and tube will bend slightly.
Fork legs were not facing quite the same way - one is pressing on the back of the axle, the other on the front.
Fork legs were not quite level - one pressing on the top of the axle one on the bottom

Those tiny misalignments could be locked in place by friction and the weight of the motorcycle.

As soon as you clamp the left fork leg, the tiny misalignments are locked in place - so before you do that, you bounce the forks a few times to help the components to settle into a more relaxed position. To overcome the friction and take the weight off the front wheel momentarily.

Have you ever seen a motorcyle after a drop. Forks and wheel seem to be twisted, but sometimes they are not damaged. The forks have twisted in their tubes, the axle has rotated on one side, and one fork has compressed more than the other. And the tubes have twisted in the yoke. All that needs to be done is for everything to be undone, rearranged and tightened up again

You must have got on mechanical weighing scales, looked down and thought - thats not right. So you get off and try again. Or you put a foot in the scales and take it off quickly to make sure that the mechanism is free to move. Then you try again and all is well with the world. It shows the correct reading.

What you are doing with the scales is exactly what you do when bouncing the forks. Freeing things up making sure that they are moving properly, before applying the final securing bolts to lock the settings into position.

Now if only weighing scales had such a locking device ...

 

[Sidekick]

It is to make sure that everything is settled into its proper position

The axle which is clamped to the right fork leg, can be twisted slightly in relation to the left hand fork leg, or the fork legs can be strained slightly - think of the fork leg as a separate component and it is secured to a fixed axle by its pinch bolts. the fork leg is in an upright position, not attached to anything else. The axle is held firmly . It cannot move. Now imagine pushing on the top of the fork leg - trying to move it like a clock hand from the 12 oclock position. You will have some success. Some reasons:

The axle will twist slightly. Yes, metal bars will twist. Think torsion bar suspension, beam type torque wrenches
The moving parts will exhibit some 'play'
The fork leg and tube will bend slightly.
Fork legs were not facing quite the same way - one is pressing on the back of the axle, the other on the front.
Fork legs were not quite level - one pressing on the top of the axle one on the bottom

Those tiny misalignments could be locked in place by friction and the weight of the motorcycle.

As soon as you clamp the left fork leg, the tiny misalignments are locked in place - so before you do that, you bounce the forks a few times to help the components to settle into a more relaxed position. To overcome the friction and take the weight off the front wheel momentarily.

Have you ever seen a motorcyle after a drop. Forks and wheel seem to be twisted, but sometimes they are not damaged. The forks have twisted in their tubes, the axle has rotated on one side, and one fork has compressed more than the other. And the tubes have twisted in the yoke. All that needs to be done is for everything to be undone, rearranged and tightened up again

You must have got on mechanical weighing scales, looked down and thought - thats not right. So you get off and try again. Or you put a foot in the scales and take it off quickly to make sure that the mechanism is free to move. Then you try again and all is well with the world. It shows the correct reading.

What you are doing with the scales is exactly what you do when bouncing the forks. Freeing things up making sure that they are moving properly, before applying the final securing bolts to lock the settings into position.

Now if only weighing scales had such a locking device ...

I always took literally the notion of "front wheel alignment" and there is not a such thing on the ST. The right hub shoulder/bearing is the only absolute centering point and there is no optional way to modify it. If I now understand the mounting process correctly, it is more a structural alignment of the front end.
Thank you so much for taking the time for answering my question.

 

[CruisingDog]

Very good info. Recently purchased my first ST1300 and it needs both front and rear tires. Ordered tires but stealership wants an arm and a leg to install so I'm going to do it myself. I have more time than money sort of speak and at least I will know that it's done right.

I’m in the same boat this year (this week in all likeliness). Did it go smoothly ? LMK if there’s anything particular to watch out for since I’ve not done this on the ST1300 before.

 

[jfheath]

I always took literally the notion of "front wheel alignment" and there is not a such thing on the ST. The right hub shoulder/bearing is the only absolute centering point and there is no optional way to modify it. If I now understand the mounting process correctly, it is more a structural alignment of the front end.
Thank you so much for taking the time for answering my question.

Yes - I suppose so. But if you get it wrong, the wheel ends up out of alignment. 'Alignment' is a state, not a process like turning an adjusting screw.

There are things that you do when installing the front wheel to make sure that the wheel isn't installed out of alignment - but I have covered most of these already. The one that is often not understood is the correct order for installing the bearings - because only one bearing is driven up against a shoulder in the hub. The other isn't - and it matters which one you put in first.

But they don't jump out and switch sides overnight when you are not looking. (Unlike some of my tools).

 

[CruisingDog]

Is axle grease required ? I don’t see anyone mentioning it.

 

[jfheath]

I lightly smear the axle just to prevent corrosion. It doesn't move and nothing it is in contact with moves so it isn't for lubrication.

 

[Sadlsor]

I'm half-OCD, and I hit the rear axle for the same reason.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Is axle grease required ? I don’t see anyone mentioning it.

Covered in Honda's standard operating procedures which states;
Coat the axle shaft with a small amount of grease.

It doesn't state what kind of grease but that isn't critical as the main purpose of the grease is to prevent corrosion, not to provide lubrication.
My recommendation would be any rubber safe water-proof grease, such as automotive wheel bearing grease.

 

[CruisingDog]

Covered in Honda's standard operating procedures which states;
Coat the axle shaft with a small amount of grease.

It doesn't state what kind of grease but that isn't critical as the main purpose of the grease is to prevent corrosion, not to provide lubrication.
My recommendation would be any rubber safe water-proof grease, such as automotive wheel bearing grease.

Perfect. Thanks.

 

[jfheath]

I'm half-OCD

Sure that isn't 0.4974 ?

 

[CruisingDog]

Animated sequence to show the correct procedure when installing the front wheel into the forks of a Honda ST1300.

The right hand side of the bike is the side with the brake lever. Left is the clutch lever side. This is the convention used in the Honda manuals.​

The video and the photo below are both shown as if looking at the front wheel from in front of the bike. So the brake lever side of the bike is on the left of the image.​

The spacers that sit between the fork and the wheel hub can be fitted in 4 different ways, only one of which is correct. The other 3 will cause damage.
Mine are easy to spot from the polishing of the dust seals on the spacer - but beware using similar marks if your bike was bought second hand !



Below are two pdf documents on installing the front wheel and rear wheel respectively.
(Just updated 1 Aug 2020) - 57 downloads of previous versions)

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Other related articles:

ST1300 - Fitting Wheel Bearings - What the manuals don't tell.
ST1300 - Front wheel bearing replacement [VIDEO]

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Hi Guys, I've just installed my front wheel after a tyre change and it seems to be OK but I want to verify. The Left side of the bike (as per picture provided by Jheath ) doesn't gel with what I've found (IMG_1133). The diagram given says 4mm whereas I measure a lot more and it goes inward (recesses) I've attached my pictures. As you can see the Left side picture shows the shoulder to be 5.4mm from the wheel axle surface (Non ABS 2003 ST1300). I tried turning this around but it causes the Brake Disk to rub the support strut. When I turned it around it made clearance and the wheel ran free. I was then able to install the brake calipers and lock them in place and they seem to seat well. The wheel turns but has a small amount of resistance once I tightened the axle nut/hex to spec torque (I've lubed everything including bearings). The brakes seem to clamp down correctly.


My concern is that the 4mm given in the diagram does not meet what I measure. Do I have this in backwards ? Does the left Hex need to seat more to take up this slop (IMG_1136) ? .

I'd like to get confirmation (or correction) before I take it on a test run since I don't want to damage anything.

Thanks.