Boxerworks.com

Hello All. I used to frequent this site (mostly lurked) a few years back under the name Robert C. Kind of got out of the internet for awhile but thought I would rejoin the community. I recently bought a '93 RT - I have an '81 R100RT that I have been riding for 13 years, I may be a bit ham handed, but I'm not totally ignorant. So anyway I have a couple of questions.
1) Swing arm bearings - I saw somewhere that you had to poke holes in the seals so you could grease them properly, I guess like I do on the '81, just pump grease in till you push the old grease out. Is that the way to do it?
2) What is the life expectancy of the front wheel bearings. I understand they are ball (permanently sealed?) vs tapered roller in the earlier bikes. And while I'm at it, one last question.
3) Can I fit the earlier brake "splitter" and steel lines to the fairing and then have 2 flexible lines from the fairing to the calipers, eliminating that God awful U-pipe connecting the front calipers. Thanks for any and all input.

Bob

P.S. I can tell you a Ducati horror story if you want.

The bearings on the swing arm are sealed bearings like the front wheel bearings. I wouldn't poke holes in them as that would extremely shorten the life of the bearings, IMO. I don't see the purpose of greasing them like the older bearings. There may be a good reason to do it; however, no one has ever given me a good reason to do so. In my limited knowledge and experience, all it does is make a mess on the inner side of the bearings. I've heard/read that the wheel bearings last about 30K.

Keep in mind I'm no expert and those with more experience will chime in soon.

BobaluToo wrote: . . .
3) Can I fit the earlier brake "splitter" and steel lines to the fairing and then have 2 flexible lines from the fairing to the calipers, eliminating that God awful U-pipe connecting the front calipers. Thanks for any and all input. . . .

Hmmm, I'm wondering what you find objectionable about the brake lines. I have a '91RT and like mine just fine. It is a question of aesthetics or maintainability, such as bleeding the brakes?

Of course what you want to do can be done. There are suppliers out there (can't remember the name at the moment) who can and will build brake lines to your specifications. Somebody here will remember. Ultimately there will have to be a "T", or a splitter or a dual output fitting since your master cylinder has only one output and the calipers have one input each.

Ken

Ken in Oklahoma wrote:

BobaluToo wrote: . . .
3) Can I fit the earlier brake "splitter" and steel lines to the fairing and then have 2 flexible lines from the fairing to the calipers, eliminating that God awful U-pipe connecting the front calipers. Thanks for any and all input. . . .

Hmmm, I'm wondering what you find objectionable about the brake lines. I have a '91RT and like mine just fine. It is a question of aesthetics or maintainability, such as bleeding the brakes?

Hello Ken, mainly the having to bleed the brakes whenever you change a tire or what not. Also it's a bit fiddly getting all those steel lines hooked back up. I still have nightmares about all those fittings I stripped as a youngster. Mainly was wondering if a splitter (like on my '81 RT) would fit under the tank on the '93. I was hoping somebody else might have that knowledge. Thanks

BobaluToo wrote:Hello Ken, mainly the having to bleed the brakes whenever you change a tire or what not. Also it's a bit fiddly getting all those steel lines hooked back up. I still have nightmares about all those fittings I stripped as a youngster. Mainly was wondering if a splitter (like on my '81 RT) would fit under the tank on the '93. I was hoping somebody else might have that knowledge. Thanks

I don't break apart the brake lines when I change a tire or anything in the front. After the front wheel is removed, I'm able to
remove and set aside both caliper connected as one unit.

I don't break apart the brake lines when I change a tire or anything in the front. After the front wheel is removed, I'm able to
remove and set aside both caliper connected as one unit.

[/quote]

I've always taken the calipers off so the rim would clear. I would like to hear how you do it, because I can live with out taking them off if it isn't necessary. Thanks.

Bob

BobaluToo wrote:

I don't break apart the brake lines when I change a tire or anything in the front. After the front wheel is removed, I'm able to
remove and set aside both caliper connected as one unit.

I've always taken the calipers off so the rim would clear. I would like to hear how you do it, because I can live with out taking them off if it isn't necessary. Thanks.

Bob[/quote]

It's been a while, and I my memory is a little hazy. As I think about it more, I can't remember exactly (it's been a while since I've removed the front wheel). I may have removed the calipers from the forks, but did not break them apart. The pipe is flexible enough that you can gently pull the calipers apart and move them over the rim/tire. This method does require you to loosen the clamps holding the pipe in place under the fender. Once removed, both calipers (connected by the pipe) are moved set aside to rest on a bucket (upside down) or hung with a wire or something so they don't hang by the piping. The reverse is used to reinstall, and since the calipers were not broken apart, the system does not need to be bled.

BobaluToo wrote:

I don't break apart the brake lines when I change a tire or anything in the front. After the front wheel is removed, I'm able to
remove and set aside both caliper connected as one unit.

I've always taken the calipers off so the rim would clear. I would like to hear how you do it, because I can live with out taking them off if it isn't necessary. Thanks.

Bob[/quote]

As other have said, there’s no need to remove brake lines. You will need to unbolt the calipers from the fork sliders to give you some wriggle room. The hard lines are retained in place on the sliders by small nibs which, in turn, are secured as part of the front fender fixture. Therefore it can sometimes help to loosen the fender as well. Certainly you should check that hard lines are correctly located upon reassembly.

Thanks for all of the feedback RE: front wheel/caliper removal, brake lines & etc. I just put a new front tire on so have some time to contemplate the matter. Also had Race Tech cartridge emulators installed and will be fitting an Ohlins shock in the next few days. We'll see how that works out.

Bob

The Ohlins is certainly a great upgrade. Let us know how things work out with the emulators - getting those tuned right has turned out to be quite difficult for many.