I’ve a 2012 Diavel with me at present for its Desmo service. Heaven knows where this one’s been living virtually every single fastener has been corroded in place so far, the job is progressing slowly just to strip the bike down to get at the heads. However my biggest hurdle is an inability to remove the front wheel . I need to drill out these 2 bolts so I can get the rads off and the shrouds and gain access to the H head. As you can see they’re very badly corroded and are seized. However to get access to drill them out I need to remove the front wheel and the forks. But…… the front wheel axle is corroded to the spacer on the LH side. You can see the corrosion creeping out to the right of the spacer. Heat, penetrating fluid and over 3 hrs on it have, so far, made no difference. I’m assuming who ever had it out to replace the tyre didn’t bother greasing it when they put it back. Im fearful I’m going to have cut the axle but where? Ideally between the spacer and the bearing but there’s no access there. Any ideas? Anyone had to deal with this before?
Try putting a clamp around the fork legs so that they don't spread when you are knocking the axle. The legs will spring absorbing some of the impact. You should try to get the clamp as near as possible to the axle but it will be difficult because the discs will get in the way.
Good idea. Thank you. I could perhaps try and clamp the fork leg to the wheel too, thus keeping the wheel up tight against the spacer and knock the axle through it. I might damage the wheel bearing but I can replace that.
You'll almost certainly burr the end of the axle too but once it starts to move you can grind or cut the end off so that it can be knocked through. Expect to replace it anyway.
Not familiar with Diavel's, so no idea if the front wheel spindle has a flange on one end, or is just clamped in the forks, but can you drop both fork legs complete with the wheel as an assembly which will give access to the fairing fasteners, and also allow better access to sort out the front wheel spindle issue (remove one or both fork legs off the spindle, then the spindle from the wheel, and then the spacer)?
I woke up this morning thinking exactly that. I’m going to remove the forks and wheel as a single unit. The LH fork will then come off the axle no problem (the RH axle end is a larger diameter than the centre so it can’t just be knocked through from right to left). Once the LH fork leg is off I’ll have more access to put the nut back onto the axle and then hammer it free (hopefully). The nut should prevent damage to the end of the axle. Also I can lay the RH leg and wheel down in such a position the penetrant/rust dissolver can creep under the spacer rather than just run off the axle and hopefully get to do a better job before I start hammering. Sounds like a plan…. we shall see.
With the LH fork leg off and the spindle vertical you could also put some heat into the spacer which may help free things up.
I've often had success by using a pick to scrape away the corrosion you can see and create a little well for the magic fluid to penetrate even deeper (oo..err missus)
Not much use for now, but useful to have in the armoury. Get some Bilthamber deox c, it’s a powder you make into a solution to remove rust. Normally used for fasteners etc, if made up with methanol or ethanol mix (50/50 with water) it penetrates like nothing else and the deox C chemically removes the rust. It has never failed me even when other stuff has given up. One engine had sat soaked in diesel for a month (my usual way to free a piston) with no movement at all. Put that stuff down the barrel and it was free by next morning. The guy who runs Bilthamber is called Peter Hamber - he used to develop products for the North Sea oil industry before setting up his own company.
I have the Deox C but have never used it mixed with alcohol as you describe. I wish I'd known about that when I was freeing off this lot.
It would have made a massive difference. I plan to try it with acetone as well, but again may need a mix with water to allow it to do It’s stuff. I normally mix it with methylated spirit and water and that works well. Meths is dirt cheap from woodworking places - I think It’s used for wiping the wood down after machining.
I’m getting somewhere. It took me 2 hrs to get the forks out , yep, you’ve guessed it, they too were seized in their clamps. A lot of penetrant and hammering the fork tops was required but got there in the end. Both forks off the wheel now, a groove scraped out around the spacer/axle interface and more penetrant doing its stuff (hopefully). I’ve got Würth Rostoff, Boltex and Owatrol Transyl on it at various stages. I’ll leave that overnight and probably get the MAPP torch on it tomorrow. At least now I’ve managed to drill out the 2 corroded bolts on the rad air ducts and have managed to get the rads off so can, at last, start the service proper.
I’ll charge something for sure. 7hrs labour to get to the point where you can get the cam covers off is just bloody ridiculous. I strongly believe this bike was ridden in the rain on salt treated roads then put away whilst wet without being rinsed off and that was all some years ago and it’s just been sitting in a damp environment. Here’s a few snapshots
FFS, it's almost as corroded as my 60 year old Landrover that had been 'stored' in a field for 10+ years was, where was it parked, in the sea?
That is horrific, looks like the bikes the despatch riders had back in the 90s. I only did it in the summer holidays from Uni, but the guys doing all year round really killed bikes. That must be the worst Diavel out there. The previous owner of my Multi (Andy on here) rode it in all weathers and It’s nothing like that, only rusty bit was the centre stand. That sort of abuse takes dedication.
