revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Scootabout wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:06 pm Unlucky is getting a puncture on the way to a wedding, with your octogenarian mother on board.
Very unlucky is finding your breakdown cover ran out in January.
Very very unlucky is not being able to find a tool to fit the wheel nuts.
V v v unlucky is the dealer refusing to help (despite being told he'd supplied the wrong tools 4 years ago )
Fairly lucky is finding someone who suggested a mobile tyre fitter, who attended promptly, plugged the tyre and charged a fair price.
Fairly embarrassing is watching the tyre fitter use a tweezer-like tool of a type you had in your toolkit, to remove the dust caps from the wheel nuts that you thought were too big for your socket.

Don't tell anyone else, OK?

Scootabout wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:06 pm Fairly embarrassing is watching the tyre fitter use a tweezer-like tool of a type you had in your toolkit, to remove the dust caps from the wheel nuts that you thought were too big for your socket.

DefTrap wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:04 am

Scootabout wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:06 pm Fairly embarrassing is watching the tyre fitter use a tweezer-like tool of a type you had in your toolkit, to remove the dust caps from the wheel nuts that you thought were too big for your socket.

You too!

When this happened to me (puncture in hire car) I went down exactly the same path. Gleefully found the appropriate tools (unused) in the boot and the adapter/lockNut (still bagged) in the glove compartment - then much head scratching as the socket was too small for the wheelnuts.
In my defence, it was dark and I didn't know 'wheel nut covers' were a thing - who does that?

After an enormous amount of swearing, and at huge personal cost, I grumpily asked a passing bloke in van if he had any better / different tools - and he showed me the error of my ways. but

iansoady wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:33 am Many many years ago I worked as an AA patrol. One of the vehicles I used was a CF Bedford with ramps on the back (Romeo 5 as it was known, or more often "The Pig" as that's what it was). Anyway, one day I had a puncture in the n/s front wheel. After what seemed like hours jumping up & down on the wheel brace without the nuts moving at all I had to admit defeat and called in for assistance.

One of the other patrols turned up after a short while and said "You do know that the n/s wheel bolts are left hand thread don't you?".

It took a while to live that one down.

Scootabout wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:14 pm

iansoady wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:33 am Many many years ago I worked as an AA patrol. One of the vehicles I used was a CF Bedford with ramps on the back (Romeo 5 as it was known, or more often "The Pig" as that's what it was). Anyway, one day I had a puncture in the n/s front wheel. After what seemed like hours jumping up & down on the wheel brace without the nuts moving at all I had to admit defeat and called in for assistance.

One of the other patrols turned up after a short while and said "You do know that the n/s wheel bolts are left hand thread don't you?".

It took a while to live that one down.

Flip. Is that so? That would have been another problem, if I'd made the brace fit. And if I'd solved that, the fact that the fitter needed a mallet to get the wheel off would have been another issue. In retrospect, it's lucky I didn't know about the dust covers.

MrLongbeard wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:56 pm

Scootabout wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:14 pm

iansoady wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:33 am Many many years ago I worked as an AA patrol. One of the vehicles I used was a CF Bedford with ramps on the back (Romeo 5 as it was known, or more often "The Pig" as that's what it was). Anyway, one day I had a puncture in the n/s front wheel. After what seemed like hours jumping up & down on the wheel brace without the nuts moving at all I had to admit defeat and called in for assistance.

One of the other patrols turned up after a short while and said "You do know that the n/s wheel bolts are left hand thread don't you?".

It took a while to live that one down.

Flip. Is that so? That would have been another problem, if I'd made the brace fit. And if I'd solved that, the fact that the fitter needed a mallet to get the wheel off would have been another issue. In retrospect, it's lucky I didn't know about the dust covers.

I think the pertinent point of his post is "Many many years ago "
Who needs a mallet when you can stand on the wheel brace

MrLongbeard wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:56 pm Who needs a mallet when you can stand on the wheel brace