Wolfie's Ducati Multistrada Pages: Front Wheel Installation

Front Wheel Installation
by
Fariborz Rostami

If you are looking for the tool to hold the axle in the fork bottom while tightening the nut, you might actually have that in your tool bag. It looks like a socket head with a pin going through
it. On one side that pin sticks out a little more than the other side. My 748's tool bag came with one of those but the ST4 did not. I am not sure if the previous owner of the ST4 had lost it or the bike simply did not come with it. The front axle has a hole through it that allows for access to the compression damping screw on the fork that is accessible from the bottom of the fork. The pin in the axle tool just holds the hole in the axle and fork-bottom lined up while you are tightening the axle nut. If you are not touching the compression damping, it is not critical to have these holes lined up!

If you do not have that tool you can use a large Allen wrench large enough to fill that cavity from the side completely. Do not use a small one. It will get wedged in that hole and will damage the fork bottom. If you do not have an Allen wrench, you can use a screwdriver and place it in the hole that is accessible from the bottom of the fork leg!

When installing the front wheel, put anti-seize or grease on the axle and then insert it from the right side (of the bike). Make sure that the speedo metal ring is in the wheel well before putting the wheel on the bike. It is not uncommon for this ring to fall off when installing a new tire. I once had that ring lost at a shop when they changed my tire. The same shop also damaged my rim. That is when I started doing my own tire changes! Anyway, the speedo ring has a tang that needs to line up with a cavity on the speedo drive unit.

To avoid damaging the thin-walled axle, tap it in gently with a -- rubber-- mallet and rotate it using the special tool or a screwdriver in the axle hole. When the axle gets to the other side,
you need to line up the axle, the wheel and the left side fork bottom before the axle can be pushed in. If the axle is not going in, do --NOT-- start banging hard at the axle with the mallet. You will damage the other end. When things are lined up, the axle will go in with little effort. Make sure you line up the speedo unit properly so that the speedo cable is not coming out at a weird angle. The cable should come up straight between the fork and the left-hand caliper. Also make sure that the tang on the speedo ring lines up with the cavity on the speedo before you start tightening the nut. You can damage that ring! If the tang is not lined up, spin the wheel slightly while holding the speedo with one hand. Speedo should sit flush with the wheel.

Once the axle is in I put on the axle nut and just hand tighten it and then I typically put the calipers back on the wheel. This will let me line up the speedo cable properly before starting to
tightening the axle bolt. If the pads are too close together, you might have some problem with putting the calipers over the disks. I typically use a WIDE Flathead screw driver or a WIDE painter knife/scraper to move the pads further apart. I make sure that I do not damage the pads while doing this. Once the calipers are over the disks, I then put the bolts on and torque them to 43 Nm. Use a 1-2-1 approach when tightening these bolts. This means tighten one bolt a little bit then move to the next bolt. Do this back and forth until both bolts are torqued to the spec.

Once the calipers are on the bike, line up the holes in the axle with the holes in the axle clamps so that the through-holes allow a screwdriver to access the compression valve adjusters. The common mistake made here is to just tighten everything up at this point. Instead, here's the proper sequence to assure that the forks are aligned.

Make sure that the speedo cable is pointing up and the cable goes up parallel to the fork between the fork and the left caliper before start tightening the nut. While holding the axle so that the holes are lined up with the bottom of the fork hole, start tightening the axle nut. This will start pulling the axle toward the nut and forces the little flange on the axle to sit against a lip in the fork bottom. When you start feeling pressure against the axle nut it means that the flange is resting against the lip. Now stop and temporally tighten-up the two RIGHT side axle clamp bolts. You do not need to tighten these bolts too much (less than 19 Nm), just enough that they prevent the axle from turning. Also do not tighten one bolt all the way and then the other one. Use the 1-2-1 approach and tighten the bolts small amount at a time.

Now start tightening the axle nut and torqued it to 63 Nm.

Then torque the two LEFT side clamp bolts next to the axle nut. Again use the 1-2-1 approach and tighten each pinch bolt a small amount at the time until they are torqued properly. The pinch bolts should be torqued to 19 Nm. Then, loosen the two RIGHT side clamp bolts.

Take the bike off the stand. Pump the front brake few times until the pads start grabbing the front disk. Then bounce the suspension up and down till you are sure that the right side fork has moved to the proper (neutral) position along the axle. (It makes it easier to compress the suspension if you hold the front brake on when rocking the bike forward.)

Once this is done, torque the two RIGHT side clamp bolts, using the same 1-2-1 approach to 19 Nm.

Go over everything one more time to make sure you have not missed anything.

The most important issues to remember while doing this are:

1) Be particularly careful when you tighten the pinch bolts. The Ducati axle is really thin-walled so it will ovalize if the bolts are over-torqued. Always use a 1-2-1 tightening approach when
tightening the pinch bolts and ALWAYS only tighten a small amount at a time.

2) Grease the axle before installation.

3) Make sure the Speedo ring is there and lined up with the speedo drive. I always clean and grease the speedo drive! You should note that any extra grease would spill out of the speedo when one rides the bike at speed. This grease can get on the left disk! It is important NOT to over grease the drive. I always take the bike for a test ride after I put the wheels back on the bike and clean up the grease before they start getting on the friction surface of the brakes and before I go for a long ride.

4) Make sure your caliper bolts are torqued properly. Again use the 1-2-1 approach.

5) Pump the front brake few times to make sure it is working before you go for a ride.

I also bleed the brakes when I change my tires. It gives me peace of mind.