Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board Rear Wheel Anti-Rotation Cleats

Mark Z. The FIRST person to answer one of my posts on what was then the BSA pit stop. ( now bb.com). Good to hear from you my friend.

A Tack/pin. Same little devils you use on a cork board. I have no clue why it went down so fast. Tire was just soft when I looked at it. Back story is the tire was sold to me by a known Brit Bike vendor. A Duro that was some type of replica of an older model. But that damn thing was over 10 years old, sold as new. I swear I could almost mount it by hand. I finally found the pin by running my hand along the inside of the tire. It was a roadside repair. I carry spare tubes......it wasn’t my first flat.

But rapid deflate it did once I was on uneven ground.

We’re all doing well here and I hope you and yours are too?

Gordon in NC

PS. I admit these kinda of stories are few and far between but mine is NOT the only one that’s been posted on this site over the years.

Gordon in NC who still displays a photo of your bobber in my shop.

PSS: thinking about it......tire pressure. Once it gets low enough the tire can slip on the rim. My tube was mangled. But thinking back I think the stem was torn.....and that probably happened once the pressure got to low

I can't say for sure that the KZ Kawasakis didn't have them. I do know that I owned a BUNCH of bikes back then, Hondas, Suzukis, Yamahas, Benellis, a BMW, and I never saw a rim lock on one.

I'm not saying what you should or shouldn't do; you should do what reduces your perceived risk on the road so that you ride with an easy mind. I'm just asking the question as to why, if rim locks are cheap, effective safety devices that could have been installed on new bikes, or could easily be retrofitted for $20 at the first tire change, as to why no one, no manufacturer, no owner ever installed them on a bike they weren't already on, and most people don't reinstall them if they once get a chance ...

Lannis

Mr Healy once posted a photo of the different rim profiles. You musta been out that day.

He said ( I think?) the rim profile was/is different on the older bikes

It’s such a non issue with me I don’t even think or care about why.

Gordon

Well, I went back through 3 years of JH's posts and didn't see the post, so I may very well have been out that day!

So 'twill remain a mystery and an unsolved question ...

Lannis

I remember well. Hard to believe twenty years have elapsed since then, huh? I'm ok, but there's no more "mine" (divorced last fall). Living alone has its good and bad sides, but at least I still have my house and my BSA.


Ok, this qualifies things a bit. Remember, my blowout event also involved a badly worn, thin and soft tire. This brings us back to proper tire maintenance as perhaps the main deterrent to catastrophic failure


Yelllow bobber tank or stock chrome tank? In its final form, with 13-inch La Para seat, HD fender rack, and saddle bags, it was attractive, but it was an abomination to ride. I'm much happier with the bike in a stock frame, and I'd be happy to send you a picture of it in its present form, perhaps to hang alongside the bobber picture.

So long for now,

Just an observation: my first bike, a Yamaha 60, had rim locks on the rear wheel.

“Well, I went back through 3 years of JH's posts........”.

I don’t remember when....or if it was just a drawing but damn Lannis 3 years is just a blink of an eye in my world. To be honest he might had just mentioned it without drawings or photos.....but he did talk about it. My memory is shot but it’s hard to forget when you’re on the same page as someone like Mr Healy on a subject.

Lannis, you and I don’t agree........nothing new there.

Mark.......Glad you are still above ground...change can be a good thing my friend. That tire looked and felt new. That was until it made it past the forks in a lump several times. I’m also very picky about tire pressure. I’m the fellow you see in the parking lot checking tire pressure and I can’t think of a time where I don’t carry at least one way to top it off if needed. That’s what happened that morning.....started off ( One State Mountain Ride) with correct pressure on what I mistakenly thought were new tires. I’m just sharing a REAL life experience with witnesses ( who are all on this site)

David......yep, I have no clue. My XS650s don’t have them but mine are 75s and 78s. BSAs were out of business by then. So we’re talking bikes pre 1972????......anything after that doesn’t count. My SLs 1972-73 all 3 have them.
So that’s my only experience that I can actually put my eyes on. I haven’t owned or ridden millions of different motorcycles.


My apologies to the OP..........Gordon in NC

None needed. Threads take on a life of their own. It's been an interesting discussion.

Anyway, good opportunity to update where I am. I decided to inflate the tube in the hope that the tire bead was preventing the rim lock from it's full ability to seat. I was wrong- the tube was indeed pinched, and that was that. Since I am no longer a young guy, mounting the tire on the rim with my too short tire levers and working on the floor, I hurt my back, mandating some time off from the project. And the wheel is now going to my local shop where they can install the @(*&^ tube.

Yes sir Chief......I do believe we’ve all been there at one time or another. I change my own tires but I have a LOT of spare tubes. I’ll go through several tire/tube changes without a problem........just when I start thinking I’m getting good enough at it I won’t pinch a tube..........reality slaps me in the face.

It can be frustrating for sure.

Thank you for understanding and good luck with your projects.

Gordon in NC

Actually, we DO agree. It's not a "fight" about the efficacy of rim locks. You use rim locks religiously on your British rims for reasons of safety and security, and I agree that you ought to do that. No argument there.

I'm trying to figure out the basis for the safety and security, and it's not really you (I suppose) that I'm asking - it's the crew as a whole, or anyone who's reading. The question was that IF they're good things, why they're not generally used. I still think it's a good question, and I've never seen an answer.

That's OK, no one has to answer it. But not every thread has to end with a hug. It can end with a "Hmmmm....." and that's still good!

Lannis

I have never had another bike besides my Triumph TR6R and a basket case A65L that had rim locks/bead locks. That includes Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, BMW, and Harley Davidson (aside from one Kawasaki, all were street bikes). I have no answer to Lannis' question, as to why they were/are not generally used, but reading this thread prompted me to see what the Factory books had to say. I found no mention of the rim locks in the BSA Owner_Manual, or the BSA Service_Manual, but my Triumph Service_Manual said this:


"Security bolts are fitted to the rear wheel to prevent the tyre "creeping" on the rim when it is subjected to excessive acceleration or braking. Such movement would ultimately result in the valve being torn from the inner tube. There are two security bolts fitted to the rear wheel, which are equally spaced either side of the valve and thereby do not affect the balance of the wheel

Note: The security bolt nuts must not be over-tightened, otherwise excessive distortion may occur."

They didn't mention keeping the tyre on the rim in case of a blowout, but maybe that is implied. Anyway, we have John Healy's testimonial on why that is important.

Really bad pic....sorry I was in a hurry. Messing around the shop dragging out camping gear I noticed this on the shelf....a NOS rim lock.

I have no clue what this means......but it might be a clue?

Gordon

A better photo? Can somebody explain what " .....without well filler standard" means???? Are they referring to the "rim strip"? Just curious.

Gordon in NC

A well filler seems to be another technology for preventing the tire from coming off the rim in the case of pressure loss.
Some type of band with transverse members that stops the bead from dropping down into the wheel well.