Can’t undo rear sprocket carrier bolts - YBR 125

[slowside]

Bank holiday weekend, so thought I’d service the bike and give it new chain and sprockets.

However, I cannot get a decent purchase in the rear sprocket bolts to undo them as they have a very shallow head.

Anyone have any tips on getting them shifted?

I suspect I will need to buy a 6pt flat faced socket as my 17mm is 12pt and just slips.

17mm spanner can’t get past the safety tabs.

Have soaked them in penetrating oil so will try again tomorrow.

[MCN]

They will likely have thread lock compound on them too.
That should not make slackening them any more difficult but it prevents them running out freely.
Shallow head fasteners like 6 point tools.

Better to use the correct tools than round the heads off and create more problem.

Either use new hardware to secure the new sprocket or use thread lock.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[WD Forte]

"I suspect I will need to buy a 6pt flat faced socket as my 17mm is 12pt and just slips. "

I did a chain sprocket and bearing change on a guys YBR recently
and my 6 point sockets gave no trouble at all
In fact I rarely use 12 points nowadays,
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bikers smell of wee

[Nobby the Bastard]

Had exactly the same issue when I was sorting out the one that I was doing last year. After much battering with hammer and giving up on impact driver the only solution was spending about an hour attacking a breaker bar with a hammer.

And calling the fuckwit who did it up a cunt.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[WD Forte]

Hang on a Minute
17mm?
I recall the spindle needing a 17 and a 19mm but
fairly sure the four sprocket bolts were 12 or 14mm
and don't recall them having particularly shallow heads either
This was a 2011 EFI model
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bikers smell of wee

[Riejufixing]

[Nobby the Bastard]

I've just realised that he/she hasn't hammered down the lockwashers....
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Teflon-Mike]

Two problems; 1; turning the bolts in the wheel-hub; 2; stopping the wheel; turn whilst you do so!
If the wheel is out of the bike, then stopping it turning whilst tackling bolts can be a bit of a contortion; often easiest to put the wheel back on, lock the wheel from turning with the brake adjuster... yes, it is a pitya to keep undouing the adjuster to turn the wheel 60 deg or so to tackle the next one round... but that little bit of faff usually a lot less than trying to hold loose parts still whilst wielding tools.
That's the first thing; Second thing here is ... ahrg! SOCKETS! YTF are you grumbling about 12-point sockets and the supply of 6pointr sockets or in fact ANY kind of socket! What is wrong with a simple, plain ordinary SPANNER FFS!!!
An open ended C-spanner grips flats not corners, and if you have ground the corners off with a 12-point by now, what the feck you got left to grip with a 6-point? Oh yes the FLATS a spanner grips! Spanner will also put the torque on the head of the bolt at the bolt head, not the length of a socket plus the ratchet away from the head, so you are twisting on two planes cock to each other helping chew bolt head corners.... There's a LOT to be said for the plain simple, humble spanner, and oh-so many instances is the 'best' tool for the job.... and should be the first tool reached for... NOT a stuffing socket set!

Tab washers? You mention... err... they should have been hammered flat and out the way before you start trying to twist bolts, and shouldn't be in the way.... so why are they? This is what an engineers chissel is good for, failing that, an old butter knife will usually 'do'... no.. not a flat bladed screwdriver.... HEATHEN notion, brutalising screwdrivers as chissels or pry-bars!!! Well... if you have a pre-buggered one, I suppose.... but still....

Leverage? Yeah... a stubborn faster is a bit hard to turn I suppose, BUT, still no reason to reach for the socket set and breaker bar, as first course..... the off-set mentioned, PLUS the gross force you can get with the mechanical magnification of a long lever, IS as likely to see the torque at the faster head sufficient that you DONT make the chuffing thing turn... you just get all exited as it 'feels' like its turning... when in fact its actually 'shearing'... and you are left with a sheared steel shank of bolt, in a usually aluminium hole, to deal with... without anything to get a spanner or socket of however many points to grip on... sprocket or whatever will shoulf lift off the shank, so you can tackle in your own time... b-u-t, there's no beating Murphey, I find... and he will make sure that ONE bludy fastener stays put, or there's an index peg in there or 'something' to make him laugh! BUT, sockets with the off-set, cupping the bolt head so you cant actually 'see' what you are doing, IS a very good way to give Murphey his dues here, and make problems rather than solve them....

Try a spanner... try more gentle persuasion, and dont rush... 'some-one' and probably a deminutative Chbinese woman in tyhe case of a YBR, put this together, YOU should then be able to take it apart. NO fancy tools or mega forces required... just a bit of common cocum and patience....

PUT the socket set away, fort now, and try a simple spanner.... amazing how much they will do, and how many problems they dont even encounter, IME!
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Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Riejufixing]

[Riejufixing]

[slowside]

Such a flurry of responses, thanks all.

Before anyone suffers a hemorrhage, lockwashers are flat (or as flat as I can get them) but present enough of a lip at the edge to make the spanner slip off the shallow bolt head. (@WD Forte - yes definitely 17mm, mine is a 2006 carb model so perhaps they moved to different fixings later down the line?)

I will heed the point that I should give them a more thorough flattening tomorrow to see if that gives a bit more purchase for a spanner to hold on to.

@Tef - bolt heads are still in fine shape, I ditched the socket as soon as it became apparent it might cause more trouble that it solved. Good tip on locking the wheel up with the rear brake adjuster, hadn't thought of that one.

[slowside]

All done, managed to get them off this morning. Went with Tef’s suggestion, got the spanner on them again and just kept on putting pressure on and off rather than one big heave so it was easier to keep the spanner seated. Took a while for any movement to show, but eventually after minutes of torque-tweeking each bolt they eventually started to move.

Cheers all!

[doggone]

More leverage is what you need, extend the spanner with metal tubing.

[Nobby the Bastard]

For future info, the easiest way to get lock washers flat is to put the correct size socket on and hammer that..
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050