When removing my front rotor I had to drill the head off one of the bolts. I could not get the bolt out afterwords so I just drilled the center of it out thinking it would come right out after that. It did not. I drilled it as large as I could then tried to use a tap to clean the remaining bolt out of the threads. The tap broke in there. It broke with a lot less force then I thought it would. Anyhow, at this point would a machine shop be able to get the broken tap out? There is a spoke behind the bolt hole which makes me think I might have to remove all the spokes and just take the hub to a shop. If that is what it takes I think finding a used wheel would be easier. Any suggestions?
Removing spokes and re-spoking a wheel is not that hard. I've done both of mine front and back in a quick afternoon. It does help if you have a stand and a dial gauge. That said. Even if you did just take in the hub, a reputable machine shop is gonna be $100 +/- (Ballpark). Just for their work. Call around an ask first. Or take it in a get a quote. If you can fine a used one for around the same IMO you would be a head of the game.
Is there absolutely no way to get the broken tap out? Maybe a cobalt drill. Even if you bugger up the the hole a little bit you can drill it out bigger. The dirt bikes use a 6mm rotor bolt and the SMR's use a 8mm rotor bolt. You can drill and tap 8mm and use SMR rotor bolts.
I'll call around but if it is really $100 I will be looking for a used wheel. I was thinking it would be a lot less then that. I hate to have to break the wheel all the way down bucause with my luck I will be sure to strip a spoke or two which just adds more cost. I've build lots of bicycle wheels but it is a lot of time.
Take a good small sharp punch and wear eye protection and give it a whack or two.. The tap should shatter.. If you run into the problem again use a ezout and you'll be fine. Chow, Carl
Hey if you get a manager from a good shop. He might spend 5 min.fix your problem a just throw him $20 bucks for his coffee fund. Never know till you try. Go oil your spoke threads tonite just in case you do get ambitious. Keep us posted.
I think I will try the shop punch tomorrow. Not much to lose at this point. I looked at the price of a new hub and it comes as one assembly (rotor, spacers, etc) and is about $250. If I had not just bought a new rotor this would not be a bad deal.
I did the same thing on a DR350S trying to remove the rotor. After I screwed up I took the whole wheel to a mechanic and he drilled the bolt out and put in a Helicoil Thread Insert for the size I needed and charged me about $50 for the entire job. I bought new rotor bolts and it's been a year and it's held up fine with the repair. I found out after that sometimes they use Locktite on the bolts and a little heat makes removing them easier.
The piece of tap came right out with a hit from a punch. I put in a heli coil and the wheel is now back on my bike. Thanks
if you don't have it fixed yet, try taking it to Dick at Wasco frame servcie. This guy is amazing at fixing stuff like that. www.wascoframe.com or 253-927-0669
