Axle nut split pins?

[Armitage Shanks]

Oblique question I know...but : How come dirt Bikes come with a split pin or similar to lock the back axle nut from coming off and road bikes don't ?

Road Bikes never have but Dirt bikes always have...and why not the front wheel too ?

And, I've never heard of an axle nut coming off period , enlighten me if you will .

[vifferman]

Not true.
Road bikes have had split pins in the rear axle nut. My first one certainly did. :yes:
I guess it's commoner in dirt bikes because they're subject to more bumps'n'jumps'n'stresses'n'strains.
Road bikes more commonly have locking nuts.

Excepting for my VFR. That has a large locking nut on the axle, and four (4!) chromed acorn nuts (stolen from a squirrel) holding the wheel on. More shecksie ones have a single nut and locking on holding the wheel on.

[dwnundabkr]

not sure about other bikes but Buells have locking bolts that are under the axle to secure for the rear and has two locking bolts on each of the front forks to secure the axle

[danchop]

because adam split who invented the split pin also was involved with jawa in the early 20s

[rosie631]

Mine has split pin. Must be cos she vibrates so much lol

[Armitage Shanks]

Not true.
Road bikes have had split pins in the rear axle nut. My first one certainly did. :yes:
I guess it's commoner in dirt bikes because they're subject to more bumps'n'jumps'n'stresses'n'strains.
Road bikes more commonly have locking nuts.

Excepting for my VFR. That has a large locking nut on the axle, and four (4!) chromed acorn nuts (stolen from a squirrel) holding the wheel on. More shecksie ones have a single nut and locking on holding the wheel on.

Totally acknoweledge the bumpy jumpy thing but road bikes have a similar dilemma of course, and they have a lot more power and the stresses and strains must be threefold ...no ?

[Kickaha]

Oblique question I know...but : How come dirt Bikes come with a split pin or similar to lock the back axle nut from coming off and road bikes don't ?


Some of my road bikes do, they were made in the eighties though

[Starky307]

My ZX6 has a locking clip on the axle nut, maybe your split pin fell out.

[howdamnhard]

My road bike has an axle nut split pin.Most bikes have some sort of locking device on their rear wheels.

[mossy1200]

Most bikes have them .Loss of rear wheel not recommended.

[The Stranger]

I know of one that has fallen off and one that came loose.
Mostly road bikes have a lock nut of some kind, though not necessarily a split pin.

[Armitage Shanks]

My ZX6 has a locking clip on the axle nut, maybe your split pin fell out.

I must have an anomolay , my 2 year old Hayabusa has no provision for a locking clip and seemingly that was a design decision ? Why would your ZX6 have a clip when my bike does'nt , given the huge difference in HP's, weight and stresses combined....?

[doc]

I've never heard of an axle nut coming off period , enlighten me if you will .
"It won't happen overnite, but it does happen".

[Thunder 8]

I must have an anomolay , my 2 year old Hayabusa has no provision for a locking clip and seemingly that was a design decision ? Why would your ZX6 have a clip when my bike does'nt , given the huge difference in HP's, weight and stresses combined....?
Your Hayabusa has probably got Nylock nuts on the axels instead of a pin. Both are just safety features.

[Cajun]

it seams to be hit and miss some bikes do some bikes don't

some bikes have them from one country to next, i know my gsxr 600 k4, has has no split pin, but the same model in the usa does.


Its not to hard to modify you current one to have a split pin if you so wish

I am pretty sure father in laws k4 hayabusa had a split pin but his 08 does not

[Pussy]

It generally goes like this:

Most (if not all) Kawasaki road bikes have castellated axle nuts

US and Canadian spec Suzukis do, too ( except the K7 onwards GSX-R1000)
Australian and European spec Suzukis have a locknut on the axle

Yamahas seem to be the same... castellated nut for US/Canada, lock nut for rest of world

It's just how different countries/markets have as design requirements.

Most NZ new Suzukis are Aussie spec, though they do bring in Euro/US/Canadian spec bikes too.
Most NZ new Kawasakis nowadays are Canadian models

Hondas seem to be Aussie or Euro spec

[Starky307]

I must have an anomolay , my 2 year old Hayabusa has no provision for a locking clip and seemingly that was a design decision ? Why would your ZX6 have a clip when my bike does'nt , given the huge difference in HP's, weight and stresses combined....?

As below it all depends on the market it was designed for, some markets have different standards than others.

Is your axle nut just a common garden type variety nut, or is it a nylon locking nut or similar?


It generally goes like this:

Most (if not all) Kawasaki road bikes have castellated axle nuts

US and Canadian spec Suzukis do, too ( except the K7 onwards GSX-R1000)
Australian and European spec Suzukis have a locknut on the axle

Yamahas seem to be the same... castellated nut for US/Canada, lock nut for rest of world

It's just how different countries/markets have as design requirements.

Most NZ new Suzukis are Aussie spec, though they do bring in Euro/US/Canadian spec bikes too.
Most NZ new Kawasakis nowadays are Canadian models

Hondas seem to be Aussie or Euro spec

It's funny when you start looking into which markets the bikes we end up with come from. It can change depending on the strength of the NZ dollar or if a change is made in the intended markets legislation that won't fit our rules.

[cs363]

It generally goes like this:

Most (if not all) Kawasaki road bikes have castellated axle nuts

US and Canadian spec Suzukis do, too ( except the K7 onwards GSX-R1000)
Australian and European spec Suzukis have a locknut on the axle

Yamahas seem to be the same... castellated nut for US/Canada, lock nut for rest of world

It's just how different countries/markets have as design requirements.

Most NZ new Suzukis are Aussie spec, though they do bring in Euro/US/Canadian spec bikes too.
Most NZ new Kawasakis nowadays are Canadian models

Hondas seem to be Aussie or Euro spec


It worries me that you know so much about nuts......... :bleh: :lol:


Are you a pussy or a squirrell?? Or does your nut fetish extend to the furrier type??

[Pussy]

It worries me that you know so much about nuts......... :bleh: :lol:




You'll get a kick in yours if you're not careful...... :shit:

[xwhatsit]

I thought they all had split pins?! Oh well. I see my swingarm pivot bolt has no split pin, it has a castellated nut instead. That would do just as well for an axle bolt.

I like have the cotter pin though, adjusting the chain every few weeks is a lot easier when you just straighten and pull the pin, back the nut off a few turns, rinse, repeat. Castellated nuts are just a pain in the arse if you're in a hurry.

Can only make the cotter pins last three cycles before it's too mangled to bother with -- my little box of them is nearly empty :(

[HenryDorsetCase]

the Triumph has what looks like a Nylock nut, but the insert is metal. Presumably a longer lasting alternative to nylon but serving the same purpose?

VFR has a big-ass 36mm locknut.

I was looking at an endurance racer in a magazine and they use R pins instead of splitpins. and ziptie the R pin shut. belt and braces.

[Max Preload]

I thought they all had split pins?! Oh well. I see my swingarm pivot bolt has no split pin, it has a castellated nut instead. That would do just as well for an axle bolt.

I like have the cotter pin though, adjusting the chain every few weeks is a lot easier when you just straighten and pull the pin, back the nut off a few turns, rinse, repeat. Castellated nuts are just a pain in the arse if you're in a hurry.

Can only make the cotter pins last three cycles before it's too mangled to bother with -- my little box of them is nearly empty :(

I've never sen a cotter pin on a motorbike, but I've seen people call split pins cotter pins. I've always known cotter pins as a plain, round headless pin with a flat taper on one side and a threaded end that aligns and the taper clamps to a corresponding rebate in the adjacent part - as found on non-one piece bicycle cranks with separate crank arms.

Castellated nuts are meant to be used with a split pin - if there's no corresponding hole for a split pin, it's the wrong nut. You need a spring locknut.


the Triumph has what looks like a Nylock nut, but the insert is metal. Presumably a longer lasting alternative to nylon but serving the same purpose?

VFR has a big-ass 36mm locknut.

Nylon locknuts are supposed to be single use in critical application whereas the spring locknuts are reusable. The ring is spring steel and the deformation which stops the nut from shaking off is not 'plastic' when fitted (i.e. it returns to the original shape when removed).

[scumdog]

Both H-Ds at Chez Scumdog have castellated nuts on the axle bolt, I use an "R" clip instead of a split pin though.

[Ixion]

I've never sen a cotter pin on a motorbike, but I've seen people call split pins cotter pins. I've always known cotter pins as a plain, round headless pin with a flat taper on one side and a threaded end that aligns and the taper clamps to a corresponding rebate in the adjacent part - as found on non-one piece bicycle cranks with separate crank arms.

.

Yep that's a cotter pin. You ain't ever looked closely at the kickstart of Briddish scrap iron. Almost always a cotter pin. I got a box full of flogged out cotter pins. You can always tell the bikes where the cotter pin's stuffed at a glance. The kickstart lever will be almost horizontal.

[Max Preload]

You ain't ever looked closely at the kickstart of Briddish scrap iron.

Guilty as charged! :o

[xwhatsit]

I've never sen a cotter pin on a motorbike, but I've seen people call split pins cotter pins. I've always known cotter pins as a plain, round headless pin with a flat taper on one side and a threaded end that aligns and the taper clamps to a corresponding rebate in the adjacent part - as found on non-one piece bicycle cranks with separate crank arms.

Castellated nuts are meant to be used with a split pin - if there's no corresponding hole for a split pin, it's the wrong nut. You need a spring locknut.
I'm probably using all the wrong words then. I called them cotter pins because that's why my RS Haynes manual calls them. Perhaps my RS really was fitted with cotter pins on the axles originally?

I thought the Haynes called the swingarm pivot nut a `castellated nut' too, but in fact it calls it a `self-locking nut'. At any rate it looks like the thing attached to the axle of a TRX850.

[vfxdog]

Cotter pin is the phrase in common usage in the US to describe what we know as split pins. I haven't yet established what they call cotter pins although an American pal says he calls them- cotter pins.
When I worked in a bike shop in Welly in the 60's my boss used to throw away the split pins that were fitted to all new Japanese bikes of the day. His response when questioned about this was to ask "when did you ever see a rear axle come loose"?
These days I like to use R clips even if a split pin was fitted as standard.