AEM rear sproket.. what are those wires?

Hi All,

Are those wires just a trick looking part or do they actually do something? Stops the bolt from coming off maybe? A race piece of kit?

They look great though.

It's safety wire. When done properly, it keeps the nut torqued. In that picture it just keeps the nut from backing off all the way.

Yes, locking wire to save losing nuts and bolts, this was one on my favourite things to do on my race bikes, every nut and bolt, it's very calming and Ducati should fit these on all bolts with locktite!!!!!!

Carl1199 said:

Yes, locking wire to save losing nuts and bolts, this was one on my favourite things to do on my race bikes, every nut and bolt, it's very calming and Ducati should fit these on all bolts with locktite!!!!!!

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Ahhh yes, I remember the days of drilling a little hole in the nuts and safety wiring them. I could not afford one of those fancy tools that spin the wire, so I did it with a standard set of pliers and twisting them myself.

Cheap

jjsC6 said:

Ahhh yes, I remember the days of drilling a little hole in the nuts and safety wiring them. I could not afford one of those fancy tools that spin the wire, so I did it with a standard set of pliers and twisting them myself.

Click to expand...

The drilling was the hard part, wiring is easy.
These are what I have and they work just as good as the $184 set.

BikeMaster Safety Wire Pliers with 25' Stainless Steel Wire - Street Motorcycle - Motorcycle Superstore

I need that on my Cummins.

Anyone have any advice on drilling? I did it to my oil drain bolt and it was a pain in the butt, but now I have to do it to all my caliper bolts, axles, and more than a few other places to get ready to race in WERA. I've been putting it off because I'm dreading breaking bit after bit lol, so if anyone has any sweet tips that would be great!

Use a drill press is a must!!!! Start with new small (smallest you can go) drill bit with spray of CRC/WD40, slow and steady wins the race, then move up to the size you require. If you are drilling on a thread like the axle end, I use to put an old nut on and wind it off after drilling (also good if securing in a portable vice), this cleans the thread up before it damages the original when winding it back on, and/or use a thread file/ or die to do this. On the bolt heads, drill press again as it has a flat surface with it secured in a portable vice and drill not to close to where it tapers as it could break when torqueing it down. I had a mate that worked on the Britten V1000 many years ago and his job was to lighten every bolt on the bike, he spent months on a lathe drilling the centres out of the titanium bolts and doing lock wire holes, he got exceptionally good at doing this process, they were just a few things he told me.
Good luck and hope this helps.

I just looked at the pic and the lock wire is looped over the bolt which has a recessed end in this particular case, if you have room, you could file a small flat surface on the bolt end where you require the locking wire to go, just an after thought.