Safety Wiring - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Unacceptable

I've been asked many times how to safety wire a motorcycle for roadracing. It's really not that difficult, and many folks do it right and well. However, many do not. So I'd like to put together a little pictorial of the goods and bads. I'll be taking pix of crap safety wire jobs at MSR and posting them up, so don't be one of those guys. In the meantime, some pix now, some pix later.

And remember - the rule book says that .032" wire is the minimum diameter for wire that can be used. You can use bigger, but smaller is no longer allowed.

Oil filter. This is a biggie and I point it out at every race while in the tech barn. Most people wrap wire around the clamp and wire it off to some place else on the bike. So...if the worm screw were to back out, what's holding the filter on? Not the clamp - it's being held on by the wire but now it's loose so the filter is free to move around and possibly loosen up and fall off. Catastrophe. Here's the right way to do it (from a wire job on a BMW S1000RR).

Notice the wire is wrapped around the worm screw's housing on the clamp, and a piece of the wire runs through the mouth of the screw. This will prevent the screw from coming loose and letting the clamp come loose as well. Worm screws and worm gears, when properly torqued are pretty stout, but they can still come loose and fall out. I've seen it. Also notice the clamp and wire are pulling in the tight direction. This is critical for all fasteners.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eemer-9-X2.jpg




Front axle and pinch bolt. Notice that in this case the axle has two holes in it, 180 degrees apart from each other. This is so no matter where you end up with the axle after tightening, you'll always have a hole to choose from that will pull in the tight direction. The rear hole in this case is being used to secure the axle to the fork leg so the axle doesn't come loose. I drilled a hole in the axle and in the fork leg in an convenient and inconspicuous spot. Using the other hole in the axle, the front safety wire is wired to an axle pinch bolt. You have to have at least one pinch bolt wired, and here's a way to do it. This won't be universal to all bikes, but can work on most.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eemer-2-X2.jpg

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eBeemer-X2.jpg


Not all bikes have a cotter pin or castle nut. BMW doesn't. For those that don't, I support the KISS rule. Simply drill two holes 180 degrees apart into the flats of the rear axle nut and find a place on the swingarm to wire off to. Two holes, again, allows you to always be able to choose a hole that will be in the tightening direction. Additionally, many times a hole will have to be drilled in the swingarm, as this one was, but it doesn't affect strength or structural integrity of the swing arm. No need to get all fancy back here - just some properly located holes and some wire and everything is fine.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...emer-12-X2.jpg



Front caliper. Pretty simple. Two holes in each bolt 180 degrees apart and simply wire so that the bolts are always being tightened. Easy.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eemer-8-X2.jpg



This is the exhaust hanger. It's always a good idea to wire this fastener so that it doesn't come loose and let your exhaust pipe dangle...or fall off. This is easy to do: one hole in the front of the fastener, and one in the rear of the fastener (or nut that the fastener threads into), and wire together. The parts won't be free to get loose and fall off this way. A lot of people don't wire these parts, but they should and I always recommend it in tech.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eemer-7-X2.jpg

Where are the clips? :D

Uh oh. lol

Nice pics and explanation. Six to eight turns per inch with a half inch pigtail (4 turns min) at the end of the run for .032 wire. That's the FAA spec which has been adapted by the AMA.

After looking at your pics I have to go rewire my oil filter.

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Originally Posted by Thomas Delaney

Where are the clips? :D

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Hello! I said "In the meantime, some pix now, some pix later." :biggrin:

I haven't gotten to the point where I condemn the clips, yet. But know that they suck.

Thanks for the tip on the oil filter. I never gave any though to the worm screw potentially backing loose!

The oil filter on my 09 zx6 is terribly hard to access. I will try my best to make sure the screw itself is wired as well.
-Cody

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cody Stewart

The oil filter on my 09 zx6 is terribly hard to access. I will try my best to make sure the screw itself is wired as well.
-Cody

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That has to be the dumbest oil filter placement ever. Absolute mess every time and no way around it.


This should be sticky post. I wish I had something as clear as this when I first started wrestling with this. Would have saved me a lot of time. Thanks Linz!

single paper towel and a 'foil funnel' under the oil catcher thing and no mess. But still a pita. Just regular safety wiring is a big PITA...I'm going to attempt the screw though. That, along with all the stupid alan head bolts instead of hex head makes wiring/drilling fun on it. I have the engine out now. I'm going to wire it before I put it back in...lmao.

Having wrecked on someone else's coolant before (not racing, at a TD), I certainly understand the importance of safety wiring. As well as having a friend go down because someone lost an oil drain plug (ON A BIKE THAT WAS DRILLED FOR SAFETY WIRE BUT NOT WIRED NO LESS!!) - and having to clean up a 1/4 mile of oil in the Texas sun...I'm a huge fan of safety wiring.
-Cody

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Originally Posted by Michael De Simone

That has to be the dumbest oil filter placement ever. Absolute mess every time and no way around it.

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If you tilt the bike over to the right prior to removing the filter, then it won't pour whatever oil that was trapped in the filter down the side of the engine.

More pix, again from a BMW S1000RR:

Wire your water pump's drain bolt. The actual drain bolt/plug is usually the larger of the bolts around the water pump and often has a copper, brass or other soft washer on it.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eemer-5-X2.jpg



More exhaust hanger wiring. You don't want the exhaust to come off, and neither do I and the rest of us on the track.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eemer-6-X2.jpg



The only safety pins that are currently illegal for oil related items are safety pins on oil drains. Safety pins suck and most people know how much I dislike them. I am huge proponent of hard-wiring oil fills and dipsticks. One of the reasons I dislike safety pins so much is because they have to be wired properly to be effective (and most times they are not), they are often seen simply dangling there during and after races (especially endurance races where racers claim they must add a squirt of oil or the world will stop turning), and they wear out and don't have the spring force they once had and can bumped open inadvertently with a heal or a toe. This is oil, people, the worst stuff that can added to a paved racing surface. I mean, really, how much longer does that take you to hard wire? A minute? Here's an example of hard wiring. And the "hard" doesn't mean difficult.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/Motorcyc...eemer-4-X2.jpg


Another example, this time from an SV650.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...LHF93fV-X2.jpg


Oil cooler oil lines, also from an SV650. It's a good idea to do these.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...tq26Ndw-X2.jpg


Also from an SV650. If you have a castle nut, I am okay with using an R clip. I don't like the safety pins back here because they are not usually as stout, but they'll pass muster in tech if they aren't sloppy. Notice there's a hefty R clip used here, a nice piece of wire that affords enough room to remove the pin and replace it multiple times without the wire getting bent and fatigued, some shrink tubing applied to the wire (so it looks good and also can show if the wire has been dinged or bent), and a solid place to wire off to.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...txwCSBC-X2.jpg


I always recommend doing this in tech and am surprised how many don't. At least once a race weekend we have a shifter come loose or fall off on the track. I am always amused when folks want to go find their shifter after the races when it fell off on the track. Be my guest and good luck! This is a simple way to keep it connected as it should be. Do you need to do this to pass tech? No. Do you need to do this to finish a race? Almost certainly. Two small holes and a bit of wire. Golden!

http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...3zVZ9QM-X2.jpg


A holdover from the old days, rear calipers don't come loose often, but it's a bad deal when they do. Why not wire them and be safe AND cool? Also note the RTV on the banjo bolt.


http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...BtTbdqS-X2.jpg



A line of RTV over access covers (such as this one used for timing) is required and a good idea. Do they ever fall out without RTV? Only when you least expect it. Don't be that guy.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...Rr3vmfG-X2.jpg

Never thought of doing the shifter linkage. I plan on doing that when I get my bike back as well.
-Cody

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Originally Posted by Cody Stewart

Never thought of doing the shifter linkage.

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Anything that gets a lot of "action" is a good candidate. I've lost the shift linkage bolt, as I'm sure many here have. It's wired now!

BTW, I disagree with Linz on one topic, and that's safety wire diameter. For short items like shift-linkages and banjo bolts, I find .020 and .025 to be superior in terms of the tightening force you end up with and the ease of using the wire itself. .032 is a very stiff wire, and will work-harden and break more readily than thinner wires because of how difficult it can be to use.

The FAA approves .020 wire (quite thin) for applications up to two inches. Also, 5-7 twists per inch is sufficient, and in many of the pictures above, the wire is over-twisted. On something like an oil drain it probably doesn't make much difference, but on something like a rear caliper that's not changed but once a season (or never) the extra twisting promotes a more brittle wire over time more likely to break.

Just my opinion, worth what it cost you to hear/read.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jim Dugger

Anything that gets a lot of "action" is a good candidate. I've lost the shift linkage bolt, as I'm sure many here have. It's wired now!

BTW, I disagree with Linz on one topic, and that's safety wire diameter. For short items like shift-linkages and banjo bolts, I find .020 and .025 to be superior in terms of the tightening force you end up with and the ease of using the wire itself. .032 is a very stiff wire, and will work-harden and break more readily than thinner wires because of how difficult it can be to use.

The FAA approves .020 wire (quite thin) for applications up to two inches. Also, 5-7 twists per inch is sufficient, and in many of the pictures above, the wire is over-twisted. On something like an oil drain it probably doesn't make much difference, but on something like a rear caliper that's not changed but once a season (or never) the extra twisting promotes a more brittle wire over time more likely to break.

Just my opinion, worth what it cost you to hear/read.

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Misuse causes rule changes. I think .020 or .025 is perfectly suited for some items, but not for others, just like the FAA. The NASA standards say the same as the FAA standards. But people start wiring drain plugs and axles and whatnot with .020 and that's too thin. Uniformity is the key, here, Jim. Rather than tell someone they have to get rid of that .020 they used on the rear axle (as if that thin stuff could keep an axle nut tight), Walter and I decided .032 was the best compromise. It works well on most everything, although it's a bear on a few things. Now here's the caveat that will help you - if you want to wire something that's NOT required to be wired, and want to use a thinner gauge, be my guest. But don't even bother showing up to tech with your drain plug wired with .020. I'll reach up there and break it off by hand for you. (Well, maybe not at the moment because I'd have to have two good hands, but anyway.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jim Dugger

BTW, I disagree with Linz on one topic, and that's safety wire diameter. For short items like shift-linkages and banjo bolts, I find .020 and .025 to be superior in terms of the tightening force you end up with and the ease of using the wire itself. .032 is a very stiff wire, and will work-harden and break more readily than thinner wires because of how difficult it can be to use.

The FAA approves .020 wire (quite thin) for applications up to two inches. Also, 5-7 twists per inch is sufficient, and in many of the pictures above, the wire is over-twisted. On something like an oil drain it probably doesn't make much difference, but on something like a rear caliper that's not changed but once a season (or never) the extra twisting promotes a more brittle wire over time more likely to break.

Just my opinion, worth what it cost you to hear/read.

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I agree with you completely. I don't understand the need for the CMRA to try and go above and beyond what even the AMA requires for safety wiring. BTW, it is .024 for reference. page 39 of the AMA rulebook.

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Originally Posted by Gavin Williams

I agree with you completely. I don't understand the need for the CMRA to try and go above and beyond what even the AMA requires for safety wiring. BTW, it is .024 for reference. page 39 of the AMA rulebook.

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.024 Nominal. I buy my safety wire from the aviation supply next to my house and my can that I have in my toolbox is marked .025. Quite frankly do you think I care and do you think anyone else can really tell the difference in .001, besides my high buck NASA-supplied calipers? .025 or .024. Same difference.

Also, I don't care about the AMA rule book. I am not satisfying those rules, I'm satisfying CMRA rules. The CMRA isn't satisfying the FAA or NASA safety wire regulations, either.

There is a post elsewhere in this forum about people whining when the .032 mandate was announced. Go there and complain. This thread is about wiring properly. Wait until I show you some really crappy wire jobs people do and comment on those. Take the wire gauge complaint elsewhere.

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Originally Posted by Linz Leard

.024 Nominal. I buy my safety wire from the aviation supply next to my house and my can that I have in my toolbox is marked .025. Quite frankly do you think I care and do you think anyone else can really tell the difference in .001, besides my high buck NASA-supplied calipers? .025 or .024. Same difference.

Also, I don't care about the AMA rule book. I am not satisfying those rules, I'm satisfying CMRA rules. The CMRA isn't satisfying the FAA or NASA safety wire regulations, either.

There is a post elsewhere in this forum about people whining when the .032 mandate was announced. Go there and complain. This thread is about wiring properly. Wait until I show you some really crappy wire jobs people do and comment on those. Take the wire gauge complaint elsewhere.

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I understand his question and concern.

Is such a heavy handed response really necessary?

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Originally Posted by John Redford

I understand his question and concern.

Is such a heavy handed response really necessary?

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I didn't think I was heavy handed. This thread was about one thing, not another. Let's stay on topic. This isn't MH.

Nice informational posts Linz regarding proper number plates and safety wire. I hear those questions a lot and this is a great resource for folks to use. Thank you!

More.

This picture shows some items that are done and some not done. Notice the sprocket bolt has been wired. This is often overlooked and not required per the rulebook, but like the shifter linkage, is a good idea to wire. Also note that there are two oil filters on this bike. Both have the cover bolts wired. Also pictured is the wired cam chain tensioner. Another good idea. If it comes loose, the motor won't like it. Not wired in this image (but wired now) is the water pump drain and there's a blob of RTV on the banjo bolt on the hydraulic master cylinder.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...hZHXdWZ-X2.jpg



Here's a case where things can be done a bit better. As most of you know, I am not a fan of safety pin style clips. I see them open and dangling quite often and always ask myself, "How and when did that happen?" If you bump one hard enough, they can open. If they get bent or over-used they can open. Overuse, such as constantly manipulating them and the wire that's attached to them, can fatigue wire over time. I'm a fan of hard wiring when it can be done. But the CMRA rulebook allows them in some cases (and not in others). In this particular case it's pretty clear that the wire is very loose so it can allow the safety pins sufficient room to be manipulated, uninstalled and reinstalled multiple times. The wire has no tension on it, and if a caliper bolt wanted to start backing out, what's going to stop it? Yes, I admit that the chances of that happening are low, but it could happen and if it did the wire isn't going to try really hard to stop it. Quick wheel swaps and tire changes aside, this is legal but not preferred. By the way SAE AS 657 / MS33540 doesn't mention safety pins at all, although it does address cotter pins for some applications. But remember, the SAE standard isn't the be-all, end-all of the CMRA rulebook. Also, the SAE standard refers to .024 wire as a range between .024 and .026 (with .025 being nominal). Since the SAE standard trumps the AMA rule book, I've already sent a letter to the AMA to have them correct their rule book so folks aren't misled. Just saying.

http://racer997.smugmug.com/photos/i...b2LBQdr-X2.jpg

You don't need to wire the axle if the pinch bolts are wired.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keith Hertell

You don't need to wire the axle if the pinch bolts are wired.

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True. I won't stop you from being safe, though.

Incorrect. You must wire the axle or axle nuts regardless of the pinch bolts. If the nut is part of the fork then you have to wire the axle. page 15 of the rule book.

WRONG!!! lol

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Originally Posted by Keith Hertell

WRONG!!! lol

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Since I'm thinking I have to do it, did I miss something?

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...ps281bbea9.png

Kasey - More is better. Nothing wrong or unsafe about doing the axle, or axle nut AND doing a pinch bolt. The minimum is the minimum, but what do we think of people who do just the bare minimum?

Ryan is my buddy. I have been told I sometimes forget his name, but that's another story. Anyway, Ryan is the outrider, and a damn good one. He likes to play tech inspector once in a while, too, and he's a pretty good resource for that, but, well, here we are. :)

Anyway, Ryan, you know I love you!

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Originally Posted by Linz Leard

The minimum is the minimum, but what do we think of people who do just the bare minimum?

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"So more then?" I have 17 pieces on. I don't really like talking about my flair."

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Originally Posted by David Proler

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"So more then?" I have 17 pieces on. I don't really like talking about my flair."

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If you think you're safer with two pieces of wire on your drain plug, I support that. Nothing wrong with two-fault tolerance. :)

Question on this "A line of RTV over access covers (such as this one used for timing) is required and a good idea. Do they ever fall out without RTV? Only when you least expect it. Don't be that guy." If you have a case cover that is covering the access cover witch prohibits the access cover from backing out, do you still need to use the RTV??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Legato

Question on this "A line of RTV over access covers (such as this one used for timing) is required and a good idea. Do they ever fall out without RTV? Only when you least expect it. Don't be that guy." If you have a case cover that is covering the access cover witch prohibits the access cover from backing out, do you still need to use the RTV??

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I'd have to see it, Mike, but erring on the side of caution is best. If the cover comes loose, even if doesn't back all the way out, it could still leak. The cover does have an o-ring on the back side that will do a good job of preventing the cover from 1) generally coming loose in the first place (since it applies a bit of tension to the cover from the inside out as the o-ring compresses when tightening), and 2) generally prevents spillage - even if the cover is a tad loose - because the o-ring is under compression.

But, all of that said, I do like to see a blob of red high temp RTV on any of those access covers since it's extra insurance. 90% of folks will never remove those covers, but if you do, securing them can be a PITA, so the RTV serves a purpose.

Got it thanks Linz

Got it Linz! Thanks again.

I'm just glad you aren't counting the number of twists per cm. or nobody would ever pass.

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Originally Posted by Harold Lambert

I'm just glad you aren't counting the number of twists per cm. or nobody would ever pass.

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Indeed. :biggrin:

This is a very helpful article. Can you pin it?

I'm so glad this thread exists. Thanks.