Ducati Monster Forum

I'm trying to remove the front wheel of my 696 so I can take it in to be straightened.

The service manual says to remove the front calipers, which makes sense.

The problem is that I can't figure out how to do this. There are 2 bolts per caliper. Once they're removed, the caliper is loose, but if I pull it toward the wheel it hits the inside of the wheel before it clears the rotor. I tried some gentle wiggling in various directions to see if I could get it to clear, but without success.

I don't want to damage the rotor, the pads, or the wheel, but I really want to get this wheel off. Any hints?

When I have to remove front calipers, I'll twist each one back and forth until it pushes the brake pads in enough to get them off.  You only need about two or three millimeters of clearance to do that.  The only thing touching the rotor when I do this is the brake pad, so it can't damage anything.

You can also use a small screwdriver against the brake pad backing plate. Apply a little pressure and you should move the pad away from the rotor. For best results you'll probably want to do this while the caliper is still bolted on.

I generally first use Scott's method.  Just use the rotor to push back in the pistons by wiggling the caliper.  Don't be gentle about it. 

If that does't work I wedge the body (not the head) of a screwdriver in between the pads and use it as a lever.  That presses the pistons back in and allows you to wiggle the caliper off.  

You can also do what I'm doing in the pic below using the head of a screwdriver, but be careful not to gouge the pads.  To be honest, I do this all the time and haven't seriously gouged a pad in a long, long time.  

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2666553736_b5dc4cb093.jpg?v=0)

Just to be safe, put some duct tape or painters tape on your wheel where the caliper is likely to scrape when you wiggle it off.  I never cared with my track/race bikes, but if you have a nice pretty street bike, you can use it to avoid nicks and scapes.

Gouging a brake pad is not nearly as bad as gouging a rotor.  I've never worried about it.  Just don't get oil or grease on the pad.

no 696 FHE, but

I take the pads out, then remove the calipers. Usually I just reinstall with out moving the pistons at all.

If necessary, when I need to move the pistons, I can just use my fingers to push them back in.

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=36773.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=36773.0)

some pics of how it works. its the same for all disc brakes. the piston can be moved to get more space. just use the brake disc as leverage to compress the pads and push the pistons in.

why not unbolt the calipers, wrap them in a rag, but leave them there. then remove the wheel axle to shift your wheel to give you more room.

Because I though it wouldn't work. The spatial relationships among the rotors, calipers, and wheel don't change when the wheel moves from side to side, do they? My problem is that the clearance between the rotor and the edge of the wheel doesn't seem to be enough to wiggle the rotor off.

I'll try again today after mashing the pads.

yeah silly me. thought getting the fork mounts out of the way would help, but i see what you mean. when i took mine off... well there wasn't much wheel there.

thats like using a drill and pair of pliers to open a twisty bottle of beer.


your not still having problems getting the caliper off are you?

Pressing the calipers against the rotors to push the pistorns and pads apart did the trick.

M C Wheel got the wheel straightened in an hour and everything's now back together.

Thanks, everyone.

same here. Everytime, all the time. Yesterday, in fact.

Hello. Sorry to resurrect an old thread but arenthe calliper bolts normal thread? Mine will not undo, they aren’t left hand thread are they? They are lefty loosy yes?

Yes, 696 caliper bolts are right hand (normal) thread.

Wow!  This is old.  I still owned a Ducati or two the last time I posted on it.  ;)

What sort of wrench are you trying to use to loosen the caliper bolts?  Of course they're normal thread, there would be no reason to use a reverse thread there.  A quality wrench that doesn't flex should pop them loose.

One of my excuses for lack of Ducati ownership is that there are exactly zero dealers in the state of Idaho.  I wouldn't mind a Scrambler Desert Sled.

Got the off. Previous owner had used permanent thread lock. New bolts on order.