I am absolutely sure, that there is a secret syndicate between the firms BMW, Loctite and Coca Cola! There must be, because if it wasn’t for them, my travel-life would be a lot more difficult.
While I was working on my bike, I wanted to exchange the cardan-shaft, which broke and was rudimentarily fixed in Pakistan. Someone I know brought me a new one when she flew into Nepal for vacation.
Swapping this part of the bike usually cannot be undertaken without a proper workshop and special BMW tools. But the secret BmwLocCoca syndicate saved me. It’s not easy to take the cardan-shaft out and the actions necessary to assemble it all again are as difficult to perform as they are to explain. Especially the final move: assembling safety ring with cardan-shaft. Imagine you have to put the wedding ring onto the finger of your bride, but her hand is inside a beer bottle, with the bottle-neck pointing at you. And you’re supposed to fiddle the ring through the bottle-neck onto her finger. You need BmwLocCoca for that, don’t you?
For everyone who finds him / herself in a similar situation, here is how I did it:
The safety-ring #1 (wedding ring) is round and open. It has first to be spread open and then pushed over the end of the cardan-shaft #2 (finger of the bride) where it then contracts again and rests in a groove. The end of the cardan-shaft #2 sits deep inside the bike’s swing arm (beer bottle around the bride’s hand) and I can only get to it, through a long, narrow tunnel.
Loctite’s contribution: I carry a small flask of Loctite with me. Loctite is a kind of glue, used to prevent screws from loosening themselves. The cap #3 of the flask has exactly the same diameter as the cardan-shaft #2 (finger of the bride) that the safety-ring #1 (wedding ring) has to go onto.
Coca Cola’s contribution: The neck of a bottle of Sprite #4 (or Coca Cola, Fanta – whatever you like the taste of) has a collar (for easy carrying) right underneath the thread. The collar has exactly the same diameter as the inside of the bike’s swing-arm (bottle around the bride’s hand)
Now guess what, the Loctite cap #3 fits perfectly inside the Sprite-bottle’s opening #4. Nearly there, stay with me!
BMW’s contribution: All I had to do now is, to push and delate the safety-ring #1 (wedding ring) over the Loctite cap #3. Then slide the Loctite cap #3, with the safety-ring #1 on it, inside the the Sprite-bottle’s opening #4 (I cut it off the rest of the bottle). These three things I could now push inside the bike’s swing arm (bottle around the bride’s hand) up until where the Loctite cap #3 touches the end of the cardan-shaft #2.
Almost done, stay with me!
Now you push (with a screw driver or something…) the Sprite’s bottle-neck #4, which then pushes the safety-ring #1 (wedding ring) off the Loctite cap #3 and onto the end of the cardan-shaft #2 (bride’s finger) Done! Crazy!
Now, don’t even ask me how I came up with this. I guess the lack of special BMW-tools makes you become creative.
Lutz
Ich würde mir dieses Zusammenspiel patentieren lassen ;-)-
Jules
Auch für mögliche Hochzeiten, bei denen die Braut vorher Bier statt Cola getrunken hat, und man trotz Rausch den Akt des Ringtauschs vollziehen möchte.
Joana
Verrückt.
Simone von Lackum
darn, i can’t access Feb. stuck, at an end, a wall. wish i could see/ hear more…..