Removing axle crash bungs

[Three Dawg]

My Falco has nylon crash bungs fitted to the front axle - how do I get them off? They have a 5mm hole in them, but nothing seems to be down there to unscrew.

[Gio]

I'd telephone R&G, they'll know.

[mangocrazy]

Does undoing the fork pinch bolts cause anything to loosen up?

[Three Dawg]

Hm, wouldn't have thought so, but I will try that as hopefully a set of the correct flanged titanium bolts should arrive today to replace those nasty cap heads.

[fatboy]

Have similar fitted to the Falc and the RC8,both secured by a piece of studding and nuts

[Three Dawg]

Nothing down those holes (only about 5mm diameter) that I can find. Have emailed R&G to ask.

[fatboy]

Weird ! Just had a look on ebay, R&G Falco ones on there clearly fixed by stud and nuts......
5mm is very small for a fixing of that nature, can you look into the hole with a torch in case there may be some form of screws type fastening, maybe like a spoke nipple?
This is a WTF

[Three Dawg]

Can't see owt down there, even with my bestest torch. Stuck a narrow screwdriver down hoping perhaps to find an Allen bolt, but no.

It'll probably turn out to be embarassingly obvious - I'll own up if it is...

[Animal]

As above, deffo should be a 5mm bar through the axle.
If you put the torch the other side, can you see it?

Tap with a rubber mallet...

[Three Dawg]

Definitely nothing down there, the holes are only about 5mm. I suspect they must be an early type which were just driven in to the axle - the one on the rhs is smaller in diameter so that the axle nut can pass over it without the need to remove the bung first.

[Ben]

I'm just here out of curiosity. Keen to see what the verdict is!

[Three Dawg]

OK, I'll put you out of your misery - they're a push fit. I cut a thread in the larger one, put a bolt in and knocked it out from the other side with a drift. Dunno if I'll keep them, I don't like how much they stick out and the fact that they are different sizes. I most likely put on the newer version if I decide I need something down there.

One thing's for sure, I now NEED a titanium axle nut.

[fatboy]

Have a look at Jaybee biker bits, they are IMHO cheaper and better than R&G,more sacrificial material on the bungs.
I have front bungs and both titanium axle nuts on the Falco and the full set of crash bungs on the RC8 all from Jaybee

[Three Dawg]

Cheers, I'll check those out.

[Gio]

I was once told never put crash bungs on the wheels, its to do with weight distribution when it hits the deck, ie more weight above than below, so more damage to the bike.