OK to use wheel block to stop engine turning?

There are various repair activities that require keeping the engine from turning while loosening a high torque bolt or nut. Examples: removing the clutch hub nut, and removing the front sprocket nut. I do not have an air impact wrench, so I need to use a breaker bar, sometimes with an extender for extra leverage. Many people on this site have suggested facing the bike front wheel up against a wall to create resistance to keep the engine from turning. Sometimes I work in my yard or driveway (California weather is great), and a wall is just not handy.

Is there any reason I should not use the following substitute technique?: Place a large hardwood dowel (i.e., a closet rod) through the bike frame and spokes of the rear mag wheel, thus keeping the wheel and engine from turning when I torque on the breaker bar to remove the ofending nut/bolt. I know this should not be done with wire spokes (duh), but my bikes all have mags. I am risking damage to my wheel?

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I don't see aproblem with that as long as your wheels are mags. I've used that technique for years before I got impact tools.

Especially if you use wood to block the wheel, I would imagine. It would distribute the pressure where metal might cause a little fracture. Seems ok to me, using common sense of course.

To be on the save side you might want to 1st try a piece of wood that will break before you put enough pressure to crack the mag. Like a 2X2, rather than a 2X4.

I tried the up against the wall approach (with the bike that is) to loosen the clutch hub nut on my 650, but being fairly light (less than 180 lbs) I couldn´t prevent the back wheel from spinning by sitting on the bike - ended up sticking a broom handle in the rear wheel, worked like a charm.

I've heard about putting a penny in the gears where the clutch basket meshes, would that help you?

I dunno if this helps in all situations but last year when I changed my drive sprocket I ran into a similar issue. My solution was to have my honey bunny step on the rear brake lever to jam the wheel while I turned off and on the sprocket nut, but this only works IF you still have your chain on both sprockets. It worked great.

lock up the brakes as previously mentioned.

davenkids2001 wrote:

I dunno if this helps in all situations but last year when I changed my drive sprocket I ran into a similar issue. My solution was to have my honey bunny step on the rear brake lever to jam the wheel while I turned off and on the sprocket nut, but this only works IF you still have your chain on both sprockets. It worked great.

Above method is what I had to do, with one big teenager on a pipe to crack the sprocket nut off.