I am in need of a new back tire. I am the type of guy who likes to do things rather than take it in. Is it hard to remove and replace the back tire? Will a service manual tell me what I need to do. (I'm sure it will) I just want to take the tire and rim in rather than take the whole bike in. Any info would be sweet......

 

Never mind. It's amazing the stuff you find when a guy does a search

 

It is not hard; the service manual will tell you how, but it will not help with the seat of the pants nuances of adjusting and aligning the wheel at reassembly which is much art as science. Measure and mark the tension adjusters and check the belt tension too. When the bike is on your lift keep in mind the balance will change dramatically when the wheel comes off and again when you put it back on.

Good Luck
FBL

 

If you have the service manual, torque wrench and a jack, you'll be fine. I've done this job 4 times. It's really surprising at how simple it is. Some say you can do it without removing the mufflers, just push down on them. I've done it both ways. If you mark the eccentric washer on the axle bolt before you remove it, it will be a little easier to get the belt adjustment close to correct when you put it all back together. Go for it and save some money for chrome.

 

I've been wondering this same thing. No need yet but...won't be long. As usual, the forum comes through.

 

easy - if you have the lower belt guard removed don't even mess with adjustors just let the wheel down and take the belt off on bikes with all the exhaust on the right turn the axel around so next time you don't have to pull one exhaust pipe ( pt it in from the left side) only hassle I ever have is the brake calipher and that is small.

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I just replaced the rear tire on my sportster. I also changed the tire on the rim myself. Its, not really that bad. The sportster was the first tubeless tire I ever did, hardest part was getting the new tire bead to seal properly, but now that I have done it once should be easier. I have been doing my own tube tires for years. I have to do both front and rear on the RK.

 

I removed both front and rear on my bike today. I dropped them off to have an Indy bike shop do it for me. I have done my own mounting myself before but I punctured a hole in the tube twice while reinstalling the tire on the wheel and since then I will not do any more tube tires. I did a buddies Sporty (cast wheels) last week and it went really good.

A hint on getting the bead to seat easily... remove the valve from the valve stem and make sure you have 120 pounds in the compressor. With the valve stem removed the air flows into the tire fast enough to blow the tire out onto the wheel and it seats very nicely. Reinstall the valve stem and inflate to proper psi.

 

Great Tip RudeDog... people hear know their sh...stuff

 

1 more tip... when removing the axle, keep an eye on the spacers that will fall out/off..
make sure they go back the same side.