It's time to replace my front and rear tires on my '04 custom, and I would love to save some labor costs and take the wheels off, myself. I used the search function here on the forum and gathered some great info, but I had some more questions regarding the removal of the rear wheel:

-Is it necessary to remove the exhaust to remove the rear tire? If so, can I just remove the slip-on mufflers?

-I have a Clymer manual, and it refers to using a tension measuring tool to set the tension of the drive belt, etc. when reinstalling... For a newbie like myself (this is my first motorcycle but I've worked on my cars for a long time), is it possible to reinstall without having to deal with belt/alignment adjustments?

-If I'm using a Craftsman motorcycle jack, will it provide enough stability to do this job without fear of the bike falling off? I understand I'll have to use another jack to place under the rear wheel when removing/reinstalling

-Just how heavy is the rear wheel??? I'll probably be attempting this job, myself, and don't want any surprises.

Thanks in advance!

Adam in Nashville

 

Taking the wheel off is no big deal. The lift will work fine, just strap her down. You do not need to remove anything like mufflers. Just lift the bike, take off the clip on the end of the axle. Now remove the nut. Drive the axle out. The wheel will try to just fall right out. Now push the tire forward and take off the drive belt. The wheel is now ready to remove. You may have to raise the bike some more. Getting it back on is more of a two person job. After you put the belt back you have to get the spacers in and align the wheel at the same time. The thick spacer goes on the right side and the thin one on the left. Just hold the spacers in and lower the bike(here is where you need three hands) while you align the spacers behind the tension adjusters. The secret here is to put the spacers in the wheel with the bike raised so that the adjusters are above the spacers. You can now lower the bike slowly while you align things. You do not need to make any belt tension adjustments unless you want to. As long as you do not touch the adjustment screws the wheel will be in the exact position that it came off. Same belt tension and alignment. Watch the brake pads going back on the rotor. Sometimes they will bind a little. If you need some room to get the caliper on, just remove the cover on the rear master cylinder and then push the ram in the caliper in. This will make room to move the wheel more. Once you have everything aligned, just grease the axle a bit and drive it in. Be sure that the axle has cleared the bearing in the wheel before you start pounding on it. If it feels like you have hit something solid before the axle is half way in, you are hitting the bearing. Just look from the other side and you can see this. Once the axle is in you just tighten the nut and re install the clip. Replace the master cylinder cover (top off brake fluid if you lost any). Now turn the wheel and make sure the brakes are free and see that the rotor is centered in the caliper. It will take longer than you think to pump the rear brake back up. Don't panic. Just take a ride and pump alot. You should be good to go. This ran long, but you asked.

 

Well the last time I removed the rear wheel on my 07 XLC I had to remove the rear exhaust slip on because the axle slid out on the muffler side. Maybe the 04 is different. Put some never seize on the axle when you re-install it.

 

Thanks so much for the very detailed reply, Lazyboy!

One final question: What is the best method to strap the bike down? I've read that strapping it to the jack is not that effective, even though it has hooks on it for that purpose...

Thanks again,

 

It's easy. I did it myself with no help. Used a broomstick to hold one of the spacers in place.

 

Use motorcycle tiedowns connected from the handlebars to the lift on either side if you are worried about the bike falling over. Also those fools at the H-D factory install the rear wheel after the mufflers are installed and they put the headed side of the axel to the right so you have to remove the rear muffler to get the axel dismounted. When you reassemble the rear end put the head of the axel on the left side and the nut on the right so you won't have to remove the rear axel on future tire changes! A light coat of axel grease or neverseize on the axel is not a bad idea. Also aligning all the parts on the rear end can be a bit of a b!tch sometimes [you have at least 7 parts] and sometimes it's a good idea to have a buddy to help out and maybe a tappered drift. Use a rubber or deadblow hammer on the axel head if it doesn't want to go in and frequently check the alignment of your parts. Don't use a metal hammer!
KK

 

I forgot to answer your question on the belt tension. It's important that the belt tension be equal on both sides. An unaligned wheel will wear out your belt assymetrically. If your belt tension is correct and the wheel alligned correctly do not mess with the adjusters. You can remove and reinstall your wheel without messing with the adjusters! I use a dial caliper to measure the length of my adjusters. If they are within .010-.015" that should be close enough as far as alignment goes.
KK

 

I can have the front and rear tires off in about 20min. A lot of the time is taking my axle covers off and setting it up with the jack and everything.
I also have a 4x4 that I can set my bike on when the wheels are off, or to put under one part of the frame to stabilize while it is on the jack.

As a general rule of thumb, I lay the parts I take off on a towel or something and lay them out in the order or way they were installed. So I have the axle there, with the spacers on the right sides, along with the clip, bolt ect. so there isn't a guessing game when putting it back together. For more intricate jobs I have taken pictures along the way - especially for wiring.
It is mainly on the front that you have to worry about the different size spacers.
I save a tonnnnn of cash by doing all the work myself, so I can buy goodies I want.

Good luck and enjoy working on it!!!!

 

Mark the tension adjuster nuts on each side of the the rear wheel before you start. Loosen each adjuster exactly an equal number of turns, 5 or 6 turns usually does it. Once you get the wheel reinstalled, simply re-tighten the adjusters the exact same number of turns you loosened them. Your wheel alignment and belt tension will be right back to where it was before you started.

 

Thanks again for the replies-

So, just to make absolutely sure I understand correctly, if my alignment and belt tension are fine now, I don't need to fool with the tension adjusters at all, correct? The Clymer manual states that you have to loosen the adjusters some before the rear wheel can be pushed forward and then removed, which then require readjusting when you reinstall the wheel. But based on what I'm reading here I'm assuming that if I can tap out the rear axle while the wheel is raised, I won't have to worry any with the adjusters, correct?