Rear tire harder to remove than I thought..
#11
11-07-2009, 07:14 PM
Road Warrior
#12
11-07-2009, 07:31 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Dayam....i have removed mine 6 times in 2 years and i never had this much problems...remove the 2 bolts on the right side muffler hanger only...i use a big *** long phillips screwdriver and hit the **** out of the axle until the damn thing comes out...little axle grease on it to slide in better....I leave the caliper there and the axle washer clears the bracket one way or another,,,It;s not that hard fo rme and i did it the first time with very little experience and no manual...I wouldn't think of changing my own tire though because my indy does it for $15.00...
#13
11-07-2009, 07:53 PM
Stellar HDF Member
For the past couple of weeks I've been looking at posts about changing the rear tire on my 08 Ultra with 10600 miles. I bought an E3, Harbor Freight tire changer, dynabeads, and everything I thought I'd need after reading the Service Manual and this forum. Things did not go as well as planned. I should state that this was my first motorcycle mechanical work, other than installing a backrest and a battery tender on this bike, and putting crash bars and a windshield on my wife's Deluxe.
I did not buy the HD axle nut torque adapter, or the PitPosse tool, or the ratcheting one from discounttools.com because I read a post that said I could just remove the upper shock bolts and eliminate the need to remove the mufflers. I also did not buy a Torca clamp, although I did stop by the dealer for an e-clip the other day.
The first problem is that the shock trick did not work on my bike. I assumed that I'd be able to get a socket on the axle nuts because this was going to raise or lower the axle. It did nothing. I removed upper bolts, then lower bolts. Nothing. The axle was still blocked by the mufflers. A few choice words, then on to Plan B. Remove left muffler and get the HD axle tool, like the manual says. Removed the muffler and took a break to call dealers. There are only two of these tools in the state (NC) and neither are near me. A few more choice words, then on to Plan C. Remove the right muffler.
Then I ran into the biggest obstacle of the day. Both mufflers removed. Everything exposed. Right nut off. Axle will not come out of wheel without hitting bag brackets. I can't believe I never saw anything about this, so I'm thinking I'm doing something wrong. I finessed it out, but I scratched the heck out of the black support bracket that goes under the bags.
So, how do you guys get the axle out? Do you remove the bagger brackets?
The rest of the HD stuff went ok. Changing the tire with the Harbor Freight tire tool and my new fancy no-scuff tire tool is stuff that needs to go in another thread if I don't supress the memory. I finally got it, but it was WAY HARDER than any of those Youtube videos. I just rode 20 miles on the new tire, so I guess I'll call it a successful day. Compensator parts looked good, by the way.
How do you get the axle out??????
I did not buy the HD axle nut torque adapter, or the PitPosse tool, or the ratcheting one from discounttools.com because I read a post that said I could just remove the upper shock bolts and eliminate the need to remove the mufflers. I also did not buy a Torca clamp, although I did stop by the dealer for an e-clip the other day.
The first problem is that the shock trick did not work on my bike. I assumed that I'd be able to get a socket on the axle nuts because this was going to raise or lower the axle. It did nothing. I removed upper bolts, then lower bolts. Nothing. The axle was still blocked by the mufflers. A few choice words, then on to Plan B. Remove left muffler and get the HD axle tool, like the manual says. Removed the muffler and took a break to call dealers. There are only two of these tools in the state (NC) and neither are near me. A few more choice words, then on to Plan C. Remove the right muffler.
Then I ran into the biggest obstacle of the day. Both mufflers removed. Everything exposed. Right nut off. Axle will not come out of wheel without hitting bag brackets. I can't believe I never saw anything about this, so I'm thinking I'm doing something wrong. I finessed it out, but I scratched the heck out of the black support bracket that goes under the bags.
So, how do you guys get the axle out? Do you remove the bagger brackets?
The rest of the HD stuff went ok. Changing the tire with the Harbor Freight tire tool and my new fancy no-scuff tire tool is stuff that needs to go in another thread if I don't supress the memory. I finally got it, but it was WAY HARDER than any of those Youtube videos. I just rode 20 miles on the new tire, so I guess I'll call it a successful day. Compensator parts looked good, by the way.
How do you get the axle out??????
#14
11-07-2009, 08:41 PM
Road Warrior
Let me clarify:
Once I removed both mufflers, I had easy access to the axle and nut (36mm). The problem occurred after I removed the nut and began to pull the axle out (pulling towards the left side of bike). The head of the axle with the cam would hit the bag bars before it came all the way out of the wheel. I could not get the wheel out because the axle was still somewhat inserted. There was some play; I could move the wheel around and tilt it some, but I could not clear the bar with the axle. It was VERY close, so I hammered it out, scratching the black paint on the bar. I also had to hammer it when re-assembling. I did use the anti-seize, as suggested in the manual.
At times, I had a jack under the wheel, and I tried to raise/lower the wheel to get the axle removed, but this did not help. I'm hoping someone else has done this on an Ultra Classic and can post a tip. Right now, it looks like I need to remove the bag bar. I'm surprised that this isn't mentioned in the service manual and that no one here posted this.
As for the tire changer, I am disappointed. I bolted mine to a piece of plywood rather than mounting it permanently to my garage floor. It still moved around as I struggled with this tire. I had purchased a mount/demount bar from http://no-scufftiretool.com/index.html . It's a cross between the Mojo Lever and the No-Mar tire bar. The demount part seemed to work alright, although I felt sure I was going to break the tip when I bent the bar over the first time. Mounting the new tire was worse. I certainly could not "push" the tire on as shown in many videos. I think they use very warm, pliable tires for those videos. A cold E3 is STIFF. I ended up using the HF tire bar as a tire iron to pry the tire onto the wheel, and I had to do this getting the "bottom side" onto the rim and again when getting the "top side" onto the rim. I've read that people get better with practice; hopefully my next tire change will be in the summer when I can warm up the rubber. I'm 5'8" and I sure wish the device was a little bit shorter so I could use my body weight as leverage. After all of the troubles getting the tire off the bike, I was ready to toss the tire changer into the street.
Once I removed both mufflers, I had easy access to the axle and nut (36mm). The problem occurred after I removed the nut and began to pull the axle out (pulling towards the left side of bike). The head of the axle with the cam would hit the bag bars before it came all the way out of the wheel. I could not get the wheel out because the axle was still somewhat inserted. There was some play; I could move the wheel around and tilt it some, but I could not clear the bar with the axle. It was VERY close, so I hammered it out, scratching the black paint on the bar. I also had to hammer it when re-assembling. I did use the anti-seize, as suggested in the manual.
At times, I had a jack under the wheel, and I tried to raise/lower the wheel to get the axle removed, but this did not help. I'm hoping someone else has done this on an Ultra Classic and can post a tip. Right now, it looks like I need to remove the bag bar. I'm surprised that this isn't mentioned in the service manual and that no one here posted this.
As for the tire changer, I am disappointed. I bolted mine to a piece of plywood rather than mounting it permanently to my garage floor. It still moved around as I struggled with this tire. I had purchased a mount/demount bar from http://no-scufftiretool.com/index.html . It's a cross between the Mojo Lever and the No-Mar tire bar. The demount part seemed to work alright, although I felt sure I was going to break the tip when I bent the bar over the first time. Mounting the new tire was worse. I certainly could not "push" the tire on as shown in many videos. I think they use very warm, pliable tires for those videos. A cold E3 is STIFF. I ended up using the HF tire bar as a tire iron to pry the tire onto the wheel, and I had to do this getting the "bottom side" onto the rim and again when getting the "top side" onto the rim. I've read that people get better with practice; hopefully my next tire change will be in the summer when I can warm up the rubber. I'm 5'8" and I sure wish the device was a little bit shorter so I could use my body weight as leverage. After all of the troubles getting the tire off the bike, I was ready to toss the tire changer into the street.
#15
11-07-2009, 09:20 PM
Quote NCTim I did not buy the HD axle nut torque adapter, or the PitPosse tool, or the ratcheting one from discounttools.com because I read a post that said I could just remove the upper shock bolts and eliminate the need to remove the mufflers. I also did not buy a Torca clamp, although I did stop by the dealer for an e-clip the other day.
If you're talking about what I think you are and you have the HD toolkit that comes with the touring models, you all ready have the tool you need for torquing the axle nut.
Just put the socket that matches the allen wrench, or any of the other shown tools, on your torque wrench and do what the manual says.
Well, I stand corrected. While the setup in my prior post worked great on my '06' EGC,as pictured, it's not even close to functioning on the 09 RG.
If you're talking about what I think you are and you have the HD toolkit that comes with the touring models, you all ready have the tool you need for torquing the axle nut.
Just put the socket that matches the allen wrench, or any of the other shown tools, on your torque wrench and do what the manual says.
Well, I stand corrected. While the setup in my prior post worked great on my '06' EGC,as pictured, it's not even close to functioning on the 09 RG.
Last edited by wldbill; 11-07-2009 at 09:45 PM. Reason: correction & update
#16
11-07-2009, 11:26 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
If you're talking about what I think you are and you have the HD toolkit that comes with the touring models, you all ready have the tool you need for torquing the axle nut.
Just put the socket that matches the allen wrench, or any of the other shown tools, on your torque wrench and do what the manual says.
Well, I stand corrected. While the setup in my prior post worked great on my '06' EGC,as pictured, it's not even close to functioning on the 09 RG.
Just put the socket that matches the allen wrench, or any of the other shown tools, on your torque wrench and do what the manual says.
Well, I stand corrected. While the setup in my prior post worked great on my '06' EGC,as pictured, it's not even close to functioning on the 09 RG.
so i just used german specs (good-en-tight) for this go round and will have the 'official' tool for next time.
#17
11-08-2009, 02:19 AM
I have an o8 ultra, and the saddlebag braket is NOT in the way of removing the axle.
As someone mentioned, there are a couple possiblities causing this,
1) has the bike been lowered in the rear?
2) was there anything blocking the swingarm from lowering all the way when you lifted the bike off the ground?
Yeah, I have to remove a muffler (left side) but thats all I have to remove. Axle slides right out with no issues. Hardest part for me is getting the belt off the pully ( I don't loosen the adjusters..) But even thats not too difficult.
As someone mentioned, there are a couple possiblities causing this,
1) has the bike been lowered in the rear?
2) was there anything blocking the swingarm from lowering all the way when you lifted the bike off the ground?
Yeah, I have to remove a muffler (left side) but thats all I have to remove. Axle slides right out with no issues. Hardest part for me is getting the belt off the pully ( I don't loosen the adjusters..) But even thats not too difficult.
#18
11-08-2009, 02:45 AM
Road Master
On my 2000, I removed the right muffler for 4 tire changes (in 2 years) the last time I thought I would try to remove the upper shock bolts, -- didn't let the tire fall any further --but I did see that I could remove the axle without taking off the muffler --by just loosening the rear muffler nuts - and the axle will slide out
I had also put anit seize on the muffler before sliding them back -- on the other tire changes, and it did not make it easier to take off the muffler
I had also put anit seize on the muffler before sliding them back -- on the other tire changes, and it did not make it easier to take off the muffler
#19
11-08-2009, 04:33 AM
Road Captain
I'd like to understand why the axle hits the bag support, because this isn't a problem at all on either my 07 RK or my 09 Ultra. Short suspension?
If you haven't done much motorcycle work, I can see how frustrating this job must be. I have a great deal of experience working on BMWs, but only started working on H-Ds when I bought my first one in 2007. Removing the rear wheel on modern BMWs is about as hard as taking one off a car; I could almost do it in my sleep. I can do it on one of my H-Ds smoothly now, but it takes some equipment. What I like to do is raise the bike on a jack and support the rear wheel gently with a floor jack that has a cupped saddle (so that the tire wants to stay in the saddle.) This is to take the weight off the axle, but not preload the axle upward, to allow the axle to be easily withdrawn.
I remove the left muffler only, because the axle has to come out that way and will hit the muffler unless you do more work, like unhooking the shocks. I don't remove the right one, because I'd prefer not to loosen the Torca clamp. Yeah, you can reuse them, but I don't. With the right tool, you can retorque the axle nut without disturbing the right muffler.
The axle should slide out easily and smoothly to the left. If you have to beat on it, then either the weight of the wheel is still on it (reason for my floor jack) or the axle is dry and wasn't clean and lubricated with anti-seize paste last time it was removed (the factory isn't very good at doing this.) Once the axle is out, you can finesse the brake caliper off the wheel by moving the wheel forward and down a bit. And so on.
Hope to see a thread about mounting the new tire so I can comment on that. Trying to mount a cold tire is an exercise in frustration. Don't do that.
If you haven't done much motorcycle work, I can see how frustrating this job must be. I have a great deal of experience working on BMWs, but only started working on H-Ds when I bought my first one in 2007. Removing the rear wheel on modern BMWs is about as hard as taking one off a car; I could almost do it in my sleep. I can do it on one of my H-Ds smoothly now, but it takes some equipment. What I like to do is raise the bike on a jack and support the rear wheel gently with a floor jack that has a cupped saddle (so that the tire wants to stay in the saddle.) This is to take the weight off the axle, but not preload the axle upward, to allow the axle to be easily withdrawn.
I remove the left muffler only, because the axle has to come out that way and will hit the muffler unless you do more work, like unhooking the shocks. I don't remove the right one, because I'd prefer not to loosen the Torca clamp. Yeah, you can reuse them, but I don't. With the right tool, you can retorque the axle nut without disturbing the right muffler.
The axle should slide out easily and smoothly to the left. If you have to beat on it, then either the weight of the wheel is still on it (reason for my floor jack) or the axle is dry and wasn't clean and lubricated with anti-seize paste last time it was removed (the factory isn't very good at doing this.) Once the axle is out, you can finesse the brake caliper off the wheel by moving the wheel forward and down a bit. And so on.
Hope to see a thread about mounting the new tire so I can comment on that. Trying to mount a cold tire is an exercise in frustration. Don't do that.
