Remove front and rear wheel

[Cribbe]

I am going to put new tires on the bike. I have been thinking of remove the whells from the bike myself but I have never done this before. Is it difficult? I have tried to look in the forum for a good "howto" but I have not been able to find one. I have read the service manual but it seems to be a lot of work? Or am I wrong. If somebody have som pics of this I would be really happy. I should say that I have ABS on the bike... :BLAA:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I am going to put new tires on the bike. I have been thinking of remove the whells from the bike myself but I have never done this before. Is it difficult? I have tried to look in the forum for a good "howto" but I have not been able to find one. I have read the service manual but it seems to be a lot of work? Or am I wrong. If somebody have som pics of this I would be really happy. I should say that I have ABS on the bike... :BLAA:

Its really not that hard to do if you follow the manual, have basic tools and are somewhat mechanically inclined.

The front calibers DO have to come off first. **DO NOT SQUEEZE the ft or rear brake levers with the wheels off. Should that happen, the brake pistons extend out, you can push them back, but just don't touch the levers and save the headache.**

As for removing both wheels, put the bike on the center stand, break both ft and rear nuts loose (they should be around 87ft lbs). I would jack up the front with a small pice of 2x4 with a sizzor jack under the header (the front end is very light) and jack there, it won't hurt anything..

Both wheels will be off the ground for removal.

For any bushings/parts that come, you can have a piece of paper handy and write down where they go (ie: rt ft bushing, large end facing outwards, etc). It'll save guessing / mistakes later.

One quick tip, when removing each wheel, shim inbetween the floor and the bottom of the tire (I use 2x4's and thin plywood). The axle will pull out much easier without the weight of the wheel on it. Its also easier lining things up upon re-installation.

If your that unsure of your skills, do one wheel at a time or bring it to the shop... It NEEDS TO BE RE-ASSEMBLED CORRECTLY..

Good luck..

 

[04fizzer]

Its really not that hard to do if you follow the manual, have basic tools and are somewhat mechanically inclined.

The front calibers DO have to come off first. **DO NOT SQUEEZE the ft or rear brake levers with the wheels off. Should that happen, the brake pistons extend out, you can push them back, but just don't touch the levers and save the headache.**

As for removing both wheels, put the bike on the center stand, break both ft and rear nuts loose (they should be around 87ft lbs). I would jack up the front with a small pice of 2x4 with a sizzor jack under the header (the front end is very light) and jack there, it won't hurt anything..

Both wheels will be off the ground for removal.

For any bushings/parts that come, you can have a piece of paper handy and write down where they go (ie: rt ft bushing, large end facing outwards, etc). It'll save guessing / mistakes later.

One quick tip, when removing each wheel, shim inbetween the floor and the bottom of the tire (I use 2x4's and thin plywood). The axle will pull out much easier without the weight of the wheel on it. Its also easier lining things up upon re-installation.

If your that unsure of your skills, do one wheel at a time or bring it to the shop... It NEEDS TO BE RE-ASSEMBLED CORRECTLY..

Good luck..

I'll add to this a bit.

When I had to remove both wheels (also for getting new tires), I removed the front wheel first, by weighing down the back (I may or may not have used my wife as said weight). I removed the front wheel, and reinstalled the axle through the forks. I then rested the forks on a piece of wood that was on top of a cinder block. Then I tied the forks/axle to the block so that it couldn't slide off.

Then I removed the rear wheel and ran to the shop, got the tires installed, and ran home and reinstalled.

 

[Motogiro]

Make sure you loosen everything before you jack the bike up. The front axle has Allen head pinch bolts that need to be loosened before the axle can be turned out.

Same with the rear. Get every thing loose. You don't want to be torquing stuff with the bike in an unstable state.

Be careful and make sure when you re-install the wheels that you do the put the front wheel back on first. Don't tighten the front wheel just install the wheel and axle and then set the wheel back on the ground so that the bike is more stable when you install the rear wheel. A friend of mine was doing this and was installing the rear wheel first without the front wheel. The bike was unstable, spun on the center stand and fell on him. He was lucky and didn't get hurt. Then tighten the front and align your rear wheel while you set your chain slack.

 

[Cribbe]

Well now I have removed the wheels :Flash: I took me about 10 minutes and it was not so hard to do that I thought it would be. So on monday I will go to my local tire dealer and get the new tires mounted. And then it is just to mount them back wich would be the easiest thing to do :Flash: Thanks all for your support!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Congrates!


Try not to rest the wheels on the rotors....

 

[mikw73]

Congrates!


Try not to rest the wheels on the rotors....

I once CAREFULLY transported my wheels without the rotors touching anything to my local shop, where they promptly dropped them, rotors down on both wheels in their shop floor. I complained. They didn't think it was a big deal. Brakes seemed OK after. I count myself lucky the rotors haven't given problems. The amazing part was they did it right in front of me.

 

[PhotoAl]

To balance the rear wheel the shop will need most of the spacers and "stuff" in the rear wheel. Last time I had a tire mounted and balance put a string thru the axel to keep everything together. The shop gave the parts back in a bag. It was late and I was tired and they didn't notice either but the long bearing race spacer had slipped out when the wheel was on the mounting machine. Had to make a special trip the next day to get it - and had to drive the cage one more day as well! :-(

Does not hurt to take everything apart to see how it goes together so you will know what goes where - if in doubt check the manual or online parts photos.

 

[sjryser]

87 ft. lbs. sounds about right but does anyone know the torque setting for the front for sure?

 

[greg]

72Nm for the front axle (52ft lbs)
23Nm (17ft lbs) for the pinch bolt

 

[braden07]

what tool are yall using to loosen the front axle.. ive been to sears and home depot and neither have had a allen wrench bit big enough to fit in the axle

 

[Wearyeyed]

Those wood shims - about 1/4" at one end and wedge-shaped - last forever as a means to safely keep loose calipers from being accidentally put in service.

Take off caliper, shove shim between pads, the inevitable accident (like the neighbor boy stopping by to say "hi" with a nice tug on a brake lever...) is avoided.

Yeah...hey, buddy...

 

[04fizzer]

what tool are yall using to loosen the front axle.. ive been to sears and home depot and neither have had a allen wrench bit big enough to fit in the axle

A 3/8"-drive 5/8" spark plug socket turned around, with an extension run through where the spark plug would normally go. The hex on the socket fits perfectly into the bolt.

 

[greg]

either a sump plug key or a spindle key + a suitable sized socket and wrench:

NEW Motorcycle Front Rear Axle Hex 17 19 22 24mm Allen Spindle Driver Tool | eBay

 

[lawlberg]

Bringing up an old post - but after destroying the Yamaha Toolkit Stamped metal axle key was frustrated (expected it to break, not frustrated about that, just that Yamaha would give you something so worthless). Found it tough to track down the exact socket/allen key I needed, but after three auto parts stores I got what I was looking for.

A Duralast 3/8'' drive 18mm spark plug socket is the perfect size (when you turn it around and drop a 3'' extension through it). I'd been told to use the 3/4'' one(since 3/4'' = 19mm), but the OD of the hex head on the socket is larger than the ID, so you have to go down a size. Easiest way to check this is to grab a 3/4'' socket from the shelf, if the plug socket fits in it you're golden. Make sure to look inside the plug socket though, some have a ring that's smaller than the 3/8'' drive that can get in the way of your extension dropping in backwards.

Anyway, just meant to clarify the sizing and wrench options.

 

[fz05rider]

Guys, I am lost at my wits; I have found the 5/8" sparkplug socket that will fit well into the front axle but I am unable to get the extension through the back to where it can lock on for me to use. Can some one post any pics or video of how you do it.

 

[trepetti]

There is probably a piece of rubber in the socket. It is like a rubber disk with a small hole in the center and it is to hold the spark plug in the socket so it dies not fall out. Use a metal dental pick to go up the inside of the socket and grab and remove the disk. If you do not have a set of metal picks, go get a set. They are cheap and come in really handy.

 

[fz05rider]

@trepetti - thanks for the response; it was the first thing that I did after I bought a set of 3 spark plug sockets but even after removing the rubber seal, I am unable to lock on the extension. The hole is round and the circumference touches all four sides of the square grove on the other side; hence, I am unable to get the extension rod past through it. I will try to post a pic for better clarity in a few mins.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

@trepetti - thanks for the response; it was the first thing that I did after I bought a set of 3 spark plug sockets but even after removing the rubber seal, I am unable to lock on the extension. The hole is round and the circumference touches all four sides of the square grove on the other side; hence, I am unable to get the extension rod past through it. I will try to post a pic for better clarity in a few mins.

Sounds like you need a different socket altogether.


If you have access to a welder, get a 1/2" nut bolt and flat washer(3/4" outside diameter, perfect size to fit the axle). Put the washer on the bolt, then the nut, then a solid weld on the end(making it one unit).

The washer keeps the "tool" from going in too far, slip in the "tool" in the axle, a 3/4 wrench/socket and zip away! Works great, cheap too...

 

[fz05rider]

I did pickup a 1/2" bolt & nut from Lowes and a locknut since I do not have a welding machine. Hopefully it will work and I will post my progress here. Planning to remove both wheels for tire replacement and hopefully it will be uneventful since this will be my first time.