removing Rear Wheel?

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Jul 10, 2010 | 12:43 PM

#11

cwsharp

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From: Utah

You should put the axle back in with anti-seize.

Some put it in backwards so that you don't have to mess with your pipes anymore.

If you put just enough weight on the tire to lightly support the wheel intead of having a lot of the bike's weight or none at all on it, your axle will probably come out easier.

You should buy the belt tensioner gauge from HD and that will tell you if you have to move the adjusters or not.

I would recommend buying a Gardner Wescott caliper bolt set and replacing the pins that hold in the pads and the bolts that hole the caliper. You may find that removing the stock pins will be challenging. I ended up driving a 12 pt. metric wrench on mine (don't recall the size right this minute). Or you need a really, really good quality 1/4" 12 pt. before you start.

While you have the wheel off, check the bearings for extra play or rough rolling.

C#

Jul 11, 2010 | 02:49 PM

#12

ronyd

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thankx C#. points well taken. +1 on Gardner. Have replaced many of the stock bolts with 12pt Gardner.

You not a software guy are u? C#

GMan, I took the caliper off also mainly to make sure I didn;t have any brake dust and junk on the pistons. I have Lyndall's gold+ on I got terrible wear and mileage on them. something like 7K miles and they are down to the bone. Everything looks fine and pistons move with my fingers. So, going to send the old one back to Lyndall so they can check them out.

Ordering a Metzeler on line for $160. that's a real good price. Locally, he cheapeast I could get one is $210-$232. All said and done with rim strip and tube is $188. Just have to wait a few days, but that;s ok. Local dealers don;t stock these tires anyways...

Last edited by ronyd; Jul 11, 2010 at 02:55 PM.

Jul 11, 2010 | 04:08 PM

#13

Jim Kraft

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From: Middle of Kansas

I use the method found in my old 84 Sportster manual. I just smear wheel brg. grease on the axle, and use a drop of oil on the spark plug threads. Works fine on the EVO also. Never have used anti-sieze, and never had a problem yet.
The other thing to remember on Harleys, is, Don't force it, get a bigger hammer. LOL

Jul 12, 2010 | 10:59 AM

#14

ronyd

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Should I even bother taking caliper apart and service (16K miles) with new o-rings? Looks pretty good from the outside.

Jul 14, 2010 | 08:28 AM

#15

cwsharp

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From: Utah

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronyd

Should I even bother taking caliper apart and service (16K miles) with new o-rings? Looks pretty good from the outside.

Whoa... not generally a good idea to split a caliper. If it ain't broke don't fix it definitely applies here. The possibility always exists on a caliper that the surfaces of each half won't mate back up again once you allow them to 'exhibit their stress' by taking them apart and a marriage counselor won't help any. This is because they take a lot of abuse in the form of heat, etc.. I would never service a caliper by splitting it unless I know I have a problem. Then I would give it a try and be prepared to go buy a new one because getting them milled would cost just about the same.

Just my $0.02... er... buck fifty.

Oh... and some change left over... mail order tires need to have their 'born on' date checked before they are used on your bike. They may expire early by checking and/or rot because they might have been sitting on someone's shelf for a while thus that's why they are cheap. In this regard I speak from personal experience.

C#

Jul 14, 2010 | 02:17 PM

#16

ronyd

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C# point well taken on the tires. I will check date and post it before install. Always wonder if they are cheaper because they buy bulk or just been sitting around somewhere in a warehouse. This is my 1st experience buying tires online, so hopefully will be a happy one.

Interesting about the calipers, My cousin (has a bike shop) had serviced my caliper on my duece while I was there. He Replaced o-rings. Put everything back together and good to go when I shoved off... Service manual seems to do a good job in disassembly and reassembly. since everything seems okay, I won;t mess with it.

I do have some nice 12pt Diamond Engineering caliper bolts and pad pins on there way that I will replace though!!

thankx for the info

Jul 15, 2010 | 09:25 AM

#17

cwsharp

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From: Utah

Yeah... my manual does a nice job of explaining how to work with the calipers too. And, I haven't had any experience taking an HD caliper apart and having it not mate back up properly. However, industry wide (both auto and motorcycle, especially Porches and classics) there has been many a caliper half milled to get them to stop leaking. This of course reduces the necessary clearance between new pads to put the caliper back on the rotor.

If I was having problems with seepage between the halves, then sure I would take them apart. It isn't that big of a deal to get them off so if there isn't a problem, I'm just saying wait until there is one. If it happens out on the road, why, that's what your front brake is for! <grin>

C#

Jul 15, 2010 | 11:16 AM

#18

ronyd

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thankx C#.

Just got off the phone with local powder coating. Here we go, usually do this stuff as winter project. While I got the wheel off, I got my 12pt bolt coming in, so going to have the sprocket powder coated black. $35..

should look better than stock flat black...