I pulled the rear wheel for tire replacement with 7k mi on the tire. Here is what did in nutshell.
**Removal**
- removed the belt guards. (The lower plastic one will not come off the bike until the wheel is off, which is no big deal.)
- removed the rear brake caliper and tied to the passenger peg. (I put a shop towel under it to prevent scratching anything)
- removed the c-clip and loosened the big 36mm axle nut before I put the bike on the jack (I had to stand on a breaker bar to get it to budge, the socket for this was the only tool I did not have, got it from Napa)
- raised the bike up leaving about 6in between the bottom of the tires and the floor. (I made a plywood platform for the jack to sit on and added some eyebolts at the ends to secure the bike)
- put some wood blocks under the front wheel and locked the steering for added stability
- tied the rear down at the swing arm pivot points to the eye bolts on the platform to secure the bike when the rear wheel came off.
- marked the adjuster screws with a sharpie, measured the distance between the edge of the frame and base of the hex head for reference, then loosened three turns on both sides
- measured the deflection in the belt (I did not use the HD tool, but my finger and a measuring tape)
- removed the axle bolt and washer
- placed floor jack under the rear wheel, and raised to suppor the wheel (this was very helpful, would have been extremely difficult without this)
- tapped the axle out using a hammer and a socket approx the same diameter as the axle (it came out relatively easy)
This is where it got a little tricky. I dropped the wheel a bit and removed the belt, then the spacers for the caliper bracket fell off. I had to pull the wheel back to get the caliper bracket off, then the big spacer on the left was removed. At this point I removed the floor jack from the bottom of the wheel and lowered the wheel to the floor. I tilted the wheel to remove it from under the fender. The bearings and sleeve remained in the wheel hub.
I took the wheel to a local HD dealership for a new D407 Dunlop for $212 installed otd, which I thought was a good price.
**Installation**
- put some anti seize on the axle and brearing bores and sleeve per the service manual instructions before installing it
- put the wheel under the fender and placed the floor jack under the wheel, then raised it to the approximate level needed to insert the axle.
- moved the lower plastic belt guard to its location without mounting it (once the belt is mounted to the sprocket this part cannot be installed, I discovered)
- placed the large spacer between the wheel and fork/swing arm (it has to go on first)
- pulled wheel back to get the caliper mounting bracket in place (what a pain in the a** this thing is, not much margin here)
- installed the outer spacer (small spacer) between the caliper bracket, then installed the inner larger spacer (the wheel hub has to be closely aligned vertically with the swing arm rear hole for this to work, you have to find the sweet spot where everything fits, this was the hardest part for me)
- pushed the wheel forward enough to get the belt on (pretty easy)
- aligned the caliper bracket, spacers with the swing arm hole and started to insert the axle. ( got it up to the left spacer pretty easily, then aligned the left side and it slid all the way through with little effort, then removed the floor jack)
- rotated the adjuster screws back to the location they were in initially. Measured for verification.
- installed the axle screw and washer and tighened snug. Checked the belt deflection again. Spun the wheel to check for any rubbing and belt location on the sprocket.
- slid floor jack back under the wheel and tightened the screw to 105ft lbs, then removed floor jack again
- installed rear brake caliper and belt guards, checked rear brake and spun wheel again.
- removed tie downs from the bike, and wood blocks from under front wheel, then lowered the bike jack and removed from under the bike, then took her for a test ride (the most fun part)

It took about 2.5hrs for me to remove and replace the wheel. It is generally not too bad providing you have a service manual, bike jack, floor jack, and some good tools. The only real challenge is with the caliper mounting bracket. Per HD this saved me about $60 in labor, but the piece of mind and rewarding experience for some HOG wrenching far exceeded that.

 

I have an 03' Fatboy and am having trouble getting the rear wheel off because of the pipes. Is there an easy way to get the axle out and back in without taking off the pipes?

 

A lot of guys turn the axle around the opposite direction so they don't have to remove pipe to remove the axle.

 

Yes that is a great trick or like I did bought short pipes!

 

Nice write up. I'll be having to do this soon, to put on my new wheels. Thanks.

 

Ok...So I guess the pipes will have to come off. Thanks for the tip(s). Any pics of these same wheels would be appreciated. I have the front wheel on now and also put on a new "chrome floating rotor". Looks real nice. I'm wondering whether to put a chrome rotor on the back or would it hardly be visible?? Any pics suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks....

 

Great writeup. Marking this thread for a resource come late winter/early spring.

 

Same here.

 

This will go on my saved bookmarks, great write up but I must say ..




LOL

 

Thanks AZFATHOG17. Your article was the only truly helpful thread I found after reading a whole bunch for about 2 hours. I haven't wrenched a bike in quite a few years. had to remove my rear wheel on my 04 fatboy for 10K (9995.3 act) brake and tire replacement. The axle was really giving me a hard time. Your simple steps and tricks helped me complete the job perfectly and easily. Thanks again.