Changing rear wheel

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May 27, 2010 | 01:55 AM

#11

grbrown

Club Member

Joined: Jun 2007

Posts: 45,429

Likes: 2,897

From: Bedford UK

I've never removed rotor or pulley in all the years I have owned bikes and Harleys, so hopefully you won't have to do that. I have recently built up a wheel with new rotor and the fastening screws have a service life of a maximum of three cycles. I don't expect to replace screws every third tyre!

Best of luck getting your tyre on and taking that first ride on it.

May 27, 2010 | 04:46 AM

#12

CroK

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Joined: Jul 2009

Posts: 3,719

Likes: 1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Route66rider

OK, I asked last week (?) about my flat rear tire and the general thought was that I should go ahead & replace it due to being flat and 2/3 worn out. My question now is how much trouble will I run into changing it? I have an '05 Ultra Classic with Reinhart true duals and ten spoke chrome wheels.

From what I can see I will need to do the following:
1. Remove bags,
2. Remove left & right pipes/mufflers
3. Remove the axle nut
4. Remove axle bolt

After this, will the wheel drop down?
Am I missing a step?
What will be involved in getting the wheel back in alignment?
What about shims or spacers?

I do have a manual & have reviewed it. I am just looking for advice in plain english explaining the obvious. FWIW, I have been wrenching for 50 years, but this is my first HD to work on.

Thanks

Seriously? ...wrenching for 50 years? May I ask what you wrenched on during all that time? I've got about 40 years behind the ***-end of a wrench, and I had no problem removing/replacing the rear and front wheels. My RK doesn't even have the silly marks on the swing arm, to aid in aligning the axle. Before I made that stupid 1/8" rod alignment tool as shown in the manual, I figured as long as the adjustment bolts were not bent or otherwise malformed then I could use the number of threads as a guide to ensure both sides were adjusted equally. I'm not bragging, I know damned little when you sit me next to a guy who has every specification for cam setups memorized, but removing and reinstalling a wheel isn't that difficult (to me).

Just looking at most mechanical devices for a few minutes tells me most of what I need to know. Really, I'm not trying to insult you or your experience. But it amazes me that some one who can say "...wrenching for 50 years,..." is questioning every single step laid out in the manual which you stated that you have...

(Apologies if I sound like I'm belittling your experience, I certainly don't intend it that way. I just can't express how much this amazes me.)

Last edited by CroK; May 27, 2010 at 04:57 AM.

May 27, 2010 | 05:15 AM

#13

asm481

Road Master

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 1,018

Likes: 17

From: Southeastern Wisconsin

If you do remove pulley or disc, get new bolts and torque them right or your next post will be about sheared out pulley bolts.

May 27, 2010 | 07:16 AM

#14

dog155

Extreme HDF Member

Joined: Nov 2006

Posts: 13,389

Likes: 26

From: Windham,Maine

Given the tools and equipment you own determains the difficulty of the job,and your patience level can make or break the job.Good Luck.

May 27, 2010 | 06:49 PM

#15

Route66rider

Thread Starter

Tourer

Joined: Dec 2009

Posts: 433

Likes: 0

From: Northern Alabama

Quote:

Originally Posted by CroK

Seriously? ...wrenching for 50 years? May I ask what you wrenched on during all that time?

(Apologies if I sound like I'm belittling your experience, I certainly don't intend it that way. I just can't express how much this amazes me.)

Since you have seen fit to bring it to question, yes, fifty (50) years is (more or less) correct. I am on into my 60s and my family and later I owned and operated a Ford tractor dealership (started in 1951), Conoco service station (started ~1952), and charter bus business (started ~1949). My wrenching experience is mostly in trucks & busses along with farm tractors and field equipment. I started out working in our family business in 1958 and have worked since then. We ran the Ford dealership until I closed it after FTO decided they did not want their dealers any closer than 100 miles apart. As to the charter busses, we ran a fleet of a maximum of 23 and we performed all service and maintenance. In addition to this we (& later I) farmed over 1200 acres of corn and soybeans and fed out an average of 250 to 300 head of cattle each year with all related farm equipment service.
FWIW, I have not ever made any secret of the fact that this is my first Harley I really owned myself, having had metrics and letting dealers perform service.

The issue I may be having is the fact that I have not been really working for the last 10 years & just like to receive a little reassurance from the pros before I tear into something. I have been assisting my wife in the care for our eldest daughter who was USN and received service related 100% disability about a month after 9/11.
(Likely not all that stable mentally myself any more either.)

Last edited by Route66rider; May 27, 2010 at 08:27 PM.

May 27, 2010 | 09:58 PM

#16

CroK

Banned

Joined: Jul 2009

Posts: 3,719

Likes: 1

Please accept my apologies. As I said, I had no intention of insulting you. I know it's hard to grasp the demeanor with only text in front of you. Wasn't really questioning the validity of your statements either, honestly.

I'll leave it at that, since I did such a poor job of expressing myself the first time. Again, I can't apologize enough for giving the wrong impression with the words I chose...

May 27, 2010 | 10:37 PM

#17

ashmarc

Road Master

Joined: Dec 2009

Posts: 1,223

Likes: 6

From: Las Vegas, NV

Route66rider & CroK……..

….feel the love brothers.

BTW…….did my first R&R of front & rear wheels, rotors & pulley a couple of weeks ago (swapped all out with chrome).

It was a learning experience and a blast….I could probably do it in half the time (next time around).

May 27, 2010 | 10:38 PM

#18

TxBlueKnight

2nd Gear

Joined: May 2010

Posts: 6

Likes: 0

Hithere,

I would like to know, if anyone can assist, what is the biggest size tires both front and rear that can be placed on a 2006 Road King Custom? If anyone can assist or direct me to the correct room. Please reply. Thanks

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May 27, 2010 | 10:51 PM

#19

ashmarc

Road Master

Joined: Dec 2009

Posts: 1,223

Likes: 6

From: Las Vegas, NV

I have a 2006 Ultra….

Front MT90B-16 (130/90-16)
Rear MU85B-16 (140/90-16)

These are stock sizes and fit quite snugly, I'm sure others have gone a size larger (or so), but I don't see the point.

Later Touring models have a different frame and use larger tires from the factory (I think).

Last edited by ashmarc; May 27, 2010 at 10:56 PM.

May 27, 2010 | 10:54 PM

#20

BoomerBob

Elite HDF Member

Joined: Apr 2009

Posts: 3,928

Likes: 1

From: Desert S. West

Quote:

Originally Posted by TxBlueKnight

As a general rule you can go one size up. So if your tire is a 150 wide tire you can go to 160.

If you haven't already heard; the Dunlop Elite 3 tires are excellent for handling and longevity. Metzelers are good too.

A few people like the stock tires HD put on them from the factory but not most.

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