Getting ready to change my rear brake pads on my 2012 Ultra Limited. My question is... How the hell to you get the caliper off without removing the rear wheel?? The caliper is hitting the wheel when I lift up on it.

 

You have to get the back wheel off the ground by lifting the bike. The swing arm will drop giving you just barely enough room to wiggle the caliper out. I have a Sears craftsman lift made to go under the frame of my bike and it works great. Have done this in my driveway. Hope this helps.

 

The way I have done it us just use a sturdy screw driver or similar pry tool and gently spread the pads open, pushing the brake pistons into the caliper. If reusing the pads just go easy as to not damage pads. This will give you plenty of room to lift caliper up and pull top away from wheel. I have done this many times.

 

No need to lift the bike. Just wiggle the caliper back and forth to gain some clearance between the pads and the rotor and it will have enough room to come off. Don't be afraid to twist it with some force. Only use the force that you can apply and twist with your wrist's.

 

if you open your rear reservoir up first (wrap shop towels around it and put the top back on unscrewed - so the fluid doesnt squirt out) . Then lift the caliper up enough to get a large screwdriver in there and push the pads back enough to pull them both out without pulling the caliper fully off, then you can wiggle the whole caliper off without the pads.

 

For this the small center type jacks work best. YouTube is your friend.