I want to do my own wheel removal

[Eric R.]

Over the winter, I am planning on replacing my tires for the first time on my 2015 r3t.
I will be putting my bike in my basement, and I want to attempt to remove the wheels myself.
I have done this before when I owned my Valkyrie, which is a similar setup.
I will bring the wheels to a local shop for the actual tire change.
I also will want to inspect and lube the splines, which I also used to do on the Valk.
I believe in doing things myself because I am fussy, and careful, and want the peace of mind knowing that things are actually done.
I have a Craftsman lift, but I understand that I need some sort of adapter thingy?
As far as procedure goes, I assume the service manual is my best bet?
I have downloaded one from this site.
I would appreciate any advice and comments about what I would need to get this done.
I am a industrial mechanic by trade, and have access to any possible tools necessary.
Thanks for any responses, Eric

 

[BillyIndiana]

You are going to need to get the bike off the ground. I would recommend this as a first step in that endeavor.

Jack-Be-Quick | Rocket III (2004-2018)

 

[Journeyman]

{clip from previous post} Someone on another site was selling these small brackets that are easy to install and small and light enough to carry with your tools, in case you need a shop somewhere out there on the road to lift your bike.

I made some similar with thick angle iron, but instead of welding the pegs drilled holes and inserted bolts. Works great in combination with a standard ATV jack!

I seem to have misplaced mine, but will post pix whenever I find them.

 

[Navigator]

{clip from previous post} Someone on another site was selling these small brackets that are easy to install and small and light enough to carry with your tools, in case you need a shop somewhere out there on the road to lift your bike.

I made some similar with thick angle iron, but instead of welding the pegs drilled holes and inserted bolts. Works great in combination with a standard ATV jack!

I seem to have misplaced mine, but will post pix whenever I find them.

I have the Jack Be Quick, which works fine, but prefer those adapters. One of the members on the other site had a set made for me. I believe he's on this site too but I haven't heard from him, xhdskip. The advantage of these is that they allow the bike to pivot so that when you remove the front wheel, it settles on the rear and vice-versa. With the JBQ, it does not. In removing my front tire on the 3t, I wound up having to use two scissor jacks, one under the JBQ and the other under the forward part of the engine.

Hey, Lupe, if you see this thread, how is Skip doing?

 

[Bedifferent]

I did mine and it was not bad at all until it came time to put the wheel back on. I have the Jack-Be-Quick which I leave on all the time. I was doing the TORs and the Paul Bryant crossover, so I had to remove the exhaust anyway to get at the axle and nut. I guess in most cases you can just loosen things and drop them down. Remember to tie off your front forks so the front wheel does not turn when you raise the bike. You will have to raise the bike quite a bit to get the tire from underneath the rear fender. Remove the rear brake caliper and get it out of the way with zip ties and I wedged some tapered wood blocks between the pads to keep them apart.

As for the final drive spline, that was a piece of cake. I removed the screws and the shock bolt and pulled the final drive off. I did the lube thing. When it came time to put it back on I took a long zip tie (I learned this here from someones post) and pulled it down to about a 1/2" diameter on one end. I put the loop under the spline shaft to lift it up. Once I got the splines lined up in the final drive for reassembly, I simply pulled the zip tie out through the remaining opening. Nothing to it. Torque everything down as they tell you.

As for getting the tire back on, it was at least a two hour ***** of a time. After finally getting the wheel back on the splines of the final drive I couldn't the steel spacer back in on the brake side. I have ABS and there was no way to get it in. I kept thinking I didn't have the tire all the way on the splines of the final drive (which may have been partly true). I finally got it in after multiple tries over two to three hours. I guess what I needed to do was remove one or more of the screws that held the ABS disc on as I couldn't get the spacer past the screws. I had no problem getting the spacer out when I removed the tire so I thought...why won't it go back on? Next time... besides removing one or more screws I am going to use several large washers to fill out the space between the swing arm and wheel. I going to tighten the axle bolt and nut down to be sure I have drawn the wheel all the way on to the splines of the final drive. I will use washers as needed until I am sure it is on all the way. Then I will pull back the axle shaft enough to hopefully slide the spacer in position.

As for the rear wheel, that sucker is heavy for this old man. My feet didn't cut it for trying to rotate and lift it up in position to put it on the splines. My winter project will be to make a small just off the ground dolly with rollers to support and rotate the wheel. I learned a lot. As for the front tire...nothing to that one. Hope this helps

 

[Fingers]

A small floor jack works for getting the rear wheel up and into place.

 

[Eric R.]

Thank you guy so much for taking the time to answer my post. I like the simple idea of those little angle brackets. I wonder if I could get the dimensions for them, and I’ll make some up.
I remember when I reinstalled my Valk wheel, I used a small jack to help lift it into place and onto the splines.
Hopefully, my experience with my other beast will help with this beast!

 

[Fingers]

I made mine from 2"x2" angle iron.

 

[Jag]

I did my tires without all that fancy crap and a craftsman lift. Just remove the bags, the seat. Put front wheel on a 2x12 and lift her up.

 

[Journeyman]

I made mine from 2"x2" angle iron.

That's what I used too and it doesn't have to be pretty. Weld the posts, or drill the holes for the bolts (as I did) near the top of one side of the angle iron so that once in place on the bike the other side hangs lower and will pivot more easily. You'll also have to cut off the corners of the bracket next to the bolt area because of the way things line up on the bike. You'll see once you go to put them on. As I said, the great thing about these are that I can carry them in my tool bag on trips.