Got the rear wheel removed. Only took me 4 or 5 hours.
I do not know how the fella in the video loosened the spindle nut and brake torque bolt without removing the right side silencer. Only thing I can guess at would be using an open end box wrench to get in there. How the heck did he get a torque wrench and 24 mm socket in there with that muffler in place? Oh well, just one of a few zillion life mysteries, eh? I was surprised and a bit distressed to see black fluid/gunk covering the bevel box between the fill plug and drain plug. One or both plugs must not be tight or God ,please forbid, one or both plugs have been cross-threaded. I can't recall if there are O rings on those plugs but will look into it as I change the fluid. The bevel box drain plugs on my '06 classic have never shown any sign of leakage, so something is amiss here on the '08 Touring.
Wheel drive gear and bearings looked fine, spin smoothly and adequately greased. I will clean and apply new Loctite Moly grease. Wasn't planning on removing bevel box for a spline inspection/greasing but should probably do it while I am in there. I have seen several interesting and clever ways on the forum to get the bevel box to join back up with the drive shaft. I am a bit worried about screwing it up or losing the spring that is in there. Frankly, everything I do on my Rockets is done with some trepidation.
I see in one of the comments that I should be in great fear over installing another Bridgestone but I am going to do it anyway. The previous owner installed a new Bridgestone Excedra Max on the front wheel and it is still in very good shape after the few K miles I have put on it. So, I want the same tire and tread pattern on the back, necessary or not. I did notice the old worn out Bridgestone on the rear wheel did not match the front tire tread. So, somewhere along the line they changed the pattern. I see new rear Bridgestone Excedra tires online match my front tire pattern.
Another interesting thing I discovered. The hex head nuts attaching the silencer to the pannier rails on the left side are 13mm and the nuts for the silencer on the right side are 12mm. I kid you not. Weird, eh?
PS It now occurs to me that I must have spent at least an hour or two out the 5 hours I was in the garage polishing the chrome bits. It sure holds up the show when I get distracted by dirt, smudges, road grime, bug guts, etc. I can't help stopping what I am doing and get a microfiber rag and my Honda 3 in 1 polish and make stuff, "purty "again.