Roadster Rear Wheel Removal

Hi folks!
Going to be removing the rear wheel on my 2011 Roadster this weekend to get the tire replaced. I can't remove the axle since the left muffler is covering it.
Do I remove the top bolt for the shocks and let the wheel lower down till I can pull the axle out, or, do I remove the muffler? Seems it would be easier to remove the shock bolts, which is what me and a buddy did on his Honda Valkyrie.
Thanks everyone!

10-4 on the grease. Thanks for the tip!
The four bolts you're talking about... Are they the ones for the shocks?

weidemann said:

10-4 on the grease. Thanks for the tip!
The four bolts you're talking about... Are they the ones for the shocks?

Click to expand...

Dont know about the bolts, but make sure the grease you use is Moly 60

See post
http://www.r3owners.net/bearclaw-corner/8968-driveshaft-spline-stripped-2.html
Post 13

Popping the shocks is the easy way. Be careful with the one on the lower left shock. It is part of the bevel box housing and can be expensive if you over-torque it.

Also, download the shop manual before you do anything and look up the procedures and torque settings.

Thanks everyone!
I've got the service manual, and a torque wrench so I'll be good to go. Oh, and I have the grease, straight out of what's recommended in the service manual.

...and remember to polish the alloy while the wheel's out - or powdercoat it like Triumph should have done!

Replaced my rear tire....

I removed the top shock bolts, to allow the rear tire to swing down and give me access to removing the spindle and everything. Worked swimmingly!
Removed the entire brake caliper and hung it off to the side.
Had to remove one of the ABS bolts that keep the ABS ring bolted to the wheel. This allowed me to get the spacer out. This wasn't in the service manual.
Removed the rear wheel, cleaned out all the old grease, re-greased with the Mobil XHP 222 lubricant as specified in the service manual. Got the tire changed and put it all back together. It wasn't bad at all. I love the smell of a new tire I got 11,500 miles on this Metzeler. I'd like to try a different brand next time when I replace both front and rear. The Metzeler seemed a bit squirmy in turns in the rain or with any kind of debris on the road. Other bikes I've ridden didn't act this way. Wasn't a bad feeling, just noticed the difference.

I also found out that my Triumph dealer wanted $100 to mount and balance the rear wheel, and that's with me bringing the wheel to them. I told them to forget it and found that my local Suzuki shop will mount and balance the rear wheel for $27! They did a nice job and I was in and out in no time. Didn't even need an appointment! Thought I'd pass that on to everyone. The Suzuki M109 has a 240/55/16 rear tire and this dealer changes these big tires out all the time.

Great did you pull the bevel box off the swing frame and grease the drive shaft splines or just the wheel splines?

With 11,000 on the last tire your needs to be greased. in fact it should be greased everytime you change a tire.