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Removing rear wheel

Dave S Texas

Dave S Texas

Member
I've got the LR on my J&S jack/stand and about to tackle removing the wheels, so I can get new tires installed. Front should be no problem, but I'm hesitant about dealing with the rear. Can one weak senior-citizen remove it? " hold wheel and remove axle" bothers me. I can't find the weight of the wheel/tire combination. I'm a one-man show here so I need some advice about this. How high should the stand be? Stand has 3 heights where it locks at the selected height. Advice appreciated, thanks.
 
Let the jack do the lifting part for you. After making sure the bike is secure on the jack bring the bike back down while still on the jack to where the wheel is barely touching the ground while removing the axle. Then lift the bike with the jack high enough to get the wheel assembly out (with the jack on the locks). I will have my jack at about 3/4 height when removing the wheel.

Simply reverse method for installation. Hope this helps.
 
Removing the wheel is not the problem. It is putting it back in. Lifting the wheel into place along with inserting the axle and spaces can be a little tricky. I took the brake caliper off to make it easier to work with. With the position your in working near the floor, my 160 tire w/ cast 17" wheel was somewhat heavy.
 
Slow and steady like the previous posts say. Let the jack do the work. Having a pry bar and a block of wood nearby so you can "worry" parts into position may help. Be SURE to notice how the spacers come out. There's left and right, and one usually has a line around it to fit into the seal.
If you are removing both wheels at the same time be careful of unbalancing the bike on the jack.
 
Thanks for the responses. Was going to remove both, but after reading, I believe I'll do the front, get that tire replaced/put wheel back on, then do the rear.
 
I actually just finished installing my rear wheel about 30 minutes ago (got a new tire). The first time I did it myself it took forever but now that I've done it a few times it was a breeze. It's really not that hard to do it by yourself. I'm not sure how the suspension is set up on your LR but I'm sure it's similar to my superglide. Best thing to do is remove the lower bolts from the rear shocks and let the swing arm come down. That way the tire is resting on the ground and you dont really have to fight with it much. The trickiest part for me is dealing with the brake. I've found the easiest way is to remove the brake pads and then reinstall later. That gives you a little extra room to work.

As far as making the bike unbalanced when removing both wheels as long as the bike is secured down by straps you should be ok.
 
Thanks for the advice. This time should be the only time for replacing either tire, but I'll try an remember what I did 'this time'. I'll strap'er down good, but still do one at a time.
 
What i've done in the past when I get lazy I use a floor jack with a large base to raise the wheel to install it, i't much easier to align everthing up.
 
Great idea. Got a 3T floor jack. So, the procedure would be: leave J&S jack at max-height. Maneuver floor-jack under wheel and put a little tension on tire and then remove axle. Move FJ forward to get belt off sprocket and then lower wheel with FJ. Close?
 
Dave, Does your 2003 have the sealed wheel ball bearings or does yours have the re-grease-able roller bearings?
 
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