New Tyres. And changing them.

[Taipan]

You are right. But it is NOT easy to get a wheel back in on your own.

I've done so many and the worst times are actually when people think I can't do it, take over and I don't check what they've done (had some issues at a track day with that!!). Almost as bad is when people offer help but don't then listen to what I ask them to do!!

Of course, those examples are when doing track days alone!!


At home in the garage, putting the rear wheel back in used to involve a serious amount of swearing and shouting and sweating. And eventually I'd manage. Yes there are tricks etc, but with short arms and small feet, it was always quite difficult. So i totally appreciate that people don't want to try

I have to go take the rear wheel off the monster to change the rear pads and put it back on - more difficult now tho. But, have to try.

Doing things up etc is not an issue. Getting the bastard thing lined up and the axle through is the challenge!

After 20 years of GSXR1000s and taking rear out dozens of times, I still struggle to get wheel back in.
Often take off brake caliper to help

Get one of these

It helps massively with lifting the wheel into the right position to slide the spindle through

Amazon performs some sort of sorcery to stop hyperlinks. You need to drop their links into tinyurl to make a new one.

https://tinyurl.com/5268m98z

[Yorick]

After 20 years of GSXR1000s and taking rear out dozens of times, I still struggle to get wheel back in.
Often take off brake caliper to help

Get one of these

It helps massively with lifting the wheel into the right position to slide the spindle through

Amazon performs some sort of sorcery to stop hyperlinks. You need to drop their links into tinyurl to make a new one.

https://tinyurl.com/5268m98z

Cheers

I just lift the wheel with my toes

[mangocrazy]

From time to time Aldi and Lidl have those air wedge thingies. Also very useful when removing/fitting a door...

[Yorick]

I can never work out whether to put the chain on the sprocket before you wiggle the wheel into place.

[weeksy]

I can never work out whether to put the chain on the sprocket before you wiggle the wheel into place.

chain goes on first for me, with no spindle etc so you can push wheel forward to get it on easily.

[tricol]

I did actually fit the new tail tidy I bought. Involved removing the old one, following the pretty poor instructions, and pluging everything back together. And it doesn't sit straight. Can't work out why. There are no adjustable bolt holes, everything uses the same holes as the standard one, but somehow, it's not straight. It's a solid piece of metal. It was a fairly straight forward job, but required a few bits of swearing along the way, but crucially, it wont kill me if I didn't do it right.

[mangocrazy]

I can never work out whether to put the chain on the sprocket before you wiggle the wheel into place.

You wouldn't be able to fit the chain over the sprocket once the wheel was in place, not without totally buggering up your chain adjustment. Has to go on first. If you think about it, you can't get an endless chain off the sprocket unless the wheel is loose; i.e. free to move forward.

[Yorick]

I can never work out whether to put the chain on the sprocket before you wiggle the wheel into place.

You wouldn't be able to fit the chain over the sprocket once the wheel was in place, not without totally buggering up your chain adjustment. Has to go on first. If you think about it, you can't get an endless chain off the sprocket unless the wheel is loose; i.e. free to move forward.

I think I meant to slip the disc into the caliper. Then slide wheel far enough forward to fit chain.

Or I may be talking bollox.

Anyway, I saw a tyre dude at a track day doing it opposite to me.

[mangocrazy]

It all depends on the bike as well. The Falco has a semi-captive caliper which makes wheel refitting a lot easier. The VFR is just a pain in the arse... The LC with its drum brake is just a bit 'different'.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I remember LCs being pretty easy to get the back wheel in and out of, but I haven't had the back wheel out of one since 1988

[mangocrazy]

I remember LCs being pretty easy to get the back wheel in and out of, but I haven't had the back wheel out of one since 1988

A centre stand really helps, of course. My big gripe with the LC is inner tubes, but there's bugger all I can really do about that.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I remember LCs being pretty easy to get the back wheel in and out of, but I haven't had the back wheel out of one since 1988

A centre stand really helps, of course. My big gripe with the LC is inner tubes, but there's bugger all I can really do about that.

What's the problem with tubes?

[mangocrazy]

I remember LCs being pretty easy to get the back wheel in and out of, but I haven't had the back wheel out of one since 1988

A centre stand really helps, of course. My big gripe with the LC is inner tubes, but there's bugger all I can really do about that.

What's the problem with tubes?

They're not tubeless.

[mangocrazy]

I change my own tyres and it's just another level of buggeration compared to tubeless.

[Yorick]

I remember LCs being pretty easy to get the back wheel in and out of, but I haven't had the back wheel out of one since 1988

I remember our bikes sat i
On milk crates deciding what the weather was gonna do.
Just enough time from first call to slip the appropriate wheels and tyres in

[Yorick]

I change my own tyres and it's just another level of buggeration compared to tubeless.

I can change tyres, but can't stop the rims getting scratched. And the local shop fit for free.

My pal gets us cheap enduro tyres and I get him a 12 pack for fitting them. It's a right bastard coz the construction is so stiff so they can run low pressure.

[mboy]

After 20 years of GSXR1000s and taking rear out dozens of times, I still struggle to get wheel back in.
Often take off brake caliper to help

I genuinely couldn't believe how much of a pain in the arse wheel removal and refitting is on this GSXS1000 I've just bought (identical swingarm to the GSXR1000 apparently)... That said, previous owner didn't seem to know what grease was which didn't make the job easy, but even with everything lubed up as it should be, getting that wheel back in is not the easiest job!

AND I needed to buy a 36mm socket for the axle nut too... What a PITA! Every other dual sided swingarm bike I've owned has been a 32mm nut. Never mind.

That said... Last couple of bikes I've had with single sided swingers, I thought it would be a doddle removing and refitting the wheel... On the Superduke, you have to remove the exhaust can first, no real biggie but still takes a few mins. Then getting the nut undone is a proper job in itself! The manual says 250Nm, but I'm 100% sure they do these up with a rattle gun in the factory... Took me standing on a 3ft long breaker bar (and I'm nearly 90kg) with my missus holding the bike upright (in gear) to eventually shift it!

The Ducati Streetfighter was worse... Nowhere near the same level of engine back torque as the KTM, so even in first, was too easy just to turn the engine over with a breaker bar on the rear wheel... I had to get a rattle gun to get the damned nut loose!

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

CB1000R is single sided swingarm, you have to remove the exhaust can to get the wheel off, 5 bolts hold the wheel on, but because of the way Honda have designed the rear hub you can't use a paddock stand to lift the rear wheel, you need to use an Abba stand or similar. The earlier CB1000Rs like Tiepin's could be lifted with a paddock stand

[Dodgy69]

I did actually fit the new tail tidy I bought. Involved removing the old one, following the pretty poor instructions, and pluging everything back together. And it doesn't sit straight. Can't work out why. There are no adjustable bolt holes, everything uses the same holes as the standard one, but somehow, it's not straight. It's a solid piece of metal. It was a fairly straight forward job, but required a few bits of swearing along the way, but crucially, it wont kill me if I didn't do it right.

Isn't it just the bolt holes in the number plate that are slightly out.

[mangocrazy]

I change my own tyres and it's just another level of buggeration compared to tubeless.

I can change tyres, but can't stop the rims getting scratched.

I made the decision nearly 20 years ago to start changing my own tyres and bought a secondhand tyre changing machine and bar specifically for ali rims, and it's been one of the best investments I've ever made. It cost me less than £100 and it's probably saved me 3, 4 or 5 times that amount since then. It needs to be bolted to the floor and I've never met a tyre it can't fit. The trick is to get them nice and warm before fitting - either out in the sun in summer or by a radiator in winter. It doesn't scratch rims.

It's even made fitting tubed tyres less difficult, but tubeless are by far the easiest.