Holy Crap!

[RED CAT]

Don't know many of you have actually changed a back tire yet but, Wow. Talk about a dogs breakfast. Sorry but I'm used to the Beamer. 5 bolts, wheel out. On my S10, disconnect ABS sensor, disconnect the rear brake arm bracket at front and back, undo axel nut and tap out the axel from the left,kind of stiff cause grease is so expensive in Japan. Slide out the rear brake caliper, jiggle the rear wheel off the shaft drive unit. Oops all the cush drive rubbers fall out and the unit that holds them in place falls to the ground. Fiddle trying to get all back together after putting new tire on the rim.. I siliconed the rubbers in, so hopefully they'll stay in place next time. Lining up the gear on the wheel to the shaft drive is a little finiky too. Easiest way is to insert the axel without the rear brake caliper attached and then gently mesh it in. Then remove the axel and get that caliper and washer in place. The wheel will stay up in place as you remove the axel. Will go a lot faster next time. Have fun! ::001::

 

[Combo]

Your right it does take some time but not to hard of a job.

I think it is mostly due to a double sided swing arm drive setup over the BMW.

 

[Scoop47501]

I will be doing the same for the second time Friday night before a trip in a couple weeks. First time was pretty easy compared to my wifes Belt drive V-Star.

 

[3putt]

I don't remove the brake caliper brace, just loosen both ends and when I pull the axle, put a bungie on the caliper to hold it up above the tire, then remove wheel. Put ACF50 on the insides of the rubber donuts so the flange will slip back in all the way easily.

 

[mingo]

On the plus side, the final drive does only one thing: propel the bike.. it does not need to resist torsional forces or directly support the weight of the bike, that's what the axle and double sided swingarm are for. I'm so glad to no longer own a bmw with a signle sided swingarm and its unreliable final drive.

 

[coastie]

Been there, it was not to bad! The single sided swing arm is nice. I loved it on the VFR.

 

[stevepsd]

I would rather deal with a little bit of extra work when you have to change a tire, rather than dealing with someone else's 'better' solution....

 

[creggur]

Been there, it was not to bad! The single sided swing arm is nice. I loved it on the VFR.

::026:: The VFR has to be the easiest wheel removal in motorcycle history...

 

[fredz43]

The first time I did it, I had a heckuva time both getting the wheel off and then putting it back on. Lessons learned, I just did it for the second time and it was much easier. Main thing was when taking it off, I used a screwdriver blade to make sure that the rubbers and housing, etc came out with the wheel. I use a 1x4 board under the wheel for leverage. I loosen the brake arm pivot bolt in front and remove the one in the rear, then swing the caliper assembly up and out of the way before slidign the wheel to the left. Putting it back on, I line it up by raising my 1x4 board under the wheel until it is lined up and then slide the wheel over to the left and it went right into the gears. Then just start the axle, lower the caliper assembly into place, insert the washer and it is all in place, ready it tighten up. Since I coated the axle with grease the first time, it came out easily this time.

The first time I did it, I thought "wow, this is a lot harder than it was on my ST1300.". Now that I did it a second time, it is actually easier than my ST1300.

 

[RidingUpandDown]

The first time I did it, I had a heckuva time both getting the wheel off and then putting it back on. Lessons learned, I just did it for the second time and it was much easier. Main thing was when taking it off, I used a screwdriver blade to make sure that the rubbers and housing, etc came out with the wheel. I use a 1x4 board under the wheel for leverage. I loosen the brake arm pivot bolt in front and remove the one in the rear, then swing the caliper assembly up and out of the way before slidign the wheel to the left. Putting it back on, I line it up by raising my 1x4 board under the wheel until it is lined up and then slide the wheel over to the left and it went right into the gears. Then just start the axle, lower the caliper assembly into place, insert the washer and it is all in place, ready it tighten up. Since I coated the axle with grease the first time, it came out easily this time.

The first time I did it, I thought "wow, this is a lot harder than it was on my ST1300.". Now that I did it a second time, it is actually easier than my ST1300.

::026::

First, let me say that I have Not done it myself. ::005::

I was 2000 miles away from home and needed new tires, so took the bike to a Yamaha dealer for the new treads. I watched the young mechanic do the work so I might better do it myself when the time comes. He started w/ the rear and had the wheel off the bike was removing the tire from the rim, complete easily within 20 mins. And I asked, he said it was his first S10. He said he’d done similar work on other machines, so he wasn’t unfamiliar w/ the process.
As w/ fredz he 'loosen the brake arm pivot bolt in front and remove the one in the rear, then swing the caliper assembly up and out of the way before slidign the wheel to the left.'

The mechanic chose not to use a lift. He had the bike on the center stand, and with the necessary items loose, removed and out of the way, he sat on the floor behind the rear tire using his feet as leverage and two hands to remove the wheel, same technique he used to install the wheel, sat on the floor behind and levered it up w/ his feet and back into place very easily. There were no parts fell out i.e. no drive hub or rubber dampers... that all stayed in place. I specifically asked him to take one of the dampers out so I could look at what others were saying they were having to stick back in.

Both wheels removed, rubber replaced/mounted and balanced and reinstalled and I was back on the road 1.5 hrs. Made me think this is a job I could do when the time comes. We’ll see about That!! :question:

Kudos to ALL you guys that have done this level of maint !!! ::008:: Sounds like it’s a bit of a learning curve and why I wanted to share this guy’s simple on-the-floor technique.

Cheers, d ::001::

::022::

 

[EricV]

It's mostly a normal Yamaha process. I'm not sure why they didn't retain the rubber dampers like on the FJR, where a plate with three screws holds it all together so it can't fall apart during removal/installation, but it's not usually a big deal.

I'm on my third rear tire. Didn't have any issues on the first swap. Second one the part separated and I had to fiddle with it a bit, but not a big deal. Last time was easy peasy and I was prepared for it wanting to separate.

No fan of single sided swing arms here.

 

[RED CAT]

Forgot to mention that when putting it all back together, don't forget to line up the little notches on the backing plate with the swing arm, so that the sensor ends up where it is supposed to be. Also applies for the front wheel which, by the way is much easier. Just remove the sensor and right side caliper and drop the wheel. ::001::

 

[AVGeek]

Forgot to mention that when putting it all back together, don't forget to line up the little notches on the backing plate with the swing arm, so that the sensor ends up where it is supposed to be. Also applies for the front wheel which, by the way is much easier. Just remove the sensor and right side caliper and drop the wheel. ::001::

I pulled my rear tire last weekend to check the driveshaft splines (to see how much grease was there), and this was the hardest part of reassembly. I pulled and realigned this several times before I was happy with it.

 

[pqsqac]

Does anybody know the tool sizes for the front and rear axles as far as the hex head tool needed to remove the axles? I now you can probably get away without one for the rear but how are folks removing the front axle?

 

[RED CAT]

Go to your local hardware store and buy a 1/2 inch threaded rod coupling for $1.49. It fits perfect. You are right, you don't need it for the rear wheel as you simply tap the axel out but you do need it for the front wheel. ::001::

 

[EricV]

Does anybody know the tool sizes for the front and rear axles as far as the hex head tool needed to remove the axles? I now you can probably get away without one for the rear but how are folks removing the front axle?

Front is 19mm (3/4" fits too).

Rear is the same for the axle hex socket. The nut is 27mm.

There are many options for this. I cut a piece of 19mm allen wrench off and pinned it into a 1/2" drive, 6 point socket. You can just buy these too at many auto parts stores.

You can find 5/8" spark plug sockets with a 19mm/ 3/4" hex on the drive end and with the square drive hole all the way thru. Inserting your 3" or longer extension into the socket end gives you a nice axle tool.

Most moto shops or online shops sell axle tools designed with several steps to fit various sizes of axles. It's just a strait stepped steel or aluminum tool. You then put a wrench or socket on it to use it.

And yep, the $1.49 1/2" coupling nut works too.

 

[Scoop47501]

Well I'm finished with my 3rd rear tire change. Pretty easy but I had to fiddle with that axle bolt to get it to go all the way through just like last time.
As for the caliper. I lossened the bolt furthest away from the caliper and used a couple zip ties to hold it up so no taking that off.
This time I had a Cycle Hill Tire Changer and it made the job of changing the tire alot easier.
Scooper

 

[Bigbore4]

I put a tire on this spring. My axle was starting to corrode and came out a bit hard. If you are only a casual rider and not piling on some miles and may not need a tire for a while, strongly recommend you pull the axles and apply grease / anti seize / your splooge of choice. If mine had gone much longer I would have had to hammer on them hard enough to be concerned about wheel bearings.

 

[Twisties]

I don't think it's any harder than my BMW. Actually I am very impressed with how easy this bike is to work on overall. I really like that the owners manual actually gives you directions for many routine tasks, and detailed service intervals, and although I don't use them, there is a reasonable tool kit supplied.

On the BMW you have to move the muffler, quite fiddly the first time or two, and don't try it hot. Then you have 5 bolts to torque in a specific pattern. If we are changing tires, there is minimal relief well in the wheel (at least on an RT), and on the F650 GS don't get me started about the TPM. What a PITA!.

My overall impression is that compared to Yamaha, BMW tends to over engineer, over complicate, and does so to little or now effect. The Yamaha is simple, most things just work.

If we want to talk body parts, on the RT I have 45 - 60 minutes just to take the plastics on and off. On the S10 possibly 5 minutes, if I am being very lazy. I find the hardware on the S10 to be of excellent quality.

 

[Twisties]

...and don't get me started on the BMW final drive... no, not that it might blow up at any moment without warning. I'm talking about the sweet no maintenance lifetime fill they sold me. ::010:: ::010:: ::025:: ::025:: Yeah, so sure were they that they didn't put in a drain hole. Now I have to move the muffler, pull the wheel, fiddle with the speed sensor, drop the FD, drain it. Fill it through the speed sensor hole (yeah right), and put it all back together. On the Yamaha it's two plugs.