robertllr
Tuned and Synch'ed
Removing and refitting the rear wheel on my V7 turned out to be fairly simple--and I did not find it necessary to remove the hub from the drive shaft, or to secure the drive rubbers with grease, RTV, or--even as someone suggested (hopefully in jest)--with crazy glue. I didn't even have to deflate the tire!
I'm sure there are lots of ways to do this job, and (for all I know) what works best may vary from trim to trim and year to year; but here are some tips that worked for my specific bike (2013 V7 Racer) to minimize frustration and repeated failed attempts to getting things back into place.
This procedure assumes lift equipment suitable for raising the rear end while leaving the front end securely tied down. I use a small table scissor jack with adjustable U supports under the side stand cross member, and a front wheel chock and ratchet straps.
I've read of people removing and replacing the rear wheel with just the center stand; but the virtue of an adjustable lift is that you won't have to finesse the wheel in or out—which may result in dropped rubbers and other fitment issues.
I have synopsized the factory manual removal procedure, but I put my special tips in bold italics.
REMOVE
Raise the back end so the tire is clear of the ground and perform these steps in the manual:
Remove: muffler, left shock (or at least the bottom shock bolt and displace the shock up and out of the way) caliper, and the caliper mounting bracket pin. Loosen the axle nut and clamp fixing screws.
Adjust the lift height so the tire is just kissing the ground and won't turn when you do this next thing...
Remove the brake rotor screws--but leave the top one loosely attached.
Remove the RH axle nut, and knock out the axle (rubber mallet) from the right side.
Pull out the caliper mounting bracket, and then the spacer.
Now remove the remaining rotor fixing screw and carefully capture the rotor and remove it.
Do not resent removing the rotor! It will make the subsequent tire change (assuming that is why you are removing the wheel in the first place) much easier.
Adjust the lift as necessary so you can replace the axle part way till it just enters the hub, then raise the lift so the tire just clears the ground.
Slide the wheel to the left--which should release it almost completely from the hub. The RH drive rubbers will all, most likely, fall out of the wheel.
Pull out the axle to drop the tire (remember it will only be a hair) then raise the lift so the tire can clear the fender.
The wheel should roll out almost straight back. No major maneuvering necessary!
REPLACE
With the lift raised high so the tire will clear the fender--roll the wheel into position, re-insert the rubbers, then lower the lift until the swing arm and hub holes line up with the tire. A flashlight will help you see how your are doing.
Slide the axle through the swing arm and into the wheel--just the wheel--and then recheck the rubbers.
Slide the axle right till it just catches in the drive hub, and align the drive tangs with the spacers between the rubbers. You will have enough room to check again that the rubbers are all located properly.
Now raise the lift a hair and carefully slide the wheel assembly to the right till it is fully engaged on the hub, rotating it slightly back and forth as needed to line up. (If it does not slide on easily, smoothly and fully, you've probably cocked a rubber. Slide the assembly back to the left and try again.)
Now--using bungee cords, tie wraps, string, or whatever—tie the wheel to the hub to ensure that the wheel stays snug against it while you finish the rest of the reassembly.
Pull the axle out again and replace the disc, the spacer and the caliper bracket, and for the last time (we hope) reinsert the axle fully. Snug up the rotor screws, undo your ties and finish reassembly as per manual and/or above.
BTW, the V7 II manual—unlike the first iteration--has torque tables for every assembly! Hooray!
Here are the torque figures for the relevant fasteners, in NM:
rotor screws 25
caliper screws 25
caliper fixing pin 35
bottom L shock bolt 35
rear axle nut 100
axle clamp screws 30
HTH! Ciao!
I'm sure there are lots of ways to do this job, and (for all I know) what works best may vary from trim to trim and year to year; but here are some tips that worked for my specific bike (2013 V7 Racer) to minimize frustration and repeated failed attempts to getting things back into place.
This procedure assumes lift equipment suitable for raising the rear end while leaving the front end securely tied down. I use a small table scissor jack with adjustable U supports under the side stand cross member, and a front wheel chock and ratchet straps.
I've read of people removing and replacing the rear wheel with just the center stand; but the virtue of an adjustable lift is that you won't have to finesse the wheel in or out—which may result in dropped rubbers and other fitment issues.
I have synopsized the factory manual removal procedure, but I put my special tips in bold italics.
REMOVE
Raise the back end so the tire is clear of the ground and perform these steps in the manual:
Remove: muffler, left shock (or at least the bottom shock bolt and displace the shock up and out of the way) caliper, and the caliper mounting bracket pin. Loosen the axle nut and clamp fixing screws.
Adjust the lift height so the tire is just kissing the ground and won't turn when you do this next thing...
Remove the brake rotor screws--but leave the top one loosely attached.
Remove the RH axle nut, and knock out the axle (rubber mallet) from the right side.
Pull out the caliper mounting bracket, and then the spacer.
Now remove the remaining rotor fixing screw and carefully capture the rotor and remove it.
Do not resent removing the rotor! It will make the subsequent tire change (assuming that is why you are removing the wheel in the first place) much easier.
Adjust the lift as necessary so you can replace the axle part way till it just enters the hub, then raise the lift so the tire just clears the ground.
Slide the wheel to the left--which should release it almost completely from the hub. The RH drive rubbers will all, most likely, fall out of the wheel.
Pull out the axle to drop the tire (remember it will only be a hair) then raise the lift so the tire can clear the fender.
The wheel should roll out almost straight back. No major maneuvering necessary!
REPLACE
With the lift raised high so the tire will clear the fender--roll the wheel into position, re-insert the rubbers, then lower the lift until the swing arm and hub holes line up with the tire. A flashlight will help you see how your are doing.
Slide the axle through the swing arm and into the wheel--just the wheel--and then recheck the rubbers.
Slide the axle right till it just catches in the drive hub, and align the drive tangs with the spacers between the rubbers. You will have enough room to check again that the rubbers are all located properly.
Now raise the lift a hair and carefully slide the wheel assembly to the right till it is fully engaged on the hub, rotating it slightly back and forth as needed to line up. (If it does not slide on easily, smoothly and fully, you've probably cocked a rubber. Slide the assembly back to the left and try again.)
Now--using bungee cords, tie wraps, string, or whatever—tie the wheel to the hub to ensure that the wheel stays snug against it while you finish the rest of the reassembly.
Pull the axle out again and replace the disc, the spacer and the caliper bracket, and for the last time (we hope) reinsert the axle fully. Snug up the rotor screws, undo your ties and finish reassembly as per manual and/or above.
BTW, the V7 II manual—unlike the first iteration--has torque tables for every assembly! Hooray!
Here are the torque figures for the relevant fasteners, in NM:
rotor screws 25
caliper screws 25
caliper fixing pin 35
bottom L shock bolt 35
rear axle nut 100
axle clamp screws 30
HTH! Ciao!
