tire change

[Pappa Bear]

I am doing the rear tire replacement with the bike kneeling, no front tire. And I had a :buttkick:dumb ( you fill in what ever words that fit ) attack, I forgot to put a strap on the centerstand and engine guard. We were slowly lowering the front and then she rolled forward off of the center stand .She didn't fall over but hit pretty solid and squarely on the exhaust. It took 3 of us to get her back up on the stand. This time I strapped her up and lowered again and all is good. But with the nose tilted down that far I now have a couple of drops of oil on the floor about the size of a quarter after being tilted for an hour. Is this anything to worry about or could it be comming out of somewhere it wouldn't when level? I do like trying this stuff on my own but the unknowns drive me crazy. any responces are deserved and welcomed.

[Venturous Randy]

Not sure about the oil leak and if you had one before, it should have shown up before, but why are you lowering the front of the bike?

RandyA

[Guest seuadr]

Not sure about the oil leak and if you had one before, it should have shown up before, but why are you lowering the front of the bike?

RandyA

cause, if you don't have a stand to put the bike on, it's hard to get the rear wheel out without a little clearance

[oldandcrotchety]

I can't imagine that just dropping off the center stand could cause any real damage. Certainly not enough to cause an oil leak. Maybe it was there all along and you didn't notice it. After all you said about 2 drops in an hour. Did it stop after that? You sure the oil spot wasn't there before from something else? Also, I'm with Randy on this; Why lower the front? It really isn't needed.

[oldandcrotchety]

cause, if you don't have a stand to put the bike on, it's hard to get the rear wheel out without a little clearance

 

Well all you have to do is use a floor jack with a board on it to raise it a few inches. That's what I always do, and it works fine. Lot easier than taking off the front wheel.

[Condor]

I can't imagine that just dropping off the center stand could cause any real damage. Certainly not enough to cause an oil leak. Maybe it was there all along and you didn't notice it. After all you said about 2 drops in an hour. Did it stop after that? You sure the oil spot wasn't there before from something else? Also, I'm with Randy on this; Why lower the front? It really isn't needed.

 

A couple of years ago there was a tech article on how to change the rear tire without jacking the bike up by removing the front tire on the center stand and then tilting it forward. It still might be in the tech library??. Tieing the center stand so that it doesn't collapse is a good thing..... And it works really well if done properly.

[RedRider]

As for the oil leak, it may have been from the air box. Mind you, I have a 2nd gen, and yours may be different. But there is a crankcase vent that goes up to the airbox for vapors. It will pool a little bit of oil, but no big deal. I suspect it was just that draining.

 

RR

[Guest seuadr]

A couple of years ago there was a tech article on how to change the rear tire without jacking the bike up by removing the front tire on the center stand and then tilting it forward. It still might be in the tech library??. Tieing the center stand so that it doesn't collapse is a good thing..... And it works really well if done properly.

this is how i do it.. never had a problem, as long as you take the precaution of stabilizing the center stand.

[dingy]

If you don't have the chrome rear end that mounts the trailer hitch it's fairly easy.

 

Remove the rear fender and the tire will come right out.

 

There are two small bolts on inside top of fender and two more where the black inner side bag rails are.

 

Gary

[Pappa Bear]

Thanks all, I do have all the chrome bars and goodies around the back and around the saddle bags. I was going by what was posted in the tech pages on how to change the rear tire.

[warthogcrewchief]

With all my plastic off, the rear wheel removal/installation was a breeze. If you must lower the front end, Why not make a jig or brace out of 2x4's. Remove the front wheel, reinstall the front axle into the front forks and while you install the axle, the 2x4 brace would have a hole drilled through it to hold the front axle. That would allow you to place the front end down while keeping it from falling over.

[Condor]

With all my plastic off, the rear wheel removal/installation was a breeze. If you must lower the front end, Why not make a jig or brace out of 2x4's. Remove the front wheel, reinstall the front axle into the front forks and while you install the axle, the 2x4 brace would have a hole drilled through it to hold the front axle. That would allow you to place the front end down while keeping it from falling over.

 

That may be a bit of overkill. Falling over isn't the problem. The center stand collapsing because it wasn't secured in the down position is. Just removing the front tire and letting the forks rest on a piece of plywood should be sufficient.

On the high idle return. This is just a thought, but have you checked for drag in the cables. Maybe lubing them and the linkage around the carbs might solve the problem.???

[a1bummer]

Hey Pappa Bear,

You might want to check your oil filter cover and housing for cracks. It sticks out like a sore thumb. with the front wheel off it might be out far enough to hit the ground. Just a thought. I had cracked/broke mine there when I had the engine fall off my trailer. I had it welded back on and things are fine.

[Venturous Randy]

What I do is get some one inch planks and rock the bike to one side and put a plank under one foot, then rock it to the other side and put a plank or two under the other side. By doing this a couple of times, you can raise the back of the bike up some and get more clearance and it still be stable.

RandyA