| Author | Message | ||
     Timmins_xb12x |
07 XB12X Removed both wheels today to have new tires installed. The front was a real pain. The service manual method worked but lots of cursing and struggles to get the wheel high enough to clear the caliper and turn the fork leg CCW for wheel removal. Is there an easier method ? I am not looking forward to installing. | ||
| Jphish |
You did take the lower front fender off right ? The reason I ask is...well, lets just say some of us have found it to be an impediment. Anyway - Don't be in a hurry & dont force anything. Take 3 deep breathes & dont be tired / stressed out. Position yourself sitting sideways on a creeper (or kneeling on a pad) in front of forks with wheel between your legs. I use a piece of wedge shaped wood about 12" long (1" tapered to 1/4") under front wheel so I'm not having to 'jackass' the thing to line up with the axle holes. Just move the wedge to correct the wheel height. Take your time and it WILL come together. TTFN, j | ||
| Jphish |
PS - I forgot to mention the reason the wedge works is I only jack front up so about 1/2" space exists between wheel & ground. With 4 bikes I do this 'excercise' several times / year. It helps to have an extra pair of hands the first time...for assistance, moral support... or insuring proper pronunciation of cuss words. Good luck Timmins. j | ||
| Mark_weiss |
The next time I need to remove the front wheel, I am going to investigate a longer front brake line. Being able to pop the caliper out of the way would make wheel removal MUCH easier. It's not bad now, but still... Mark SE AZ | ||
| Skifastbadly |
That's weird because I changed my tire this spring and don't recall any difficulty at all. You have it jacked up high enough? | ||
| Zane_t |
I've had both wheels off and back on mine, no problem. Because of the aluminum race muffler, jacking from underneath is out of the question. I use cargo straps and a come-along and raise each end of the bike from above, and I can raise or lower it to facilitate easier wheel installation. | ||
| Someday |
I have an '08X and found it easier if I remove the caliper from the fork leg. I don't remember having an issue with the brake line length. If that's a problem, after you remove the caliper bolts from the fork leg pull the axle and move the wheel back a little, that should give you enough slack to remove the caliper. | ||
| Jphish |
Yeah - I always remove and 'hang' calipers when removing wheel. Good time to clean / relube pin bolts. | ||
| Smac |
Timmins, I struggled like you to remove the front wheel and I had it properly jacked up. I had even more of a struggle to re-install the front wheel. I ended up removing the brake caliper to get the wheel back in place...at least it stopped me from cursing! |
