Changing a Tire and Swing Arm Maintenance
Here are the tools that I used. Don’t ask for detains. Standard metric wrenches and sockets in both 3/8” and ½” drive. There are some SAE wrenches and sockets in the mix for a modification I was doing. Note the calibrated-7-years-ago torque wrench. Rear axle nut is a 24mm, though I use a large adjustable wrench to break the nut loose. Magnetic pad is to help keep all those aluminum parts and stainless steel hardware in place. Lots of rags to clean up parts with a bucket of soapy water and spray cleaner. Now is the best time you'll ever have to clean most of the parts that you'll be dealing with. Take the time to clean them up and inspect for damage. 80-90wt gear oil is a must as is a 10-year old can of moly grease that I lost the lid to 8 years ago. Natural or synthetic is your choice. Finally, you'll need a bottle of brake fluid, preferrable one you bought 2 years ago to top off a master cylinder and you're too cheap to throw out for a fresh bottle. After all, that was $2.99! Two bottles of Gatorade and two cans of Diet Mtn Dew is a must if it's 85 and 90% humidity. Not pictured is oil drain pan and Kawasaki service manual; one for the collection of used fluids and the other to contain oil until you can dispose of it at the recycling center/back yard.
Note that my wife thinks used tires make great planter. I think it makes us look like white trash. Well, we ARE white trash, but, hey, let's not advertise it!
Messing with the tires would've been easier if I'd bolted the stand to the floor as much of my wrestling with this involved keeping the stand in one place. Apparently, I'm a glutton for punishment and like to swear.
Car tire on. This was a PITA and my daughter, who was “helping” learned a few choice words. She knows me, however, and kinda expected this. I poured in 3 ounces of Dyna beads for balance. This is the recommended amount for a car tire. We’ll see how this works out over time.
Notice I took the brake rotor off. I didn't want to damage it with all the tire tools flying (literally) around. Took a full bottle of Gatorade to get this tire on.
Next up is swing arm lubrication and brake bleeding. With the stock swing arm, you have to remove the brake line from the caliper to remove the swing arm. The hose guides are an unbroken loop. Since I'm replacing the old brake fluid, this isn't a problem. I found out later I don't have the new crush washers I was *sure* was in my cabinet. Where did they go??? So, I'll have to replace those tomorrow night and re-bleed the brakes. Remove the hose from the caliper before taking the rear wheel off and while the caliper is still attached to its mount. That banjo bolt is tight and tough to get without leverage. The swing arm is held on by a 22mm bolt that runs across the bike. Make sure you turn the bolt as you pull it so it doesn't damage the bearing races as you remove it. With the swing arm removed, take the time to clean it up nice and look for damage. It'll never get cleaned other than this time.
I imagine this is what's required to have sex with a terminator robot. I suspect the u-joint was a tad over greased from the factory.
In my case, the pin dropped into the rubber boot. Here it is, the little bugger.
Inspect the drive shaft and u-joint for damage. If it's not lubricated, add some grease to the u-joint. Mine looked over greased, so I wiped it down.
I'm showing just the left side of the bike, but the process is the same for both sides.
Inspect the inner race, clean and relube. You don't need a lot, as too much grease will collect dirt and damage the bearing just as quickly as too little grease. Apply a bit to the needle bearings still in the bike, too.
Re-installing the inner race is simply pushing it back into place. I believe this is called "one in the pink".
Re-install the drive shaft. Remeber, that pin is spring loaded. Push the drive shaft all the way on until you hear the pin snap into place.
As I'm installing my first car tire, I wanted to make sure I had adequate clearance. So, I assembled the swing arm around the tire. As you can see, I have about a playing cards thickness between the tire and the drive shaft tube. That's fine as the tire will expand in diameter, not width, under operating conditions. This should be good, but I will keep an eye on it.
OK, good to go, time to put the swing arm back on the bike. But first, let's deal with that pesky brake line guide issue. Quick work with a cut off wheel and we can remove the swing arm without removing the brake line in the future. Later I found out I should have cut the inside edge of the rear-most guide. The hose won't stay in the guide now and I'll have to zip tie it in place.
Slide the swing arm back over the drive shaft and install the bolt, carefully twisting it as you push it in. Kind of a pain getting everything to line up just so. Torque to 80 ft lbs. Check for side to side play when on.
I didn't photograph it, but clean off, check and grease the needle bearings on the shocks while they're off the bike. Check their air pressure as it's easy to access them now. The mounting nuts are torqued to 25 foot pounds.
As I'm installing a car tire and as I always seem to have issues lining up the drive splines with the wheel socket, I chose to keep the final drive unit off the swing arm until the tire was in place. This made it a lot easier for me. Having the back end apart, now is a great time to change the final drive oil. A large thick washer and a channel lock pliers does well to open the fill cap and a 12mm wrench removes the drain plug. If you don't remove the final drive, you'll have to deflate the car tire to wedge it into the swing arm.
With the final drive lined up on the wheel, set the wheel in place under the bike, then lower the bike down to the wheel.
Make sure you torque those nuts!
Now, while the bike is still on the stand and level, add 80-90wt gear oil. You might need to remove the saddle bag support as it's *just* in the way. I used a funnel and took my time. When it's level with the fill opening bottom, it's full.
Reinstall the left shock after cleaning it up, checking the needle bearings and air pressure. Torque the mounting nuts to 25 foot-lbs.
Clean up and inspect the brake caliper mount. You shouldn't see any problems, but, being cast, you could find a crack near any of the mounting holes. Reinstall the axle bolt. Torque that nut to the proper level, then back off until the castle lines up with the cotter pin hole. If you're like me and realize that you forgot to get a new cotter pin and the hardware store is now closed, you SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE STORE IS OPEN, not hammer the old one back straight using a 3lb sledge and a steel table and re-use. Again. Remember, key word here is you "should".
Note that I've still got the exhaust on. Book says it should come off. Nyahhh!!! Using a wobble headed extension helps get around the muffler and the bag support bracket.
A keen eye will notice bolts attaching the support bracket to the rear guard are missing. I was also building a new muffler bracket during this time and it mounts to those bolts.
Clean up the caliper of old brake dust and inspect. It should be relatively free moving. Inspect the brake pads for wear. There is a wear cut down the middle of the pads. If you don't see it, the pads are worn out and should be replaced.
Reattach the caliper and torque the mounting screws. Reattach the brake line. Since the fluid is old, I used a mighty vac to bleed the brake lines with new fluid. Attach the M.V. to the bleeder screw and open. Remove the chrome cover over the resevoir and open the cap. Squeeze the M.V. to apply suction and add new fluid as the resevoir level drops. When you see clean fluid in the cup, stop.
Now you can button up the rear end. Note: remove sticker before riding.
Double check all fasteners, make sure any fluid spills are cleaned off the rotor and tire, PUMP THE REAR BRAKE UNTIL YOU FEEL PRESSURE (don't know how many times I've forgotten that), check tire air pressure and take for a check ride. Note that tire will be slick the first 50 miles or so, so ride gently.
First impressions of the car tire seem no different than a bike tire. Might be becuase I'm running 40 psi to start with. I've dropped it to 37 psi and I'll see how it is with that. I currently have a leak in the rear brake line crush gaskets, so I'm keeping the bike in the garage until that's fixed, the brakes are re-bled and I inspect the brake shoes for oil contamination. I've had oil soaked brakes before, twice. Though I primarily brake with the front, not having back brakes can be discomforting.
Re-installing the inner race is simply pushing it back into place. I believe this is called "one in the pink".
Re-install the drive shaft. Remeber, that pin is spring loaded. Push the drive shaft all the way on until you hear the pin snap into place.
As I'm installing my first car tire, I wanted to make sure I had adequate clearance. So, I assembled the swing arm around the tire. As you can see, I have about a playing cards thickness between the tire and the drive shaft tube. That's fine as the tire will expand in diameter, not width, under operating conditions. This should be good, but I will keep an eye on it.
OK, good to go, time to put the swing arm back on the bike. But first, let's deal with that pesky brake line guide issue. Quick work with a cut off wheel and we can remove the swing arm without removing the brake line in the future. Later I found out I should have cut the inside edge of the rear-most guide. The hose won't stay in the guide now and I'll have to zip tie it in place.
Slide the swing arm back over the drive shaft and install the bolt, carefully twisting it as you push it in. Kind of a pain getting everything to line up just so. Torque to 80 ft lbs. Check for side to side play when on.
I didn't photograph it, but clean off, check and grease the needle bearings on the shocks while they're off the bike. Check their air pressure as it's easy to access them now. The mounting nuts are torqued to 25 foot pounds.
As I'm installing a car tire and as I always seem to have issues lining up the drive splines with the wheel socket, I chose to keep the final drive unit off the swing arm until the tire was in place. This made it a lot easier for me. Having the back end apart, now is a great time to change the final drive oil. A large thick washer and a channel lock pliers does well to open the fill cap and a 12mm wrench removes the drain plug. If you don't remove the final drive, you'll have to deflate the car tire to wedge it into the swing arm.
With the final drive lined up on the wheel, set the wheel in place under the bike, then lower the bike down to the wheel.
Make sure you torque those nuts!
Now, while the bike is still on the stand and level, add 80-90wt gear oil. You might need to remove the saddle bag support as it's *just* in the way. I used a funnel and took my time. When it's level with the fill opening bottom, it's full.
Reinstall the left shock after cleaning it up, checking the needle bearings and air pressure. Torque the mounting nuts to 25 foot-lbs.
Clean up and inspect the brake caliper mount. You shouldn't see any problems, but, being cast, you could find a crack near any of the mounting holes. Reinstall the axle bolt. Torque that nut to the proper level, then back off until the castle lines up with the cotter pin hole. If you're like me and realize that you forgot to get a new cotter pin and the hardware store is now closed, you SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE STORE IS OPEN, not hammer the old one back straight using a 3lb sledge and a steel table and re-use. Again. Remember, key word here is you "should".
Note that I've still got the exhaust on. Book says it should come off. Nyahhh!!! Using a wobble headed extension helps get around the muffler and the bag support bracket.
A keen eye will notice bolts attaching the support bracket to the rear guard are missing. I was also building a new muffler bracket during this time and it mounts to those bolts.
Clean up the caliper of old brake dust and inspect. It should be relatively free moving. Inspect the brake pads for wear. There is a wear cut down the middle of the pads. If you don't see it, the pads are worn out and should be replaced.
Reattach the caliper and torque the mounting screws. Reattach the brake line. Since the fluid is old, I used a mighty vac to bleed the brake lines with new fluid. Attach the M.V. to the bleeder screw and open. Remove the chrome cover over the resevoir and open the cap. Squeeze the M.V. to apply suction and add new fluid as the resevoir level drops. When you see clean fluid in the cup, stop.
Now you can button up the rear end. Note: remove sticker before riding.
Double check all fasteners, make sure any fluid spills are cleaned off the rotor and tire, PUMP THE REAR BRAKE UNTIL YOU FEEL PRESSURE (don't know how many times I've forgotten that), check tire air pressure and take for a check ride. Note that tire will be slick the first 50 miles or so, so ride gently.
First impressions of the car tire seem no different than a bike tire. Might be becuase I'm running 40 psi to start with. I've dropped it to 37 psi and I'll see how it is with that. I currently have a leak in the rear brake line crush gaskets, so I'm keeping the bike in the garage until that's fixed, the brakes are re-bled and I inspect the brake shoes for oil contamination. I've had oil soaked brakes before, twice. Though I primarily brake with the front, not having back brakes can be discomforting.
posted by James Vierkant at 10:03 PM
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