Both Wheels Off at the Same Time?

[ember1205]

Front tire is shot. Period. Plenty of tread, but it's dry-rotted something horrible. I'm not wasting my time trying to inspect the rear because this bike sat for five years with no miles being put on it.

So, I have new sneakers to be put on, and I'm ready to get all dirty pulling the wheels. I have every intention of taking both wheels to the shop together and have them swap the tires and spin balance them. I haven't had both wheels off of a bike at the same time in quite a long time, and that bike was NOTHING like the GW in terms of size and weight.

Is there a recommended way to do this so that the bike remains stable while the wheels are off? Also, which one first will make the most sense?

[1060dsl]

Front comes off first, that way you can tip the bike forward to raise the back wheel enough to come out. Not a big deal just will need something under the front forks.

[ember1205]

I ended up doing it like this:

- I put the bike on the center stand
- Slipped a piece of 1" decking under the rear wheel, positioned so that the rear wheel would be ON that piece of decking when I dropped it off of the center stand
- Dropped the bike down and set on side stand
- Slipped a piece of 1" decking under the center stand and put the bike back up on the center stand

This increased the amount of clearance I had to work with for the rear wheel which also increased my clearance for the front wheel after tipping the bike

- Loosened everything for the front wheel
- Stacked wood blocks to fit under the front of the motor, slightly raising the front wheel
- Removed everything holding the front wheel on, grabbed the front chrome "bumper" to slightly raise the front of the bike and removed the wheel

When the front end came back down, it rested on the blocks of wood and was solid and stable

- Removed the panniers and the miscellaneous rear pieces for the fender and such
- Removed the lower shock mounting bolts and this allowed the rear end to sag slightly and the shocks to move freely
- Placed a 2x4 under the rear wheel "lengthwise", sticking out the back about 2'
- While swinging the shock toward the rear of the bike, I raised the 2x4 at the back just far enough to set it on a hydraulic floor jack
- Jacked up the 2x4 slowly, compressing the shock and raising the swingarm to the point where I could access the rear axle nut with a socket as well as clear the exhaust for axle removal
- Loosened the pinch bolt then tapped the axle out slowly from the right side until it cleared the final drive
- Moved to the left side and slipped a screwdriver into the hole in the end of the axle and pulled it the rest of the way out

When re-installing the wheels, I removed both brake caliper mounting brackets at the front and also removed the two 10mm bolts from one side of the fender that mounts the chrome. This gave me enough clearance to install the wheel inflated.

I put a light coat of Moly 60 on the rear splines before re-inserting it into the final drive. They were dry when I disassembled the wheel, but did not appear to show any sort of abnormal wear and tear. While I had everything apart, I also took the liberty of installing new brake pads on the rear and on the linked front caliper. I will be replacing the other non-linked front caliper's pads in the future - probably end of season as I suspect I will rebuild all three of the calipers just for my own peace of mind.

[bs175dths]

however it works best for you and your situation.
the bottom line is safety!

these bikes are difficult to pick up WITH wheels. one can only imagine picking one up WITHOUT wheels.

-good job!

[ember1205]

Having the rear wheel installed and the front wheel essentially "floating" under the forks impacts the bike's balance on the center stand. I would estimate that I needed to apply about 15-20 lbs of upward force on the front with the wheel uncoupled. If the rear wheel were off, it would have been much harder to raise the front because that counter weight wouldn't have been there.