Removing the wheel
1. Before starting, make sure you bleed all the air out of the rear shocks (if you have air shocks). Remove the seat and left saddlebag. Instructions on removing the seat can be found here, and on removing the bag can be found here. Careful to disconnect the turn signal wire (on top of the rear fender before pulling the bag away.

2. Remove the two bolts on either side of the rear fender. Remove the two bolts on the underside (dirty side!) of the rear fender.

3. Lift up the license plate, and remove the last bolt holding the rear fender piece in place. Remove the rear fender piece.

4. Remove the bolt holding the left shock absorber to the swingarm.
Note: If your motorcycle has pneumatic (air) suspension, make sure that you have evacuated the air from the shock absorber before attempting to remove it! Hold the "release" button down for the rear shocks until all the air has been removed.

5. Remove the nut and washers holding the right shock absorber to the rear drive.

6. Pull the rear shock absorber to the rear and up out of the way, and secure it to the crash bar to keep it out of your way.

7. Drive two 2 inch boards under the rear wheel to lift it up. Make sure you don't push the motorcycle off the center stand while doing so! It's probably a good idea to have someone hold the front brake on while you do this.

8. When the wheel has been lifted high enough, the axle will clear the top of the exhaust.

9. Pull the cotter pin out of the axle on the right side of the wheel. Note: the pin shown in this picture is not original equipment - the OEM pin is a regular cotter pin that is fed through and has the ends bent over manually.
Note: Starting in 1983, the castle nut and cotter pin was replaced with a self-locking nut.

10. Remove the axle nut from the right side of the wheel.

11. Remove the pinch nut on the end of the swingarm on the left side of the wheel.

12. Loosen, but do not remove the three nuts securing the driveshaft to the rear drive.

13. Put some wood or other material in between the swingarm and the crash bar on the left side. This is to prevent the swingarm from being pushed to the left while driving out the axle. Allowing the swingarm to be pushed left could damage it. On 1980 and 1981 GL1100's, a flat washer is used instead of this spacer.

14. Drive the axle out from the right side of the wheel. In this picture, I am using a 3/4" diameter 6 inch steel bolt, that I purchased to remove the bearings from the wheel.

15. Once the axle comes free, pull it the remainder of the way out the left side of the bike. Do not allow it to fall on the floor! Put the axle on something soft where it will not pick up grit or dirt.

17. Remove the outer axle spacer from between the swingarm and the caliper bracket.

18. Remove the caliper bolt (below the "Honda" on the caliper) and then remove the caliper pin, as shown.

19. Remove the screw fastening the rotor cover to the caliper and remove the rotor cover.

20. Pull the caliper up and off of the rotor, then secure it to the frame of the bike, up out of the way. Do not allow it to dangle by the brake hose.

21. Remove the three nuts holding the rear drive to the driveshaft.

22. Pull the caliper bracket towards the rear of the motorcycle, and remove the inner axle spacer from between the caliper bracket and the wheel hub.

23. Remove the cotter pin from the caliper bracket mounting bolt.

24. Remove the castle nut from the caliper bracket mounting bolt, and remove the bolt.

25. Remove the caliper bracket.

26. Pull the wheel to the rear of the motorcycle, supporting the rear drive as you do.

27. Allow the rear drive to pull out of the driveshaft, but do not allow it to swing downwards!

28. Keep the rear drive level, or the rear drive oil could spill out of the vent.

29. Gently pull the rear drive away from the wheel.

30. Now is a good time to replace the rear drive gear oil. Remove the drain bolt from the bottom of the rear drive, and allow the drive to drain into an oil pan.

31. While it is draining, clean all the grease from the spline on the rear drive.

32. Brake cleaner works well to remove the old grease from the spline.

33. Also clean grease from the inner hub of the wheel.

34. Loosen and remove the brake rotor retaining nuts.

35. Remove the brake rotor. Place the rotor on something soft, where it won't be damaged.

36. Remove the spline drive from the wheel - it just pulls out. Clean any residual grease out of the spline teeth.

37. The ONLY grease that should be used on the spline is genuine Moly 60 paste. Regular grease will be slung off the spline as it spins, leaving it unlubricated, and causing unrepairable wear. Do NOT cut corners here - use only the proper Moly paste!

**NOTE: Honda has discontinued the original Moly 60 paste shown above, and replaced it with high-Moly M-77 paste:
38. Coat the inside of the wheel spline liberally with Moly 60. Ensure it gets down into the teeth.

39. Coat the slider pins as well.

40. Slide the spline drive back into the wheel.

41. Coat the spline on the rear drive with Moly 60, ensuring all the teeth are fully coated.

Reinstalling the wheel
1. Before reinstalling the rear drive, reinstall the brake rotor. Snug the nuts, skipping every other nut: There are five nuts. Looking at the nuts clockwise, tighten #1, then #3, then #5, then #2, then #4.

2. Torque the nuts, in the same pattern, to 22 ft-lb.

3. Slide the final drive into the wheel, ensuring the splines meet up.

4. Coat the final drive shaft in Moly or grease.

5. Roll the wheel forward so that the driveshaft engages the final drive shaft.

6. Install the three final drive nuts finger-tight.

7. Make sure you have wood under the wheel to lift it to the correct height so that the hub of the wheel lines up with the swingarm.

8. Insert the inner axle spacer into the wheel hub.

9. Remove the sleeve from the caliper bracket, clean, and lubricate the outside of it with grease before reinserting it into the caliper bracket.

10. Lubricate the non-threaded portion of the caliper bracket bolt with grease.

11. Position the caliper bracket over the rotor, insert the bolt to hold it in its bracket, and tighten the castle nut. Insert the cotter pin through the bolt.

12. Spread the swingarm pinch with a screwdriver.

13. Place the outer axle spacer in between the caliper bracket and the swingarm.

14. Clean the axle, and apply a light coating of grease.

15. From the left side of the motorcycle, drive the axle through the swingarm, through the wheel hub, and out the final drive on the right side.

16. Insert a screwdriver into the hole in the axle end on the left side of the motorcycle. This is how you will keep the axle from rotating as the axle nut is fastened.

17. Screw the axle nut onto the axle.

18. Torque the axle nut to 65 ft-lb for 1980-1982, and 69 ft-lb for 1983 models.

19. Install the cotter pin. Note: the pin shown in this picture is not original equipment - the OEM pin is a regular cotter pin that is fed through and has the ends bent over manually.
Note: Starting in 1983, the castle nut and cotter pin was replaced with a self-locking nut.

20. Clean both sides of the brake rotor with brake cleaner.

21. Coat the non-threaded portions of the caliper bolt and the caliper slider bolt with grease.

22. Slide the caliper onto the caliper bracket and install the bolts. Torque the caliper pivot bolt to 13 ft-lb for 1980-1981, and 17 ft-lb for 1982-1983 models. Torque the caliper bolt to 22 ft-lb. Install the rotor cover and screw it into place.

23. Install the pinch bolt and torque it to 19 ft-lb.

24. Torque the driveshaft nuts to 29 ft-lb.

25. Pump grease into the driveshaft joint grease fitting.

26. If the final drive oil was drained during removal, it must now be refilled. Use 75W-90 hypoid gear oil.

27. Remove the fill port on the final drive.

28. Fill the final drive with the gear oil.

29. The final drive is full when the gear oil begins to run back out the fill port.

30. Place the right shock absorber back over the stud on the final drive.

31. Fasten the shock absorber to the final drive. The washer goes on first, followed by the lockwasher, followed by the acorn nut.

32. Torque the nut to 25 ft-lb.

33. Bolt the left shock absorber to the swingarm, and torque the bolt to 25 ft-lb.

34. Reinstall the rear fender.

35. Reinstall the saddlebags.
