putting the rear tire back on

[glrider7]

I currently have a post at viewtopic.php?f=6&t=42756&p=266530#p266530 but it has sat for a few days so I am not sure if anyone is looking at it anymore so I am creating a new one here. Here is what I had posted;

I got a new tire put on and got the wheel back today. I am following viewtopic.php?t=11395 which I have done successfully once before, but for some reason I am having problems getting the wheel back on. I am step 47 and it seems to me that the wheel is not going in far enough. I am not confident on the exact language so forgive me if I ask the wrong question here.

Is the one spline supposed to completely cover the over one or do they just meet and touch each other?

okay I think I got the wheel on. I pulled it back and touch and then pushed it and it slid quite a bit. I can actually slide in back and forth now so maybe the teetch were not quite lining up.

Now I have another problem which I also had the last time. When I look at my lower shock bolt it seems to be thick with threads starting at the head, and then narrows out with more threads. I didn't have it out far enough to see any part without threads as I was worried about it letting the shock go. The problem I have now is I can't get it to turn in. It turns but doesn't seem to move inward at all. It hasn't even gone thru the caliper yet to hold it in place properly.

[kane67]

Hi there!

I assume you have air pressure off from rear shocks...

If shock tries to force swing arm a bit downwards, bolt will not line up as it’s now open and out of threads.
Does it help if you try to force shock’s lower end upwards a bit (maybe a large flat screw driver etc suitable tool) and try tight the bolt at same time... it may find threads.

[glrider7]

I will try Kane.

I think what I did last time was to wedge a piece of wood under the swing arm to give it a little more support. I will try that again and your suggestion. I wondered if the bold was not lining up.

[Alan_Hepburn]

I ran into the same problems just this week - I put the wheel back on, but was not sure if it was engaging the splines or not. My solution was to put the transmission in gear and try to spin the rear wheel by hand - if it didn't spin I figured the splines were meshed. Then I tried to push the shock bolt back in and it wouldn't go anywhee. I saw that the holes weren't quite lined up so I had to manipulate the swing arm a bit to get them to line up - then it slid in easily.

[glrider7]

Alan what direction did you have manipulate the swing arm. Last time I put support under it, but maybe I am going the wrong way. Right now the I can feel the bolt on the inside of the shock, so it is close, but I am not sure of the swing arm has to come up or go down.

[Stew]

I was thinking of this thread earlier today when putting my rear wheel back on. I lifted it up and it felt like it went on a little but not all the way, I was thinking it wasn't engaging the splines all the way. So I popped it in first and rocked the tire back and forth but it wasn't going on any further, just rocking a little before the engine compression would stop it. Then I stopped and thought about it for a minute... obviously if the engine is stopping it the splines were engaged, I looked at it from the rear and it was centered... it WAS on all the way, it just feels a little floppy and like it should go on further until you get the axle and other parts back in, doh! It was fine.

[glrider7]

Yes it's funny how we all want to make sure out rear wheel is on correctly. I guess it must be important LOL.

[FM-USA]

Yes it's funny how we all want to make sure out rear wheel is on correctly. I guess it must be important LOL.

ya, just slightly important. 8D
I was gonna chime in also but you got it.
As your looking at it now assembled, the splines outer hub (bowl shaped) looks to have a little too much space, that's normal. I fretted over that once, thought it was too much but found another installed tire to compare. Space is good to go.

SHOCK BOLT. DO BE VERY VERY CAREFUL getting the threads to match.
NO STRIPPING ALLOWED during working on bike hours.

[glrider7]

That is exactly what I am concerned about. Have I stripped any of the threads.

[FM-USA]

The smaller threads you mentioned SHOULD BE a grease imprint on the lead-in pilot shaft of that bolt.
Once you get the bolt hole lined up as close as possible and there's no binding while turning, reverse the bolt via fingers and FEEL the threads bump every rotation. Then start the bolt. HOPEFULLY the bolt will turn a couple turns freely. If not pull the bolt and clean up the threads.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Alan what direction did you have manipulate the swing arm. Last time I put support under it, but maybe I am going the wrong way. Right now the I can feel the bolt on the inside of the shock, so it is close, but I am not sure of the swing arm has to come up or go down.

If I recall, the hole in the swing arm was a tiny bit lower than the bolt so I lifted up the front of the bike to put a wee bit of weight on the rear wheel, then just grabbed the swing arm and moved it around until the bolt slid through...I don't recall exactly which direction everything went - I just played with it until it fit!

[glrider7]

FM-USA are you suggesting I take the bolt out completely? I was thinking about that but was worried what would happen to the shock if I did that. Of I did take it out I was thinking I could see how things are lined up.

Right now I can't turn the bolt by hand at all.

[FM-USA]

I've done this a few times.
Use a rag to protect paint.

The shock is pressing down all the time.
Using stout flat screwdrivers, wedge up & over the shock eye until centered.
Flashlight a visual for shocks eye is close to center.

[glrider7]

Hey guys,

Thanks to everyone so much. Because the swing arm is on a slant from front to back, I had a wedge ( I started with piece of 2X4, but eventually had to switch to a pipe as the 2X4 was not long enough) from the ground to the swing arm. The bolt was really tight, so much that it was squeaking. I figured I had to with life the swing arm or lower it.

Just the same as happened last time I had my wheel off, it had to be lifted. I kept hitting my wedge further back towards the end of the swing arm. I had it pretty well at the very back of the swing arm, almost right under the axle bolt. I then tried turning the bolt again and it looked like it was going in so I got up off my ass so I can see it better, and sure enough it was going in. I have it almost all the way in now. Just got to make a trip to my sisters as I realized I left both my torque wrenches there again.

Thanks again. This site is so helpful and it like an extended family. Safe riding to everyone.

[glrider7]

Hey guys,

One more issue. Can't seem to get the brakes back on. While I had it apart I replaced the pads as they were getting close. I can get the caliper over the rotor and the top (big bolt) lines up but the bottom won't. When I swing the caliper down the bottom keeps hitting against the caliper bracket. I thought last time I did this the bushing inside the calpier hole where the bolt goes through could slide, but this tome I can't get it to move.

[WingAdmin]

Hey guys,

One more issue. Can't seem to get the brakes back on. While I had it apart I replaced the pads as they were getting close. I can get the caliper over the rotor and the top (big bolt) lines up but the bottom won't. When I swing the caliper down the bottom keeps hitting against the caliper bracket. I thought last time I did this the bushing inside the calpier hole where the bolt goes through could slide, but this tome I can't get it to move.

Are you pushing the rubber bellows in so that it can swing down over top of it?

[FM-USA]

Maybe over greased it causing hydrolic lock?
I did this once, took a while to realize, more wasn't better.

[glrider7]

Well shame on me for not coming back and finishing this post. I just took the bike apart to replace the rear pads and I have the same problem. Obviously I got it fixed last time as I just returned from a 6000+ mile trip thru the US and was using the bike before that.

Wingman by rubber bellows do you mean the rubber boot that the top bolt goes thru. my bottom bolt doesn't have the same boot. I don't see anything that would move that give me added space.

[bluthundr31]

The top bolt has the rubber boot as WingAdmin indicated, the lower bolt does not have a boot.

IIRC, those two bolts are the only ones holding the calipers onto the bracket. Did you remove/loosen any other bolts in that same area?

[glrider7]

No I didn't. Just the two to take the caliper off. I was wracking my brain overnight and what the problem is since I have had this issue twice last night. Something back in the far reaches of my mind something is telling me the issue was that there was a particular brake pad for the GL1500, but not my model because they are two thick. The pads I was sold are FA69/3 High Performance Organic Brake Pads. I did check a site and they seem to be compatible.

The other option I thought of is there an inner and outer pad. One site suggested this but the problem would be that the brake pad might hit the wheel when activated, not that the caliper would not be able to fit back into place.

[tsandvik]

I am just now reassembling my Wing after a full strip down and ran into this same brake problem. Turns out with mine, the pad had slipped down the pins so it was not engaging the spring properly. Made the pad sit kitty wompus as my granddad would say. Got things back in line again and everything slipped right back in place. HTH.

[bluthundr31]

There isn't a left/right brake pad, , they're both the same (in my experience).

Consider taking the caliper off, remove the "new" pads and put the old pads back on to see if the hole lines up correctly. If it does, then there might be an issue with the "new" pads that will only be obvious when compared closely to the old ones. As stated earlier, , ensure that the "spring" is set correctly at the top of each pad.

[glrider7]

Heading home soon to look at it.

[glrider7]

Well guys I need my bike tomorrow to go out of town to a funeral so I put the bike back together with the old pads as they were not as bad as I thought they were. This is just a gap stop measure until I can figure out what is going on. I talked to my parts guy today and he said the pads come is three levels of thickness. The ones he sold me are the thickest and said to fit my bike. He said sometime the pressure of the fluid might be so much that it is pushing on the pistons not allowing enough space to swing the caliper down past the caliper bracket. He suggested draining some fluid from the reservoir which I did and then tried to compress the pistons. I got them as flat as they would seem to go, but I still couldn't get the caliper to fit by the bracket.

I will get my parts guy to order me the thinner pads and try them.

[bluthundr31]

Usually no need to "drain fluid from the reservoir". With the caliper off, and the cap removed from the reservoir, set ONE of the old pads on the "piston" side of the caliper and use a "C" clamp to gently, and I mean GENTLY tighten the C clamp to depress the piston(s) to give the maximum clearance for the new pads. Fluid in the lines will flow back into the reservoir slowly as you compress the pistons. Be careful not to "over-fill" the reservoir as you flush the fluid back into it, AND be careful not to "over-stress" the O-rings of the pistons by forcing them too quickly.

Glad to hear you got a handle on the situation though, , good job