Installing the Rear Wheel

First, clean all parts, as needed. Examine your two wheel hub spacers, the wheel bearing seals, rear pulley, the six pie shaped rubber dampeners, drive belt, and the axle bolt and nut. All should appear in good condition and undamaged. Refer to the Road Star Service Manual for details.

Lubricate the lips of both wheel bearing seals, as well as the axle.

Install the rubber dampeners, pulley, and metal hub spacers onto the wheel. Tip: The hub spacer you put on the left side of the wheel goes on after the pulley has been installed.

Be sure the bike is lifted high enough for the tire to clear the trailing edge of the rear fender, and roll or angle/slide the wheel in. As you do this, be careful of the brake rotor and the pulley. They can damage paint or chrome on themselves, the swing arm, or the brake caliper as you position the wheel. Tip: Use soft rags along the top of the pulley or swing arm, to protect parts.

Slowly lower the bike down over the wheel just enough to allow you to work the drive belt back onto the pulley.

Next, slowly continue to lower the bike down over the wheel -- bit by bit. As you do this, test and retest the wheel, to be certain it is not binding. Especially check the wheel hub spacers and the pulley.

As the bike is progressively lowered over the wheel the brake caliper will approach the rotor, unless it has been removed. Just wiggle and align the rotor in between the brake pads. See photo below.

Tip: If the pads will not easily spread enough to straddle the rotor, you can roll the wheel back a little, and use one or two wooden shims between the brake pads. Wedge the pads apart just enough for the rotor to slide between them. See photo below.

Warning: Do not use a screwdriver or other ill suited tool to pry brake pads apart, as you may damage their braking surfaces (or worse).

Next, as you continue to check for any binding, continue carefully lowering the frame over the wheel until the swing arm axle-holes line up with the wheel axle-hole.

Now, slide the left wheel-alignment block onto the axle bolt, then slide the bolt back in through the left side of the swing-arm hole and through the wheel. As you do this, also work the left wheel-alignment block back into position. See photo below.

Tip: The wheel-alignment blocks should be oriented with the engraved 'tick marks' out and up.

Tip: If you can't easily get the left-side wheel-alignment block into position, loosen and back out the wheel-alignment adjuster-bolt on one -- or both -- sides. You only need to loosen a few turns. If you keep track of how many turns, you can return the alignment bolt(s) back to their original position after the alignment-blocks are installed (assuming you trust that your belt was properly aligned before, and you're not replacing the drive belt or anything).

Push the axle ‘home’ into the right-side swing-arm. Then slide the right-side wheel-alignment block and the thick washer over the axle. Finally hand tighten the axle nut back into the axle bolt.

You must align the rear wheel so your drive belt tracks properly, and is properly tensioned. For instructions on ways to do this, check out the following articles: The $6 Wheel Alignment Jig, and Rear Wheel Alignment.

Note: More detailed Belt Alignment articles are in the works. If you need more help with this right away, just click the "Forum" tab at the top of this web page. Then post your questions to the community of other Road Star owners. They'll make sure you get the job done right.

As part of your wheel alignment process, closely inspect that the right-side alignment-bolt is fully in contact with the rear of your swing arm. If not, use a rubber mallet (or other non-marring tool) to nudge the alignment-bolt into contact with the rear of the swing arm. To do this, you can rap the side of the axle-nut, the head of the adjuster bolt, or the side of the tire.

Torque the axle to 65 to 85 ft-lbs, or 110ft-lbs. See the note below.

Note: The Road Star Service Manual recommends 110 ft-lbs, but some riders have reported that this much torque has twisted or broken their axle. As a precaution, many riders now use as little as 65 ft-lbs. I feel more comfortable with 85 ft-lbs. Use the torque you feel comfortable with; just be sure it's enough to hold the axle in place under the stress of the engine's power, but not so tight you might break the axle -- which is hollow.

Last, but not least, don't forget the brake caliper bracket. Reinstall it and/or the caliper, if removed. Torque the bracket's bolt to 35 ft-lbs. And, if removed, torque the caliper to 29 ft-lbs.

Double check your work. Wheels are important in keeping pavement off your skin.

Now, do two more things before riding:

• Press the brake pedal several times to get the brake pads back in position and the caliper cylinders full of brake fluid. Don't be alarmed if the pedal initially feels weak or spongy. Just keep repeating until it feels normal.
• Check your tire pressure.

Next, check the belt adjustment via a short test ride. If there is a whining sound, the belt is probably too tight. If you hear a chirp sound when you downshift hard (that isn't the tire), the belt is probably too loose. If adjustment is indicated, do the following:

• Loosen the rear axle nut.
• Loosen the brake bracket bolt again.
• Re-tension and realign your drive belt.
• Make sure the right-side adjuster bolt contacts the rear of the swing arm.
• Torque the axle nut (65 to 85 ft-lbs, or 110 ft-lbs). See axle torque note above.
• Torque the brake bracket bolt (35 ft-lbs).

Ride on.

Questions should be asked in our forum (Use discuss link below). The forum is very active and you stand a good chance of getting your questions answered there. If you would like to leave feedback for the author, or have additional information you think will benefit others, please use the comment section at the bottom of this page.

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DISCLAIMER: This information and procedure is provided as a courtesy and is for informational purposes only.  Neither the publishers nor the authors accept any responsibility for the accuracy, applicability, or suitability of this procedure.  You assume all risks associated with the use of this information.  NEITHER THE PUBLISHERs NOR THE AUTHORs SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION OR LACK OF INFORMATION.  Any type of modification or service work on your motorcycle should always be performed by a professional mechanic. If performed incorrectly, this procedure may endanger the safety of you and others on your motorcycle and possibly invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

Comments (2)

Written by Crusierbob, on 07-14-2008 08:13 Fantastic article. I have done this procedure, and learned the hard way every thing pointed out in this article. You can save a lot of time and some money by taking the wheel to a shop for tire changes. If you have to wait for them to remove the wheel that can take a lot longer. Most shops will immediately change a tire when the wheel is brought in. And you can see the care that is taken when it is your own scooter versus how a shop works. Using a lot of towels to cover chromed or painted parts saves a lot of minor damage.

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