Front wheel - PITA on L model

[Guest]

Last night I took my front wheel off to fix an issue with the speedometer drive. Thing was all dried out, not turning well and making noise. After I was done fixing that I went to put the wheel back on and it was nearly impossible. Had to let the air out of the tire to even have a hope of getting the holes in the forks to line up with the wheel.

All of the tutorials and pics I've seen (including in the manual) don't seem to mention this problem. I had to manually lift up the forks about 2 inches or so (at least) and shove the wheel in with my feet, then push the axle through. And that was WITH all of the air out of the tire. PITA! Is there some trick I am missing here? I don't feel like it should be this hard.

I am wondering if it is something about the L models, maybe they are lower? Maybe my center stand is bent up and not lifting the bike as high as it should? Or maybe my garage floor is just uneven

[mike_of_bbg]

Try removing the fender? It's only four bolts. Was getting it under the fender the issue?

[xxBenJamminxx]

Was getting it under the fender the issue?

Was gonna ask the same thing. On my L I just held the tire in place with one hand slid the axle in most of the way, lined up spacer and finished sliding it in. No letting out any air, or anything but my fender was OFF at the time.

[eil]

The front wheel sits on the ground when the bike is on the center stand, so how did you lift the front end up and off the ground to remove the tire in the first place?

Something like this happened to me, in my case I used a hydraulic jack under the engine to lift up the front and left it like that while I got distracted with something else. When I came back to the bike, the front end was resting on the forks. It went down slow so it didn't cause any damage. But from then on, I always use jack stands under the engine guards when working on the wheel.

[xxBenJamminxx]

Same here. I used my 3 ton floor jack since this was when I was replacing the fork seals so I had it suspended for a few hours. If you jack is slowly going down make sure the valve is shut tight, or look for leaking seals. Your absolutely right on the jack stands though. They should be used AT ALL TIMES when anything is suspended in the air. Whether you value your limbs/head while under it or just value the vehicle itself use them. I have seen cars fall of jacks for no good reason and its scary and can cause some serious damage.

Also NEVER use an acetylene torch to remove gas tank straps on any vehicle. Ask me how I know..... lol I was lucky it just blew the tank up like a beach ball and forced me out from under the car. Just lost a little facial hair that day but gained a valuable lesson.

[exzachtly1]

The Fender wasn't the problem, I took that off. When I took the wheel off I didn't lift it any higher than the center stand lifts it. Was just supporting with a car Jack but that Jack isn't really stable enough to lift the bike much higher. After I took the wheel off the front forks of course extended quite a bit.

So it sounds like I just need a better jack that can actually lift the bike up higher without tipping it over? Or maybe Jack stands under the forks before the wheel comes off, if that's even possible.

In order to get it back on I just lifted up on the forks as much as I could without toppling the bike

[OLDENUFF]

The center stand does not lift the front wheel at all. As previously posted, you have to jack the bike up. The L is no different than any other GS in that regard. Had mine in and out several times with no issues. Bob

[exzachtly1]

The center stand does not lift the front wheel at all. As previously posted, you have to jack the bike up. The L is no different than any other GS in that regard. Had mine in and out several times with no issues. Bob

This is what I suspected. What kind of jack do you guys recommend for this? my car jack with a 2x4 just does not feel stable enough to me at all. Also I'm not sure where a good jack point is on my bike; in one of the tutorials on basscliffs site he mentions a lip on the front from the engine mount, but mine does not have that lip.

[exzachtly1]

Also I don't have engine guards, so where would I place jack stands?

[OLDENUFF]

Put the jack with a piece of 2 x 4 under the exhaust and lift until the rear tire just touches the floor. You do not want to take much weight off the center stand or it will tip.

[BigD_83]

I have a four into 1 on my 650, and I use a lift, built up with wood, to cradle the frame...you can use rubber pads/inner tubes/pvc to protect the paint

[exzachtly1]

Put the jack with a piece of 2 x 4 under the exhaust and lift until the rear tire just touches the floor. You do not want to take much weight off the center stand or it will tip.

Something is wacky with what I was doing then, because i tried to do this and the center stand was coming up and the tipping was starting pretty quickly. I couldn't lift it up at all really, certainly not the 3-4" that it needed to be lifted to make the wheel come in and out easily. I'm just not sure what was up.

[earlfor]

I always put the bike on the center stand. Place a concrete block with a piece of 2x4 on top of it on the floor in front of the engine. Grab the front wheel with my right hand, lift the front end and slide the block/2x4 under the engine with my left hand. The front wheel hangs in the air about 4" off the floor. That has worked with every GS I've had including my 1150E and it works with my Bandit 12 also.

[exzachtly1]

I always put the bike on the center stand. Place a concrete block with a piece of 2x4 on top of it on the floor in front of the engine. Grab the front wheel with my right hand, lift the front end and slide the block/2x4 under the engine with my left hand. The front wheel hangs in the air about 4" off the floor. That has worked with every GS I've had including my 1150E and it works with my Bandit 12 also.

Great idea, and simple. I'll try that next time.