>> Last Updated: 02/25/2008 10:16 AM Central Time <<

15. Wheels/Trikes/Sidecars                (Back to Topics)

 Chrome Wheels    Oversized Wheels   Rear Drive Alignment   Sidecars  Spokes  Trike Kits  Wheel Removal 

1. Spokes, Spoked Wheels, Sealing Spoked Wheels (updated 12/15/07)

    

   Caution: The stock spokes are NOT chromed, but rather have some sort of coating, and will not polish to a bright shine.  Take care when cleaning, as it may be possible to remove the coating and adversely affect appearance.

    

   Re-lacing Spoked Wheels:

   Call Buchanan at 626-969-4655 they will take any wheel from any bike and re lace it with stainless or chrome spokes.
   They do awesome work and its way cheaper than buying new wheels http://buchananspokes.com/

    

   Sealing Spoked Wheels for Tubeless Tires

       Thread on our forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/yamaha1100/messages?msg=29653.1

       Vendor:   http://www.wheel-works.com/

       See thread at:  http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/wheelseal/index.html

    

2. Chrome Wheels

    

3. Oversize Wheels

    

4. Wheel Removal

    

   1. Rear Wheel Removal

       

      On an 1100 classic it is much easier to remove the rear fender to pull the rear wheel. In either case you will need to raise the back end of the bike in the air, either with a bike lift or with two scissors jacks under the rear frame members.
      
      1) Remove the 4 bolts holding the rear drive to the swing arm.
      2) Loosen, don’t remove, the axel pinch nuts.
      3) Remove 2 brake caliper mounting bolts (and optional - remove the 1 small brake line clamp bolt – I don’t as I like to fight with the dangling parts), pull caliper off the rotor and using a zip tie or wire, hang it from the rear peg. Do not disconnect the brake line.
      4) Remove the brake caliper bracket mounting bolt.
      5) Loosen and remove the large rear axel nut.
      6) Support the weight of the rear tire with your legs as you pull the axel bolt out from the right side. Catch the brake caliper bracket before it falls. Remember the order of the spacers and washers. REMEMBER THE ORDER OF THE SPACERS AND WASHERS!!!
      7) Guide the wheel towards the back until the drive shaft comes out of the engine. The drive shaft will stay with the final drive assembly. The brake caliper support will swing down.
      8) Raise the bike higher until the tire can be removed from under the fender This is really high on a Classic unless you removed the rear fender.
      .9) The final drive can now be separated from the wheel. It will be snug but can just be pulled apart – you may need to lightly rock the assembly using the drive shaft as a lever. Set the final drive off to the side with the vent facing up. CAREFUL – On some bikes the machined edges are razor sharp!
      10) Clean up all the excess grease with some paper towels
      I have also pulled the rear wheel leaving the axel in place, which to me is a bit easier, but of course I have a third hand. <G>
      --- --- ---
      Reverse the process for the reinstall. You will need to use your third hand when you slide that axel bole back through the washers, spacers and brake caliper bracket. This will be a good time to be thankful for remembering the stacking order of the spacers and washers and caliper.
      
      Daddo (Larry Marino) - A sinner Saved by Grace
      DaddoCFL@BellSouth.net

       

      Another set of comments:

       

      Remember that the differential and shaft come out with the wheel in one piece. Unbolt the caliper then the axle bolt and the four bolts just in front of the differential. It should pull straight back to you (YamMaxin700)

      Following the manual you should be alright.
      Couple of points though:
      1-Ensure the bike is jacked stable. When the weight of the rear wheel comes off the back the center of gravity will shift to the front.
      2-It'll be easier to remove the wheel from the frame with the bike jacked so the wheel is just barely off the ground (maybe even touching a little). You can jack the bike up after to give more clearance to remove it completely. (This will save you having a 40 lb wheel in your arms while reaching under the bike)
      3-Pay attention to the caliper bracket, it has the potential to give problems on reassembly, but if you watch as you going back it'll go as smooth as silk.
      4-With the wheel off make sure you grease up the splines inside the rear differential as well as the drive shaft spline.
      http://www.star-riders.org/starcruiser/newstar/article.php?issue=6.3&article=186

      (Hawqstar)

       

   2. Front Wheel Removal

       

      See manual (section 6 page 1-3)

       

5. Rear Drive Alignment   (updated 02/25/08)

    

   Note - from our experts:

    

   DaddoCFL - in response to poster who said he had rear end noise when walking the bike, and his dealer told him to change the rear end lube:

   Hopefully this does not offend too many folks who have "shimmed" their rear gear end assembly, but that technique is just plain stupid. Oh, did I say "stupid"? What I meant to say was STUPID!
   
   Listen to the dealer's advice.
   Make sure you have the correct amount of gear lube in the rear end.
   Lube the splined end of the drive shaft.
   Make sure there is a coating of lubricant on the splines where the rear gear assembly mates with the splines on the axle.
   Assemble the rear wheel onto the bike in the correct order specified by Yamaha and torque the bolts into place.
   Adding shims to the mounting point to make noises go away just hides a potential problem. It does NOTHING to actually fix it.
   
   And while you are at it, use a high quality spray lubricant on all of the moving parts of the rear suspension. With less then 3000 miles on your bike you should not need to disassemble the suspension unless the bike was under water.

    

   When I would reinstall the rear wheel assembly I would follow the book and slide the rear wheel into place while making sure that the axle slid securely into it's socket, while holding the brake caliper bracket in my third hand. It's like one of those puzzles with the moving parts where everything needs to be positioned correctly for it to come together.
   
   Then I would slide on the right side axle holder on to it's two bolts and then lightly screw on the nuts.
   
   That is when the four gear housing bolts are screwed into place and tightened to their specified torque 70 Nm (7.0 m-kg or 51 ft lbs) Corrected numbers - see comments below.
   
   Then and only then is when you tighten the axle nut to it's correct tourque 107 Nm (10.7 m-kg or 77 ft lbs).
   
   After that, you can tighten the two nuts on the rear axle holder yoke to 23 Nm (2.3 m-kg or 17 ft lbs).
   
   After doing all of that you can bolt down the rear brake caliper bracket 40 Nm (4.0 m-kg or 29 ft lbs), and install the caliper on the bracket 40 Nm (4.0 m-kg or 29 ft lbs).
   
   It sounds more involved then it is, but if you follow that process the rear end should be perfectly aligned

   TimB - in that same thread:

   Never need to shim mine when the factory tightening sequence is followed.

   I know some folks shim the swing arm, but I'm not sure that's the real problem.

   Mine is even & needs to be. The caliper mount bolt should be the last bolt tightened.

   I'm betting on the wheel not being square on the swing arm & the wheel bearings are causing the noise.

   Pertinent Forum thread for above comments

    

    

   Article on how to align Vstar 1100 (and 650) Final Drive  (See above - this may no longer apply)

    

   Another Potential Problem & Solution:

    

   As I was driving home I noticed a strange noise coming from the rear of my bike. While driving the noise is a swoosh swoosh sound. When the bike is not running the sound is more like a hard ball bouncing around inside the hub. My bike is an '05 classic with the cast wheels.

    

   "possibly caused the misalignment by over tightening one of the nuts"
   
   You can credit 04raven1100 (Oregon) for a lot of the troubleshooting on that rear wheel misalignment problem and also alerting us to the 70nm and 90nm discrepancy. Manual said the torque on those four bolts was 90nm and when we took off my rear wheel for a new tire change and put it back, he was commenting that 90nm seemed like it was awfully tight. He eventually found several places in the manual where it said 70nm and other places where it says 90nm. A new manual supplement from Yamaha corrected that to read 70nm.

    

6. Trike Kits (updated 1/30/06)

    

    Voyager Motorcycle Convertible Kits

    

7. Sidecars:  (updated 2/01/06)

    

   Vendors:

   http://www.hannigansidecar.com/content/sidecars.html

   http://www.texassidecars.com/sidecars.htm

    

   Discussion:

    

   wilddog6: 

   I have a 2000 1100 classic. I put a Ural sidecar on it in 2002 and have run over 40,000 miles since. The bike handles great. My gas mileage went down to 36-39 mpg. I still have stock exhaust and carbs. The sidecar cost me $2500.00 and the dealer charged me $500.00 to mount it. The sidecar has not had to have any adjustments since. I've taken several long trips and done 85 mph for several hours. A friend of mine put a velorex on his due to hip surgery. The Velorex is a lot lighter and he doesn't feel as balanced as mine.
   
   It took me about 200 miles to get comfortable with the rig. By 1,000 miles I was real comfortable. I'll never take it off.
   
   I would suggest looking around for a used sidecar. Ural's and Velorex's can be found for around $1000.00.

    

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