ST1100 ... how to remove rear tire, how hard?

[Clair]

Okay due to a stupid friggin screw embedding itself into my rear tire ... crap, crap, crap ... I'm in need of a new tire. Ordered taht today. Bummer is, current tire only had 4K miles on it with lots of tread life left. :-(

Anyway, they will mount the new tire for me if I bring in the wheel. I've never removed a tire from the ST before so I was wondering how hard it is and if there is anything I should look out for, any tricks. I do have the Clymer but haven't read the process yet.

My STeed is a 2001 ST1100 non-ABS

any help, comments, suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Highrider]

Clair
Follow the Manual and you should be OK, for the 1100, I believe they give you enough clearance under the exhaust pipe to remove the axle bolt on the right side (not exectly sure, it's been a while). I loosen my exhaust system anyway to help with the clearance, it is quick to do so. Follow instructions closely when removing the rear caliper so you bypass unnecessary work. Unbolt the rear fender first if your doing this on the floor with the center stand. If you have a lift available with a removable plate, you can bypass that step. After you do it the first time, the entire process coming off should take about 5 minutes.

[Mark]

Clair,

It isn't hard.

Make sure you have the right size sockets. :-)

If you use a ratching socket on the brake caliper bolt it makes life a lot easier ('cuz the bolt uses all the space available between the frame and the muffler before the caliper is loose). I think that bolt is a 14mm.

You don't have to move the mufflers at all.

Torque wrench is as important as the moly on this one...

I use a 2x4 in between the exhaust pipes and a floor jack to lift the bike so I don't have to take anything off... you'll understand when you have the tire loose and find you can't get it out because it is trapped.

I inspect the rubber washers each time (Mother Honda says replace all 3 every time); but, I haven't ever had to replace them. You might want to buy a set (there really are 3) so that you'll have them... Murphy says that if you don't have them on hand, one of them will need replacing.

Take your time the 1st time and the next time you'll wonder why you thought it might be hard.

Mark

[b.carez]

Just did mine recently and it was no big deal. If you remove the rear fender the tire has plenty of room to come out just using the center stand.

[Clair]

Okay, here's a question ... can the current tire be Repaired? And by repaired I mean fixed such that I can ride it safely for another 5-7K miles ... remembering that I live in Utah and will be riding in Desert heat during the summer ... ???

Is the plug fix just a temporary fix and then there's another way to permanently repair the tire??

An ST1100 rider from the UK is telling me he wouldn't let a screw hole ruin the whole tire so ... can this tire be permanently fixed?

[GitSum]

I commute 90 miles daily on my bike. If the nail is squarely into the tread, I would just plug it and replace the tire when it was worn out. Keep an eye on the tire pressure so you know the pug held. Search on "tire plug" for more info and opinions

[Don-STOC237]

Re: Plugging. Most guys have had better luck using the "gummy worm" type plugs rather than the all-rubber plugs. Depending on exactly where the hole is, the rubber plugs tend to get sawed in half by the tire belts after a short period of time.

[George]

I plug'em (gummy worms) and ride'em. Current rear has _2_ plugs and I'll start my April trip on that tire. Just keep'er under 120 and you'll be fine.

[NewsMag]

I have the big socket for the rear axle nut, half inch drive, if you need it!

[EJ's 97ST]

I plug'em (gummy worms) and ride'em. Current rear has _2_ plugs and I'll start my April trip on that tire. Just keep'er under 120 and you'll be fine.

Hi ya Clair,+1 on what George has said here. I have not plugged Z6's ....yet, but I have had to plug several sets of Dunlops on my old Kawa's that had the tread wear out with no plug problems. And like GitSome has suggested keep a tighter schedule on tire pressure checks. If you decide on changing the tire out, like Mark stated replace the 3 o-ring seals by the book & molly-up.
When I changed to Z6's I took the wheels off and personally find the front as challenging as the rear. I have a Clymer manual and it's pretty good, plus there several write-ups here on tires & related stuff.

Ride Safe....EJ :D

[wefcisco]

Okay, here's a question ... can the current tire be Repaired? And by repaired I mean fixed such that I can ride it safely for another 5-7K miles ... remembering that I live in Utah and will be riding in Desert heat during the summer ... ???

Is the plug fix just a temporary fix and then there's another way to permanently repair the tire??

An ST1100 rider from the UK is telling me he wouldn't let a screw hole ruin the whole tire so ... can this tire be permanently fixed?

I picked up a nail in my rear tire last year, plugged it and finished out the year riding on it. It never leaked and probably never will. With that said, I NEVER forgot that it was plugged. Everytime I felt the rear end slip on a tar snake or the like, I wondered if the plug had failed and felt the need to pull over the next chance I got and check my tire pressure. I decided to put a new tire on this spring. The tire still had plenty of tread but I've decided that $128 for new rubber is a small price to pay for the piece of mind.

[Clair]

From all I've read I think that I'd maybe ride the tire out after getting it repaired if I was just going to do my usual riding around here, consisting of 250-400 mile rides on Saturday and/or Sunday. My normal commute is 30 miles round trip. SO yeah, I could see riding on it and simply checking the pressure much more often.

But ... I have a ST-ART track day the first week of April and want the peace of mind of knowing my tire is 100% okay, ya know? Then in early June Im doing a long trip to Durango Colorado with a group of friends. Will probably put on over 1500 miles in 4 days on that ride. So given that long trip through part of the Utah Desert ... I again want a tire that is 100%.

This has been a learning experience for me and I appreciate all your comments.

[Clair]

Okay, replaced the tire this weekend! YAY, I'm back to riding !!!! WA HOO!!!

There were two friggin bolts I had to deal with, and almost called it quits with both. Bolt #1 was for the brake caliper and Bolt #2 was for the axle. I had a friend of mine help me do this, since I was a virgin at this kind of thing, and man were we cussing at trying to remove the Caliper bolt!!! I tried with all my might and couldn't budge it. Sprayed it with WD40 and begin the contemplation of just taking it into the shop. My friend takes a wack at it ... and after a slew of curses the SOB finally broke free! Okay, break time, wipe sweat from brow! lol Move everything, stuff cardboard into brake to hold it apart, zip tie it out of the way, we're making progress!

THen it's time to do the axle ... okay, NONE of my tools is htat large. Largest wrench I have is a 1" on my standard set, and a 20mm on my Metric. SH$T. Okay, look through the tools in the ST1100 kit and ah ha! They have one in there that fits. Great, except that it's about 6" long and that ain't gonna cut it for leverage. Okay, get all the tolls there that fit together and try to go for something longer for more leverage .. uh NO, thing ain't buding. CRAP! So, we get my 1" wrench and put it on the end for additional leverage and I stand on it ... all 180# of me and ... it is NOT budging !!!! Son of a ... okay, spray with WD40 and contemplate again going to the shop ... then we decide to have my friend try, as he weighs about 240# or so ... after several tries the thing finally loosens !!! YAY, it's free.

From there, everything was pretty easy. Got it off, took the wheel down to the tire place and they put the new one on. THe screw was too far off to the side, not along the center portion of the tire, so they would not repair it for me. Oh well. While there bought everything I'd need to put the wheel back on.

At home Moly'd the splines, lubed up the shaft, checked everything and started the installation process. This really is a two person job to get that tire back in it's spot and the splines aligned. THen getting the caliper back in place without anything screwing up there ... but luckily everything went back as it should and we tightend things as stated. Took it out for about a 75 mile spin to scrub the tires some and YAY, I'm riding!

We took off the back fender thing that holds on the license plate. Only 4 screws for that so easy off/on. Made getting the tire off very easy. We also loosened the left side muffler to gain access to the caliper bolts. Didn't have to move it much. Other than that, nothing else was taken off.

Thanks for all the help

[STill Fiddlin]

I'd buy a socket that fits and a buy/borrow a torque wrench to check that axle bolt. Then you shouldn't need a 240# friend to get it off next time. But hey, I've chickened out on both my rear wheel/tire changes, so congrats!

[johnSTamela]

Clair, I know the feeling. I had picked up a piece of shrapnel in my rear (tire ;-) ). I also plugged as a temp fix. But I agree with Wefcisco and replaced the tire a year earlier than planned. Unlike you, I took it to a garage at the advise of a friend. I was hesitant but he insisted they were professional. Keep in mind, this is 3rd world Bosnia and professional might mean they use an actual wrench instead of vice-grips! Anyway we get to his shop, and it's closed! We finally find another place where they had some experience changing bike tires, but no Moly. They used something else. No problems getting the tire changed (I did both front and rear just so they are the same age) and I'm confident I could do it myselft next time. In the meantime, I'm ordering some Moly and rubber washers to be safe. Peace of mind means a lot to me.

[Clair]

All in all it wasn't a difficult task to do, now that I have some experience with it. I still think it is a two man job,just makes getting the wheel off and back on a little easier with some help. Make sure to have some cardboard to stuck in the brake to keep it apart. Molly grease is a must for sure. I have some pics I'll post as soon as I remember to get them uploaded from the camera

[George]

1 and 1/8", 3/4 drive socket fits the rear axle nut just fine. (30MM?) and a 14mm socket fits the rear caliper bolt. Done it so many times it's like second nature.

Important to practice this technique on any vehicle (not just bikes) before ya need to.

Last summer, I helped a guy with a full size Chevy pickup who had never had his jack out'a the truck. Before I got there, it had rolled off the jack three times!! <duh!> I went out into the adjoining farm field and picked up a selection of rocks to chock the other three wheels, then jacked'er up and helped change out to the spare.

Yeah, he was young and horny and on his way to pick up his chickie, but, hey, don't be dense! ;^)

[Clair]

I'm reasonably sure that the "wrench" that came with the ST1100 toolkit that worked on the Axel was a 27mm. My 1" wrench was a tad too small ... which would make it roughly equivilent to a 25.4mm. So I'll pick up a 27mm wrench and socket.

on the road I'm okwith just plugging it and riding it home or to a place where I can get it better patched. Not sure I'm comfy enough to ride a tire to the end of it's life with a plug in it.