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New to me R50, first week of riding. Rear tire removal & tire questions

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Connor1
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:41 am

New to me R50, first week of riding. Rear tire removal & tire questions

Post by Connor1 »

Earlier this week I bought an original paint 65 R50 daily rider in good shape- my first non Japanese motorcycle. I posted the Ebay auction last week and got some great feedback from ya'll. Very satisfied with my transaction with Nathan at Boxerworks in Watkinsville, GA.

The Conti 400x18 (R) and 100/90 X18 (F) tires looked good, no cracks, and I checked the pressure and took the bike out several evenings this week getting to know my new two wheeled tractor. Seems very solid- with heavy though (almost) neutral steering. I made the mistake of loosening the steering damper too much and was rewarded with a death wobble that developed very quickly at 40 mph, I then coasted to the side of the rode and tightened it back up again.

Still amoung the living, I was polishing the rims later that evening and I noticed a DOT stamp on the tires of 2600. I took this to mean that the tires are about 17 years old. So I am ordering a set of Heidenau K36 Tires(I think). The 100/90seem a little big on front, literally about 1/8 inch clearance between the fender and the tire. My repair manual (repo Workshop Manual) indicates the proper tire is 3.5X18 F & R so I am going to order those in the Heidenau K36, unless there is a better option in a vintage look. I am not concerned about grooved pavement. Little of that around here.

Getting to my main question- the manual has a procedure to remove the rear wheel, which is not as straight forward as it is on my other bikes as this is my first shaft drive cycle. The instructions end with "Withdraw Axel Spindle". Well, then what happens? I am assuming I can then remove the rear wheel, but that final drive appears to be connected to the hub....and what about the final drive fluid? Just want to be sure I know in advance what I am getting into before my new tires come in.

Also, the tires are marked tubeless, for some reason I though bikes from the sixties usually have tubes? Well my Hondas and Yamaha do...

Can anyone confirm if the Heidenau K36s are tubeless? Can't seem to find any tech information on the Revzilla website.

Thanks in advance.

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schrader7032
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Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:00 am
Location: San Antonio, TX
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The rear tire should normally

Post by schrader7032 »

The rear tire should normally be off the ground when on the center stand. There's a big nut on the right side and a pinch bolt on the left side. Once the big nut is removed and the pinch bolt loosened, the axle can be moved/wriggled out to the left. The stock tool kit has a tommy bar which goes through the hole in the left end of the axle to pull/wriggle the axle out. Once removed, you will need to grab the tire and lift it a bit to move it to the left so that the splines on the wheel hub can clear the drive splines of the final drive. The wheel will drop to the ground. Your bike should have a hinged rear fender. Two small nuts and other attachments hold the rear part in place. You'll need to loosen these connections so the fender can be lifted out of the way...use a rope to tie this up. You should be able to roll the tire out of the opening in the back.

Likely your final drive should have the numbers 25/8 stamped on it. The proper tire to go with that is the 3.50x18 tire. In fact, your front tire should be the same thing. Another interesting thing...you should be able to swap front and rear wheels on these bikes.

Virtually all tires today are tubeless but you will still need to run a tube since the rim will not hold air due to the spokes going through the rim.

Don't forget to clean and lube the splines on the rear wheel. Clean the splines on the drive side, but put the lubricant only on the wheel side. The lubricant should be a high pressure type...used to be Honda Moly 60 was suitable but I believe they stopped making that. I use a Chevron NLG1 red grease that has a small amount of moly wheel bearing grease mixed in.

As for the wobble, that suggests a serious issue. A bike in good maintenance doesn't need the damper on at all...it's really there for running over rutted surfaces, such as a gravel road. If the bike is wobbling with the damper off, then you need to look into it. Could be the tires. Could be the suspension front/rear need to be serviced. Could be the rear swingarm is not properly lubed or centered.

I hope you have some kind of manual to help with these tasks. Haynes or Clymers have manuals. The Barrington Motor Works manual is really for complete teardown but does have background on these issues.
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.

Connor1
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:41 am

I think I get it. Once I get

Post by Connor1 »

I think I get it. Once I get the axel off by removing the large nut on the right side and loosening the pinch bolt on the left, I should be able to withdraw the large axle bolt and what I think is a spacer between the frame and the wheel bearing will fall out and THEN I can move the tire to the left, disengaging the final drive gears and allowing the tire to be removed. This area of the drive system uses just grease for lubrication, so I will not have to open up any oil sealed areas.

Sound like all I need is a suitible grease for the wheel side gears.....

kbeshlian
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2016 8:03 am

jack recommendations

Post by kbeshlian »

Hello:
Can any of you recommend a good jack to purchase to get both wheels off the ground?
thanks
kb

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