rear wheel off on G5 for maint = easy !!!

in order to perform some maint and cleaning, and to see how "tight" my stock 14k mile most likely never touched exhaust was, i decided to pull my rear wheel today.

i could not locate my 1/2" breaker bar, and my regular length 3/8 rachet was not gonna budge the lugs, so i cruised up to the lake to cool off, and stopped on my way back at my funky little shop guy to let him crack them loose with the power of compressed air before heading home. of course- all i could think of getting back was the lugs !!!

test the lugs to make sure i could crack them with my longer bar, all good.

bust the can loose, and it backs off freely without drama. :smile:

up onto the centerstand and off with the wheel.

now with better access to the underbelly of the beast, i cleanup all the road grime that the PO had never touched. nothing horrible, but i was suprised by all the little grimy bits that were like baked bits of tar and crap. most wiped away pretty well with only a little WD-40. wiped down the shock and linkage, and all the undertray while there.

part of the reason for pulling the wheel was also to clean it up better to prep it to install some rim strips. i did the front on the bike, and it wasnt too hard and looks OK, but i knew it would be FAR easier with the rear wheel off. bike is red with black wheels, and the rim strips i got are 6mm reflective red. the color is close, and it really added some POP to the bike. it looks great, and really sets off the wheels. i am also a BIG advocative of hi-viz, and i gotta think that these reflecto strips will really stand out to any beam of light pointed near by.

a little wax for the wheel, and a good cleaning of the can't-really-get-to-on-the-bike areas of the can and pipe, and time to button it all back up.

again thankfully, the pipe slides right back on without complaint. :smile:

as i dont have a hi-range T-wrench, i pulled hard with the big breaker bar, and then rode up the street to my local auto tire guy and let them torque the lugs to spec at 80 ft-lbs. should we use a little anti-seize on the lugs?

i wasnt running a timer, but if i had to do it again tomorrow, i think i could have the wheel off easily in 10-20 minutes.

i sure makes cleaning the rear end easier :thumbsup: (thats what she said!)