Rear wheel removal

[harre]

It's time to replace the rear wheel. I'm going for the Metzeler Tourance. Since this is the first time for me, can anyone give some helpful tips on how to remove the wheels on the Steamer. What tools do I need? Torque specs? Pictures would be nice.
Cheers
/Harre

[aeronca]

pretty easy deal, you will need a 12mm allen wrench, or 2, and some needle nose pliers. lift the machine,remove retainer clips, insert the wrenches in the proper hole's and remove the axle shaft. at this point, support the the rear tire(tyre for you britts)as it will fall, and gently lower it to the ground. enjoy you new rubber :D when i get hjome from work i'll look up the torque for you and post it.På återseende.

[harre]

Sounds pretty stright forward. I thought the removal also required some work on the brake calipers as well. Tack så mycket!

[aeronca]

it should just come out of the brake caliper when the wheel is free of the axle. the caliper also uses the axel for it support so it too will fall with the tire, so you will need to kind of hold it up with one hand and guide the wheel with other. super easy. the torque on the axel nut will be 85nm. i just pull mine off last week to get at my shock that was blown out so i could send it out to "sasquatch" for a rebuild. i also pulled the front off and am thinking its a good time new tires my self. i might go with the "trailwings".  any input? good/bad? tack,På återseende. :D

[harre]

OK, thanks for the help.
Will try in a couple of weeks when I get time for my baby. I am also planning to buy a set of Sw-Motech Trax Alu panniers and try to fit these in time for the summer, will post picts if I manage to get my hands on some. I will have to rebuild the Quick lock side carriers though, since nothing ever is adapted for the Steamer nowadays.

[OregonTigerRider]

Trailwings suck in the rain. Battlewings suck 'cause they cup like the devil and wear out way too freaking fast (4500 miles and they're toast).

I'm going to have a set of Dunlop D607s mounted up this week.  If I get a chance, I'll post up a review once I have a couple thousand miles on them.

[pinner]

Just replaced my 607s after about 10,000.  Still milage left in the front.  not very aggressive tread, but I have had them on some trails in the 4mile area and tons of dirts roads here in Colorado.  After dropping the pressure, they handled the dirt/ sand faily well.  Have a new  Anakees for Prudoe bay in 2 weeks :D . If they are worn out after Alaska, I'm planning on TKCs.
Cheers, Kevin

[Dr. Mordo]

I haven't tried the Trailwings because they are widely hated.  

I have Tourances on my F650 and literally cannot kill them.  The rear is at 13k+ and still has almost a third of its tread.  I just replaced the front, and I think it was at about 15k and I could have ridden it a couple thousand more miles but had a big trip coming up.

I do recommend the normal Tourance if you can get it.  I have a Tourance EXP on the front of my bike, and it's showing a fair amount of wear after maybe 5k miles.  Also, the old style just looks cooler.

[JetdocX]

The Tourances are good if you never leave a paved road.  Sign of a good tire is exchanging rubber with the riding surface. That exchange is going to cause wear.

So you need to ask yourself...do ya feel lucky...wait, no...

Do you want a sticky tire that's going to wear or

a rock solid tire that will last forever and never wear and have no connection to your riding surface.

I like to have a connection to the road of my choice.  As far as wear goes? It's part of owning a bike.

Your opinion may vary.

FWIW here:  I bought my Steamer with Touances and wore them out.  I put Anakees on and I'm trying to wear them out.  And when dirt is involved I recommend TKC-80's although less air (Anakees)and high speed can make up the difference in the dirt.  Mostly. :D

[nightrunner]

Just saw this thread.   I have seen more than one post over the years about someone breaking the eccentric 'band' using the factory torque spec.  I have never used the spec and just tighten the eccentric 'snug'.  It does not take much torque on the allen bolts to make that band very tight given its relatively large diameter.   If you are concerned about vibration then you can use some locktight.  A nice way not to overtighten bolts in general is to choke up on the ratchet and just use one hand to twist it.   Or, use a screwdriver handle instead of ratchet or L-shaped Allen.  A busted eccentric is not a cheap or fun fix.  FWIW