Rear Wheel Removal help

I am attempting to remove the rear wheel on my '82 XJ750 SECA so that I can replace the rear brake shoes and get the new tire installed.

I have removed the castle nut, tension bar nut, brake pedal tension rod and loosened the pinch nuts.
I consulted xj4ever's great tutorial http://www.xj4ever.com/rear drum brakes.pdf
but now am stuck. I cannot get the axle out. The axle moves freely back and forth through the pinch bolts (see two image comparisons) and rotates but I can't get it to slide through the brake cover plate.

I tried hammering on both sides of the axle to try to break it free and hammerred on a punch through the castle nut end (left). I don't want to hammer too hard in fear of breaking or bending something. What am I missing?

 

Use a screwdriver or punch through the hole at the right end of the axle. Twist and pull. You're fighting against years of dried-up axle grease. Taking the pinch bolt out compeltely can also help.

 

Ok, don't know what i was doing wrong. It came out easily. When i tried the screwdriver in the whole bit, the whole axle just spun around freely along with the cover plate. Now that i got the axle out, does the wheel just wiggle off of the final drive assembly?

 

it should pull straight out, but it's stuck. give it a few kicks from the drive side to free it up.
i take the shock off the brake side to get a little more room to work

 

Thanks so much! That did it. Banged on the wheel with a rubber mallet as I spun the wheel several times with a few good kicks thrown in for good measure and it loosened up.

The rear shoes don't look too bad, but I believe these to still be original. I've already got new anyway. Clean it up, new shoes and I will now take the wheels in for her new tires this week.

 

wipe a very little bit of grease on the pivot pin and on the bar that spreads the shoes. then wipe the brake drum surface with some sand paper.
learn how to change your own tires, it's not hard at all

 

As I was cleaning out the drum, I noticed a chip in the edge of the drum. Concerning? Should I replace the drum?



I believe while I was trying to get the wheel off, the brake shoes and cover plate came part way off and then wedged between the swing arm and the wheel. I was trying to pry the brakes back into position so I could continue to get the wheel off.

 

can't replace the drum, it's part of the wheel. you know how you did it so don't do that no more
i'd ride it

 

The brake drum can be replaced. It's a shrink-fit, so not a home job. Finding a shop to do it might be tricky since most bikes have disc brakes on the rear now. Chamfer the edges of the break with a file and go ride.

Also be sure to use moly grease on the wheel drive splines after cleaning the old grease off, and lightly grease the axle so it does not corrode and get even more stuck.

 

Yeah, it appears it is close enough to the edge that the shoes don't even come in contact with that area.

 

+1 on chamfering those edges.

 

But it can create an imbalance

 

+1
Rebalance the wheel.

 

It would have a greater impact if it was further from the center.
Yep. All rebalanced when new tires were installed.

 

those wheels aren't balanced in the first place

 

Which is why wheel weights are used.