Difficulty removing rear wheel

Hello! I am the very proud new owner of a 1982 Seca 650. One of the first orders of business is replacing my rear tire. I've followed all the steps in my Haynes manual for removing the rear wheel, including removing the spindle, and am at the step where the wheel should just "slide to the right" and then be wiggled backwards away from the frame, and I can't get the wheel to slide to the right for the life of me. It is like it is frozen to the drive splines. I've tried hitting the wheel with the heel of my palm, kicking it to the right, and even sitting my butt on the ground and pushing to the right with both my feet while holding on to the frame with my hands for dear life, all to no avail. Am I missing something? Happy to upload some pictures in a bit if that would be of assistance. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

rubber mallet

 

Louisville Slugger

 

piece of 2x4 and sledgehammer

 

Pictures might help just to be sure the order looks OK, plus we always like to see what a new member is starting with. You may need 5 posts before those privileges are granted.

I have never had this situation, but if the wheel is stuck on the splines it seems it could help to put the bike in first gear and rock the wheel back and forth while alternately pushing and pulling to relieve any binding that may be occurring. Placing your hands on the top and bottom of the wheel also make sense with a bit more force pulling on the bottom as once the axle is removed the wheel will tilt and tend to bind in that direction.

 

Rooster's got it. Do that.

Be sure to use a moly grease on the splines and axle when you put the wheel back on.

 

Definitely sounds like its stuck on the splines. You need to "break" it free, pushing usually won't do it. Good suggestions above, hit sharply with a rubber mallet or leave in gear and rock back and forth. I'd put the axle back in if you do this while the wheels are on the ground.

 

Ok, will try the rocking it back and forth trick here in a bit. Some more kicking, pushing, and pulling has yielded no progress. Anyway here are a few pics of the bike at its finest. I took the rather bold step of taking this new-to-me 35 y/o bike on a 600+ mile road trip up to the smokies less than 24 hours after making the purchase, and she served me well. The pics of the bike as it sits now don't show much except that I've disconnected the tension bar and rear brake linkage and removed the axle. Oh yeah, and that my pipes are rusty lol.

 

I'd say "don't do that again!" Did you have a look at the date codes on the brake lines? For your safety, please go through the brakes before putting more miles on the bike. If you can't stop, you know you're in trouble.

 

Thanks for the tip! As you have probably surmised, I am new to the ownership of "classic" bikes. Can you be more specific about what you mean to "go through" the brakes?

 

Sure, Here's the first link:
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threa...r-brake-bike-owners-please-take-a-look.15874/
Mine were fine, but I put new shoes in anyway and got things all cleaned and lubricated.
My front brake lines were original. That's scary. Those lines should really be replaced a lot more often. Also, rubber bits in the calipers and master cylinder don't hold up forever. I rebuilt both and installed stainless steel braided lines. All the info on parts and whatnot should be here: http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/xj-parts-catalog-section-j-brakes.44636/

One last link: http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/ for, you know, when you have a little time to read. Tons of folks here to help you through things if you get stuck. Lots of great parts available via the link in the top right of the page (xj4ever). Welcome.

 

rebuild calipers, rebuild master cylinder, new shoes and pads, new hoses.
yamaha spec is every 4 years on these items. the newer brake lines have a longer life.

the brakes are the most important system on the bike, cause if you cant stop you shouldn,t be off the center stand

 

Follow the advice step by step. I also have an 82 650 Seca. I bought it at the end of last season and everything seemed great and I had no problems. This season, I've been digging into it. My brake lines were the original ("03/82" date code); now replaced with stainless steel. One of my brake pistons was corroded and pitted; now replaced and rebuilt. Several parts had no problems, but I've replaced anyways while I'm in there, and some things have just been cleaned up and put back together.

I like to "print" the threads I need to a PDF file and them bring them out to the garage on a tablet. Sometimes, it helps to copy only the parts that are specific to your bike, to keep it easier to read.

 

Man, this is really starting to get the better of me. Even with some very vigorous rocking back and forth (axel in, down off centerstand, in 1st gear with clutch out), that rear wheel won't budge. I never mind the excuse to buy more tools so I guess I am going to go out and pick up a sledge hammer but I am starting to get concerned...

 

If you haven't already, enlist the help of a friend. My bike was moving all over the place when I tried removing the rear wheel by myself. It went a lot easier when I had a friend working opposite me.

 

Not a sledge. Get a rubber-coated deadblow hammer. It's far more effective (wont' bounce), and less apt to damage the rims.

But before you resort to that, put it all back together and go for a short ride (being mindful of the condition of your brakes). Go to an empty parking lot and do a few hard starts, and practice some panic stops. That will put more force into the rear than you can by hand, and should free up the stuck splines.

 

Well, I haven't had the chance to put it back together and go for a ride with some rapid starts and stops, but I did manage to pick up a rubber mallet on the way home from another errand, and I am totally flabbergasted that I still can't get the wheel off. I've been hammering on out as hard as a dare, to no avail. I am about ready to just put her back together and ride my decrepit and tread-less rear tire to a shop and let them deal with it, unless there is anything that I might obviously be doing wrong or other last resort tricks to try. Can I spray WD-40 or some other magical fluid in there to help release it?

 

You could try a penetrating oil (WD-40 is NOT a penetrating oil), but there is a dust seal that will probably keep it from reaching the splines.

 

Well, after trying every trick you guys suggested, to no avail, I finally broke down and took it to a local shop. I like to think that, as with opening a new jar of jam, I "loosened it up" for them, but in any case they got the wheel off right away and with no trouble. $50 well-spent to be back on two wheels. Thank you for all the help! I am sure I will be back to tap into your collective wisdom again before long!

 

Did the shop clean and grease the splines before puting the wheel back on?

 

I would be thinking that way too. Did you tell them about the trouble you were having and did they share any insight on how they removed it? Maybe a bigger hammer, I have a good friend that works at Toyota and he wouldn't let me watch him replace the rear wheel bearing on my Celica GTS - he said it was too brutal and did not want to freak me out.

 

Not sure, but I don't want to trust the bike to them having done that. Looking through Haynes to get this taken care of today. What kind of grease do you put on the splines? I assume this is different from the final drive box, which Haynes says to give 0.2L of SAE 80 API GL-4 or SAE 80/90 Hypoid.

 

Yes. Different. You are referring to the oil in the shaft which you should change as well. In the picture of the rear wheel you posted, you remove the bolt on top (not the breather [mushroom looking thing]) and the drain bolt on bottom. You also may want to invest in some new crush washers as well. Chacal has them!

 

Any waterpoof moly grease will do, but if you can get a moly paste that will be less messy and do a better job. Do not subsiute any other grease (e.g. lithium grease).

 

My bet is they just kicked the snot out of it when you weren't' looking.