Snowbelt Spyder
Well-known member
Well Ed, I have to be blunt. you've got a misconception about how that thing goes together. There was no SOB. The first thing - the axle is hollow. That long bolt with the 22mm castellated nut that you removed, is not the axle at all. It is just the bolt that holds the hitch on. It goes through the center of the axle. The axle is still on there and is never removed if you are just removing the hitch.Attempting to remove the rear wheel on my 2015 Spyder RT Special Edition with a trailer hitch. First problem, Some SOB put the hitch mounting bolts on with the nuts on the outside. The Bolts won't come out because they hit the tire. Second problem is the axle isn't as large as it's supposed to be. The castellated nut is only 22mm, not 36 mm. The axle came out easily, but the wheel won't drop. Is there a spacer in there that is holding the wheel up? If I can get the wheel to drop, I can remove the hitch bolts and remove the hitch. Then I can replace the tire and put everything back the way it should be. Has anyone seen this problem before? I'm open to suggestions.
What you should have done - is simply remove that long bolt only. You've done that. Leave it removed. Do not attempt to remove those bolts that are hitting the tire, leave them installed or reinstall them. Now, just grab the entire hitch from behind and pull. Wiggle it back and forth as necessary. The whole thing slides off of the swing arm revealing the actual axle underneath. Take care not to snag the speed pickup cable or brake line on the right hand side as it slides off. To re-install the hitch, perform the steps in reverse.
If you are going further and want to fully remove the wheel for a new tire or something, then you continue to remove the belt, brake, take the weight off the wheel and remove the axle. See pic. Otherwise, you're done. The hitch is installed and removed without ever having to mess with the actual axle at all. Push the plastic dust cover caps onto the two ends of the axle if you still have them.
PS - as this was a 6 year old thread, Ed, it might have been more efficient to start a new one from scratch. But, the Mods will do that voodoo that they do, if they think it's necessary. Good Luck.

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