This is a basic walk-through for removing/installing the front wheel on the VTX 1800. The pictures for this article are primarily from the C model, but the procedure is the same regardless of which model 1800 you have. As always undertake this project at your own risk, but with a little common sense this isn’t very hard to do.

Required tools/Materials

• Motorcycle lift
• Small flat screwdriver
• Torque wrench capable of 16 to 67 ft/lbs
• Deadblow/rubber hammer or hammer and block of wood
• Red loctite
• 6mm and 17mm allen socket
• 12mm and 7/8″ or 22mm socket
• Something to block the rear wheel (2×6, phone book, bricks, whatever)

Removal
Raise the bike on the lift and block the back wheel so the bike won’t rock too badly when the front wheel is removed.

Remove the brake calipers from both sides using a 12mm socket:

With both calipers off the bike, don’t let them just hang from the hoses. I use a bungee cord to hook them to the bike and take the pressure off the brake lines.

Now use the small screwdriver to remove carefully (so you don’t damage them) the 4 pinch bolt “chrome” caps from both sides of the fork legs.

Once all 4 caps are off, use a 6mm allen socket to break loose the pinch bolts on the RIGHT side only. With those pinch bolts broken loose, use the 7/8″ or 22mm socket to loosen and remove the axle bolt.

With the right side complete, break the left side pinch bolts loose and remove the axle altogether. You may need a dowel or broomstick to drive the axle out. Whatever you use, make sure it’s soft enough that it won’t damage the threads for the axle bolt.

Be aware that once the axle is out, the wheel will fall – so be ready!!!

With the wheel out, remove and inspect the spacers. Take note that they are different sizes (left bigger than right). I usually put my axle and the spacers back together so nothing gets lost while I swap tires, etc.

While everything is broken down do some inspection to make sure you’re riding safe – check the axle, bearings, dust seals, bolts, etc. If anything seems worn or faulty then replace it – isn’t your life/safety worth more than a $.50 bolt or a $15 bearing?

Intermission…
Now is the portion of the write-up when you do whatever you were removing the wheel for in the first place…

Install

This is pretty much the reverse of what you just did to remove the wheel. If for any reason the rotors needed to be removed (some shops will remove them to swap tires) make sure that they are reinstalled with red loctite and torqued to 14 ft/lbs. The manual doesn’t mention loctite on these bolts because they “require” replacement and new bolts come with the loctite on them. If your bolts look fine then they should be ok to re-use (with loctite). If you don’t feel comfortable re-using them, then replace them.

Now put your wheel spacers back on properly (left bigger than right) and lift the wheel into place. Get the axle started through and use a deadblow/rubber hammer or a hammer and block of wood to drive it all the way through until it’s flush with the fork leg (see pic to right). It’s important not to use just a regular hammer or you will round over the edges of the 17mm axle hole. If you do that you won’t be able to get the 17mm allen in there to torque the front axle.

It is important to pay attention because sometimes the fork legs are slightly different lengths (this is due to slight misassembly of the fork inners). You may need to use something to compress one fork to line up with the other before you can drive the axle through. If your forks are misaligned then you should check out this section of the fork springs swap which outlines how to adjust the fork caps and locknuts to get both forks the same length. This is important because misaligned forks can put undue stress on fork seals and wheel bearings and that stress can result in premature failures.

With the axle installed, put the axle bolt in on the right side and torque it to 67 ft/lbs. With the axle bolt torqued down, tighten the pinch bolts on the right side only to 16 ft/lbs.

Do NOT tighten the left side pinch bolts yet. Reinstall the brake calipers on each side. You may need to use a screwdriver or C-clamp to compress the pistons in the calipers enough to give you space to get them back on.

Closely inspect the 12mm caliper mounting bolts. If they look damaged replace them. If they look fine then clean off the old loctite and use red loctite when reinstalling them to 22 ft/lbs.

Now step away from the service manual and use a procedure recommended by Showtime56 of the VTXOA.
There are problems associated with brake rotor drag, specifically on the left of the bike. These problems arise from improper spacing when installing the axle and tightening the axle pinch bolts – specifically on the left side. Using original OEM parts, the right side dimensions are set and cannot be adjusted, so the right side brake clearance is not an issue. With this said, let’s look at this groove in the left side of the axle:

That groove is the “guide” for how far the axle should be seated in the fork. The pictures below are of the installed axle without the rim/tire – this is strictly for the purpose of this write-up so you can easily see what you’re dealing with. The installed axle in the pic on the left below is incorrect, but it lets you see where the groove is in relation to the fork. It is incorrectly installed because the axle is pushed in too far – it would also be wrong if it were too far out so you couldn’t see the groove at all. The pic on the right below is what the axle should approximately look like when installed. The groove should be just against the inside of the fork leg. The exact location of this groove will vary slightly from bike to bike.

Incorrect

Correct

What you want to do is spin the wheel and lightly tap the left fork leg in or out to make minor adjustments. It doesn’t take much as you’ll find that a slight variation to either side of the groove will result in a lot of brake dragging. Continue to spin and adjust in tiny increments until you get several rotations of the wheel with one good spin. Once you have it “dialed in” to your sweet spot, make a note of the location for the next time you have to do this. Tighten the left side pinch bolts to 16 ft/lbs and reinstall all the “chrome” bolt covers.

Using this procedure I’ve never had any clearance issues, and you shouldn’t either, but always visually inspect your clearance between the brake disc and the caliper mounting bracket on each side to make sure that it’s not rubbing. Your clearance should be at least .7mm (.03″).

That’s it – you’re done – congratulations!

Afterthoughts
This is a fairly easy job for most riders and it can cut your tire changing costs in half. More money = more chrome and that’s a good thing!