Hooligan (or Buddy) 170i Rear Tire Removal Tips?

dbbldz123 · Post by **dbbldz123** » Mon May 28, 2018 12:39 am

So far I've taken off the exhaust, brake calipers, suspension, and all of the screws on the swing arm. But the swing arm either seems to be stuck or I've missed a step. I removed the rubber disc that covers up a large 24mm nut so it seems the only thing left to do is remove this big @$$ nut?

I watched the oft-cited video of 2015 guy taking the wheel off his 170i, but he doesn't have disc brakes so I'm pretty much at a loss.

Does anyone here have a 170i Buddy or Hooligan with shocks and disc brakes in the back?

Tried to take a breaker bar and a 24mm 12-pt deep socket to the nut, but it won't go. Which makes me think that I'm either missing something or I have to get some PB Blaster and a sledgehammer.

Any thoughts on how to get this demon wheel off ?

Or as they put it in the weirdly translated Chinese manual... demolition!!!

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Mon May 28, 2018 1:54 am

The Hooligan and the Buddy have completely different rear brake/suspension setups. The Buddy does not have a rear swing arm because it uses a rear drum brake rather than disk. I've never worked on a Hooligan before but from your description it sounds like it uses a very similar setup as a Blur, other than the twin rear shocks vs a single shock multi-link suspension.

To get the rear wheel off my Blur, I first removed the swing arm with the wheel attached.

I then loosened the big nut in the middle of the wheel and backed it off until the nut was flush with the end of the spindle/axle.

With a large brass punch that was about 5/8" diameter (a brass or aluminum rod can also be used) pressed against the spindle/axle, I lightly hit the punch with a hammer to knock the wheel loose. Be careful to not wail on that spindle/axle with a big ol' sledge hammer because you can damage the wheel bearing and/or the spindle/axle. Leaving the nut on the spindle/axle helps to protect the threads. If it's being stubborn, a little heat applied to the wheel around the spindle/axle will help.

Good luck.

dbbldz123 · Post by **dbbldz123** » Mon May 28, 2018 4:38 am

Right on! Thanks!

I did managed to work the nut loose by placing a PVC tube over the breaker bar to get some leverage on it. Cracked right loose and wheel came off easy.

After an intense battle with the 12" back tire I managed to get it off the rim. Little did I know the war hadn't even begun as getting the new tire on is proving to be a serious challenge

First side went on easy. But the next side is currently in purgatory.

Any tips on that front?

I lubed it up with some dish liquid to aid in the process but I'm starting to think there's not enough dish liquid in the world for this task...

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Mon May 28, 2018 7:50 am

dbbldz123 wrote:Any tips on that front?

Yeah, take it to a scooter shop.

I went through the same pain as you did with three scooter tires. I brought the forth one to my local scooter shop when it's time had come. For 20 greenbacks they saved me a lot of hassle and aggravation. If you're still gonna do it yourself, use a heat gun and warm up the tires sidewalls really well (wear gloves) before doing the deed.

dbbldz123 · Post by **dbbldz123** » Mon May 28, 2018 9:11 pm

Ok I'll probably take your advice next time! Woke up determined to succeed and after letting the tire sit in the sun for a while and trying some new techniques I got the sucker on there.

Pumped it up with a low volume air compressor with a ratchet strap around the tire. Heard a small pop when the bead set. But only one. So I'm gonna let it sit for a day to see if it loses pressure or if we're good to go.

DeeDee · Post by **DeeDee** » Mon May 28, 2018 9:55 pm

babblefish wrote:
dbbldz123 wrote:Any tips on that front?
Yeah, take it to a scooter shop.

I went through the same pain as you did with three scooter tires. I brought the forth one to my local scooter shop when it's time had come. For 20 greenbacks they saved me a lot of hassle and aggravation. If you're still gonna do it yourself, use a heat gun and warm up the tires sidewalls really well (wear gloves) before doing the deed.

Where are you?

dbbldz123 · Post by **dbbldz123** » Tue May 29, 2018 3:05 am

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Tue May 29, 2018 3:42 am

DeeDee wrote:
babblefish wrote:
dbbldz123 wrote:Any tips on that front?
Yeah, take it to a scooter shop.

I went through the same pain as you did with three scooter tires. I brought the forth one to my local scooter shop when it's time had come. For 20 greenbacks they saved me a lot of hassle and aggravation. If you're still gonna do it yourself, use a heat gun and warm up the tires sidewalls really well (wear gloves) before doing the deed.
Where are you?

At a micro brewerly watching the Warriors win the Western NBA Championship....