Are you sure that you're not over-thinking this kimm?? It shouldn't matter if the tire just touches &/or brushes the fender in the remove/replace process, the fender is flexible and the wheel should still come off/go on with ease. So what exactly is stopping you from getting it off??
Btw, the 12, 5, & 7 lug nut orientation will position the wheel lugs in the HARDEST position to get the wheel off - use the 10, 2, & 6 positions to give yourself a little more room at the top once you've tilted the wheel in order to clear the lug/bolt - with one lug bolt sticking out at the top/12 o'clock, it'll mean you hafta pull the top of the wheel a lot further towards you than otherwise, and you
WILL touch the fender fender with the tire doing that, altho that still shouldn't
stop you from getting the wheel off/putting it back on, cos the fender is flexible and should move enough, but it will make it harder!
I've removed & replaced literally
hundreds of Spyder wheels, on all models and even a variety of size tires (mainly the tires have been larger &/or wider than OEM, altho there was one that was somewhat smaller than OEM... And it didn't work well at all for ride & handling!
) and I rarely need to think about, let alone bother with
where the lug nuts are oriented. Removal is usually just a case of loosening the lug nuts; jack the front of the Spyder up; remove the lug nuts; pull the entire wheel towards me/out of the wheel well a little; tilt the top of the wheel back at the same time as pulling the bottom of the wheel out & off the lower lug bolt; and then remove the wheel by pulling it further towards me to clear the top lugs/bolts without grinding on their threads and down, maybe juuust touching/brushing the fender a
little along the way.
Basically, any wheel that'll fit in the wheel arch will go on/come off, even if it does brush the fender lip... I can't recall the largest sized tire I've seen on a standard Spyder with OEM fenders in their stock position, but I think it was something like a 175/65R15, so somewhat bigger than your OEM Kendas, and while it
DID brush on the fender coming out, and needed the (flexible) fender lip to be lifted at the top as I angled the top of the wheel into the open wheel arch space going back on, it wasn't any major issue - and neither has there been any significant issue on any of the multitude of other wheels I've removed/replaced on Spyders!
Mind you, I did have some issues with the Spyder that was brought in with 185/60R15 tires (or was it a 65 profile??
) on its front end, but then, its fenders were no longer stock/OEM - they were
very close fitting and
METAL, so they didn't flex very much at all!! It was a bit of a struggle getting those wheels off, even more of a struggle getting them back on!!
Over to you... Good Luck!
Ps: Once you've loosened the lug nuts, leave the brakes
OFF!! That way, you'll be able to wriggle the wheel and hub around a little to see if that makes it any easier for you to get the wheel off. Similarly putting it back on, altho you might want to use the brake to hold the hub still while you're slipping the wheel over the lugs/bolts. But usually, let your front hubs spin freely - sometimes, it's that little bit of extra movement/twisting that does the final trick in getting wheel off &/or on! And the front of your bike should be in the air anyway, with the bike firmly chocked/secured so that it's not going to move at all regardless.
Pps: And while I'm here again, turn the ignition
OFF while you do all this!! Your Spyder has wheel speed sensors to detect different rotational speeds between the wheels when you're on the road, triggering ABS, VSS, &/or Limp Modes if different speeds in wheel rotation between any of the three wheels is detected, cos that'd mean you've lost traction or worse - on the road, anyway!! So if you leave your ignition
ON while you're playing around with removing/replacing wheels, and you spin your wheels enough that your wheel speed sensors
ARE detecting those 'speed differences', then that might trigger a code or three, or even ABS, VSS, or Limp Mode incidents!! Now admittedly, it
should take a fair bit of wheel spinning to cause you any issues once you start to ride again, far more than you'd normally expect from just changing a wheel, but those alerts/Limp Home mode incidents
CAN & DO happen!! Do you really need to ask me how I
KNOW this can occur?!
I’ve even taken off the mud flaps/splash guards to made it easier but it still rubbed… I’ll keep at it. Thanks for your helpful advise guys, I appreciate it!!
