1983 KZ550 Shaft Tire removal

Well,l while I am waiting for my gas line filter to come in for the 440;I decided to look into replacing the tires on my sons 550. I have looked in the service manual to see the steps needed to take the tire off and found nothing. So my thoughts on doing this after looking it over are to take the brake loose, Take the swing arm stabilizer off, remove the axle and drop the spacer. Move the wheel to the right which will disengage it from the final drive unit and then pull the wheel back and out. Is this correct? Anything I need to know about removing the wheel from or installing the wheel back on the final drive? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Do yourself a huge favor and buy a Kawasaki Service Manual for your son's bike. It will give you all the info you need not just for removing the rear wheel, it covers everything so you can do the job right and ensure your son's bike is SAFE. Be sure to get one that covers the exact year and model of your son's bike. The manuals are usually available on eBay for very little money. Ed

Assuming it’s similar to my 750, it’s very simple.

-Unbolt axle; push through as needed
-Remove rear brake caliper/bracket
-Unbolt and remove stabilizer bar
-Wiggle out right side spacer between wheel and swingarm
-Push/wiggle wheel to the right

It just slides off of the final drive. Take note that there’s a spacer on the left of the wheel too. Your manual should have a diagram of the rear wheel assembly, as well as proper torque specs. Good luck!
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