[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by Burphel

Ok, a bit of an oddball question here... Last time I changed my rear tire, I accidentally stuck the rear axle in from the right side of the bike instead of the left. And discovered it's a whole lot easier that way. The brake caliper's held in place and you have one less heavy thing to align. The bike came with the axle the other way and all the diagrams in the shop manual show it inserting from the left as well, although it doesn't come right out and say it. Every stock picture of the bike has it inserting from the left.

Does it really matter? I can't think of a reason it would, and I'd love to take advantage of easier tire changes.

(for those of you familiar with the Norwegian phrase "Uff Da", this was one of those moments.)

I just bought a 2007 one month ago and both my front and rear axles are inserted from the right. I'll keep it that way since new tires are in my near future. I suppose the only thing to watch out for is swapping the left and right rear spacers. I've never had my wheel off but I saved this photo on my computer;