Rear Wheel

Since I haven't been able to choose a frame color yet, I decided to go ahead with getting the wheels coated since I know what I want for them. I'm going to have them coated with a GR-539 aluminum silver w/ 50% gloss clear coat. Basically it's like stock but maybe a tad shinier.

In prep for this, I decided to clean the wheels up and document what I've done on the rear wheel. Pictures following are somewhat jumpy. I get into working and don't feel like stopping to photograph each step of the process, unfortunately.

Pic of when I first pulled the final drive assembly:
Notice the raised lettering on the rim. This will be removed later.

Cleaned it up a bit:

And after several cleanings and sanding of all the mating surfaces:
I've sanded of all the raised lettering on the rim using an angle grinder. I need to make a finishing pass to remove the fine grind marks.
I removed the rubber drive bushings using a power drill and varying drill bits. I pretty much drilled into the rubber bushings enough to remove significant material, then popped them out by prying them. This process took me over an hour just to get out the rubber parts.

Removing the bearings without a puller was also a real fun process. I used a drift and a hammer. The problem was, that I took apart one bearing to remove the inner sleeve so I could drift out the other one, but the bearing I took out was on the side of the wheel with the tapered passage. This meant the outer bearing ring was incredibly difficult to remove because I couldn't get the proper angle on it. I finally got it out using a small cat's paw nail puller that I ground down so it just fit in the outer race. I also ground a small flat place on the inside of the bearing using a dremel tool so I could get purchase with my makeshift drift.
I ended up slightly scratching the walls where the bearing sits. I've since sanded out the rough spots and the damage isn't enough to keep the new bearing from seating properly. Oh for a good bearing puller...

The brake disk side of the wheel presented its own challenges. 4 of the 5 bolts broke off with nothing to grab onto. I'm still working on these. One I drilled and tapped perfectly, the other I messed up and drilled off center. 2 left. Other than that, all is good on this side.

My brake disk is fractured though. I'll buy a new one soon.

The gear assembly is in great shape, so I don't have to worry about that.

That's it for now. I'm shooting for getting the wheels into the powdercoater by Monday.