Roxy: Epic Rear Flat

Following the sudden and overwhelming paranoia of riding Ivy without a title, I was looking forward to getting back on Roxy for the first time in ages.  Especially wanted to feel the acceleration again to see if she really was that much faster, or if it was only my imagination.

Started to pull her out of the parking spot only to discover a totally flat rear tire.  I knew this wasn't the normal deflation since the front was still good.  Decided to try to put air in it anyway and could clearly feel the air escaping out through the hole in the rim (missing spoke).

So that ride cancelled...

Luckily had the perfect session time later that afternoon. 

Fender
First things first, had to get the rear fender off.  But the left side bolt was covered by the chain guard.  And the bolts to the chain guard were hidden by the front sprocket cover.  So both of those had to come off in order.

Then, while disconnecting the taillight wires, I popped off one of the bullet connectors.  The top bolts underneath the seat were fiddly to reach (probably would have been worth my time to remove the seat entirely) but once those were out, the fender came out easily.

Rear Axle
The rear axle popped out with no problem.  But the sleeve itself was completely stuck inside its notch in the frame.  Really jammed in there.  Luckily, that doesn't stop you from removing the wheel, but the sleeve and rear flange have to stay put.  That's a fix for the future, although I'm not sure it'll come out without significant damage.

Tire Tube
The tire popped off with no problem.  I checked both the rim and the tire for any sharp points but couldn't find anything.  Couldn't even find the puncture in the tube until I pumped it full of air and then I only found it from the low whistle.  It was a tiny puncture.  Could have just been age that led to that?

Re-install
Everything went back together pretty easily.  Fortunately had a spare tube in the bin that was the right size.  Because the sleeve was stuck, though, I couldn't easily move the wheel forward in order to give the chain some slack during reinstall.  Not quite sure how I managed to muscle the links close enough to put the master back on, but somehow got it together. 

With everything back on, found the chain was still too slack, but also discovered that the sleeve did move if you use the chain adjuster nuts.  In retrospect, I realized that I could have also used the chain adjusters to push the sleeve forward to get the chain back on.

Added a new bullet connector to the taillight wire only to discover that the taillight is not lighting up anymore.  Brake light works fine.