I tried to strip my cb500 wheel down and remove this retainer - I even arc welded some 1" solid steel to the retainer, drilled the centre punch mark's out and wellied the other end of the 1" x 24" bar with a lump hammer - still wouldn't budge so I ground the welds back off and left it in tact as the bearings were ok - I just wanted to heat the hub in an oven to fit a new brake liner so heated it with a blow lamp instead. It can be a right swine to shift. Its just a good thing the wheel bearings last really well, even subjected to the loads of a sidecar full of luggage.