Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » Front wheel bearing failures

I've been getting through wheel bearing at the rate of front tyre changes. I'm hard on front tyres too

I was out this morning on the bike and having arranged for tyres x 3 to be fitted to the RS front and CBR both (sticky track suitable rubber on the CBR) I hastily removed the front wheel on my return to find that the RHS bearing was rusty and notchy again.

The tyre fitter/mechanic has agreed to fit the new bearings (I have 2 to hand just in case) but seals are a few days wait away. I've an MOT booked next Wednesday so fingers crossed I can get it back together in time.

The mechanic said the seal was shot and didn't believe me when I said it'd been changed the last time the bearing was changed.

I came home and checked the spindle:

IMG_2483.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

I can now see why the seal is failing.

Worth checking methinks. New spindles are about £120. 2nd hand ones are in the region of £30 to £40 but they need to have good seal lands to merit purchase used of course.

I'm trying to source a spindle as I type.

Another interesting thing the Aussie mechanic said. Did you pack your bearing with application specific grease? He suggests popping the bearing seal off from the bearing itself and packing with the correct grease for motor use. A new one on me. Anyway he's doing just that.

It may be worth checking the state of your spindle lands just in case. I think it was better when spindles had replaceable and cheap collars for the seal lands.....

Peter

I'll look extra closely at mine next time I get the bike out. I am curious as to why you have so much wear on the spindle- are you certain that your forks are aligned?

I always apply extra grease (the same LM as for drive shaft splines) into the space between the bearings, taking time to pack the back of bearing as I spin them.

I figure if they are packed with grease there is less space for dirt or water to enter, any excess will be forced out but it is very minimal.

Every tyre change gets a repack and even though dealership changed the last tyres I had already removed the wheel to take of balance weights for a good clean.

Did keep my speed down on ride to dealers confirming the weights were actually needed, who knew?

I had that 'wheel spindle pitting' problem which was sticking in place on my first BMW (2005 R1200ST) which got changed as a warranty issue, so have always done this.

The R1200ST was still on original set at 40,000 miles with only a polish line on the spindle from the bearing seal contact and passed every mot safety check.

I carefully align the forks every time I refit a wheel and I also grease the spindle. It seems to be a band of corrosion that the 2nd hand spindles I've seen don't have. They all have a clean wear line. It may be a material defect.

The bike has done 40,000 miles and has been cared for by it's only owner.

I'm getting the surface lightly skimmed on a lathe, back to a clean land. I'll then check that the new seals seat okay. I'll see how it goes.

On my K1600GT, you were wise to replace bearings every 25,000 miles unless you went with ceramic or hybrid bearings. Then you could go longer. Those are heavier bikes for sure but we packed extra grease in there as well.

I’ve only got 12,000 miles on my RS so far and check at each tire change. So far so good, but it seems like a wear item imo. And much easier to change proactively than on the side of the road.

This is developing into a nightmare. I've twice before changed the bearings myself. The workshop were unable to remove them, using good quality tools. The bearings have an aluminium sleeve between them which precludes simply drifting them out. An expanding drift is needed.

When I got home I tried my bearing expander/drift and I split it into 2 pieces! I tried again as it still worked. Now the bearing itself is breaking up and still hasn't moved even the slightest amount.

Next step is to remove the new tyre and try on a press.

I'll update but things are not looking good. I've just looked at the price of decent 2nd hand wheels....

My daughter has around 100K miles on her 1981 R65LS. It still has the original wheel bearings and they have never been serviced. There are a lot of mechanical parts on her bike that seem to be manufactured to last for many years.

Zitat von Sanemancured im Beitrag #8

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This is developing into a nightmare. I've twice before changed the bearings myself. The workshop were unable to remove them, using good quality tools. The bearings have an aluminium sleeve between them which precludes simply drifting them out. An expanding drift is needed.

When I got home I tried my bearing expander/drift and I split it into 2 pieces! I tried again as it still worked. Now the bearing itself is breaking up and still hasn't moved even the slightest amount.

Next step is to remove the new tyre and try on a press.

I'll update but things are not looking good. I've just looked at the price of decent 2nd hand wheels....

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In case it helps, the fiche show a different axle after 7/2018 ...

https://www.ascycles.com/BMW-Motorcycle-...ires#PartsTable

Good luck.

I was awake half the night worrying about how I was going to resolve this issue.

At 0645 I woke the wife hammering in the garage

I heated the wheel and then tried the broken but still useable expander on the other side bearing. A huge sigh of relief when it came free with the centre tube.

Using the same technique on the stuck bearing just tore the inner race from the outer. The design of the wheel means that you still can't get a drift on the outer race from the other side.

I got out my little used Dremel and found two cutters. One broke away from its mounting early on but more careful use of the 2nd resulted in 3 cuts right across the bearing race with some cosmetic damage to the wheel hub. The outer race then came free.

I'm hopefully going to get the new bearings pressed in today.

Here's the resultant mes:

IMG_2484.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

IMG_2485.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

Yikes

Good luck, sorting this out, I’d have similar sleepless nights over such a problem.

I hate just thinking about wheel bearings. Fortunately, I have never had a wheel bearing go bad on any of my motorcycles. And I hope my luck lasts......