| Author | Message | ||
     Gearheaderiko |
I'll have to order 2 also. That funny little feeling I've been getting is the bearing walking around inside the hub. Bearings not 'bad' yet, but I'm sure not going to re use it! Yea, its winter here too. Been getting down to 40's at night and barely hitting 70 during the day. Just awful! | ||
| Xgecko |
well my neither of my local HD stores had the bearings in stock, so I called the Honda/Kawasaki dealer my wife uses and low and behold they've got 3. I had them hold 2 and picked them up on my way home. $11.00 each not too bad...both HD places quoted me under $10 but not until friday and my wife the the jeep before then so 2 dollars isn't a big deal. The brake side bearing was easy to pop out with a hammer and a punch...the drive side however disintegrated as soon as I tapped it with a hammer...I tried to pry the outer race off but after wasting a bunch of time trying that I broke out the dremel and a small grinding stone (cut off wheels didn't last 2 minutes); it took about 45mintutes of careful grinding before the outer race was thin enough to break. That done I cleaned up the bearing seats and dug out my bearing press. Now I made my press to install BMX bottom brackets so it's heavy duty and fairly simple but even so it took a while (and a lot of strength) to completely seat both bearings. By the time that was done I decided that the garage had gotten cold, I was tired enough to hurt something (either me or the bike) and I was hungry so enough for the night. One thing's for sure I will change my bearings again in less than 15,000 miles just to insure that I don't have to do this again. (Message edited by xgecko on December 12, 2006) | ||
| Ezblast |
Bravo!  | ||
| Xgecko |
OK so I got lazy and took an extra day not putting my bike back together, My wife called me at work to ask if I could finish today as she wants the jeep. No biggy but in my laziness the extra E-series disc's came in the mail so more things to put back on my blast. The disks were easy enough, 6 stainless 10/24 2.5" machine head bolts and 21 are now attached to my WB muffler. As for the rear wheel, putting everything back together was fine except that I left the washer off the brake side and had take it all apart and do it all again ($%^$%&%*&*%^*$%@!#!) and other choice words. Something I noticed while the bike was hanging from the rafters was that the motor was on the frame crooked...rear wheel too far to the right and probably has been that way for some time. Now before everyone goes out to check theirs my bike was rebuilt from the engine up including a new frame so my guess is that the dealership who did the work didn't align anything when they rebuilt it. It was quite easy to fix just adjust the lower tie rod about 2 full turns. Did this have anything to do with the bear going out? who knows but I'm leaning towards that being caused by 3 years in storage and the grease drying out and the fact that that I had 20,000 miles on them (well 19,654 goal is to make 20K for Xmas in this warm weather). Next thing for the turtle? Well I have a set of Chase Harper Stealth saddlebags from Ebay on the way that I got for an adventure ride with my dad this summer. R.I. to western N.Y. on back roads the whole way... | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Rear wheel bearings in stock, $9 each, at the local bearing place! (A stones throw from the Honda place which wanted $15 and were out of stock!). Closest HD shop "I'm sorry we dont have Buell part numbers"!!! | ||
| Xgecko |
Yeah I probably could have done the bearing house thing too but the Honda place is on my way home from work and the closest bearing place is the other direction... | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Finally got around to doing the rear wheel bearings. Since 1 bearing was loose in the bore, I e-mailed Swampy for his experience (since he apparently has the Samsonite gorillas testing his Blasts). His extensive 'research' found that JB Weld gave the best results out of all other methods tried. Since the bearing was only slightly loose I deemed the wheel serviceable and used the JB weld as a 'shim' and Loctite as an extra measure to hold it in place (keeping the two separate of course) and let it sit a week (bearings torqued down with an axle & spacers, but off the bike). It seems to have worked out okay and I'll keep a watch on it as it goes back into commuter service. An observation is that on the drive belt side it has a very small lip which the bearing seats against. The wheel centers the inner axle spacer on that side so what can happen is that dust can get between the wheel and the bearing and work the bearing out (more so than on the brake side), which leaves more room for dust to get in and further work the bearing out. Also, when the bearing gets a little sloppy the spacer can rub on the wheel and create more dust. Swampy also noted that its the drive belt side that always goes. I always tape over the axle holes on the spare wheels so the axle/bearing bore doesnt get dirty or contaminated. I've also found that when the wheels sit around unused the bearings can freeze up. They'll unfreeze, usually when the axle is torqued down, and you wont notice a problem (and we've tested them at over 100 mph!!). | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
PS Dont forget to save the old bad bearings to use as spacers. Keep them in the drawer with the punches! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
It only been a couple months, but initially the bearing replacement has lasted. | ||
| Xgecko |
yeah me toooo | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I did mean its still tight in the bore. I expect the bearing itself to last a long time! | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Thanks EZ, Got me where i need to be. It's all here, I just jumped the gun, didn't look hard enough. I may have another question or two, I'll post here if needed. By the way, Becky(Becksbuell) really likes your Blasts, and some of the others, I'm skeeered of what all she'll want to do when we get it all straightened out. Thanks, Ed | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Welcome Rotzaruck! You're in the right place now! Things will go much smoother with Blasters helping you (not that the twin guys dont know their stuff, but the Blast is a little quirky and we here know what usually goes wrong). How did you bend a fork replacing seals? | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Gearheaderico You know what they say: "if it ain't broke give 'ol Ed a go at it" | ||
| Ezblast |
Hey I resemble that remark! GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
 | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Oh Yeah!! Thats right!! EZ did it. That other Ed Now I need help of a more spiritual nature, surely you guys go above and beyond the mechanical aspects of motorcycle repair. I know I can fly, all I need is enough faith. Even knowing that, I can't bring myself to leap off a tall building, or a low one for that matter. I have now, for the first time, in my brief yet eventful life, glued a wheel bearing into a wheel. I used the James and Bartles stuff, cause thats what Gearheaderiko used cause thats what Swampy used. Lord only knows why Swampy used it. I think I have sufficient faith in J&B though, and Gearhead and Swampy too. My primary concern though is alignment. If my spacers, nut and axle threads are true, I suppose the bearings will be square with each other, but I could not for the life of me figure out an easy practical way to be sure the bearings are aligned with the wheel. I decided, as I often do, to use the "Hit or Miss Method", and to hope if it's off a bit, it won't make be a huge issue. H or M will be followed by "Wait and See". Beck had some concerns, I think I got it across that rear bearings are not an overly hazardous issue, just an aggravation. I didn't even have to go into how much easier a blast is to push than a lot of other bikes. The real query prompting this epistle is how do you generate enough faith to make things like that work? I'm also still debating the condition of the wheel and bearing, smystry to me. I can't see that it was turning in there, so how did the bearing recess get so big. Does the aluminum just not look like something was spinning, or could it be hammered out from some balance issue and its bouncing around and spreading the hub. But how did it ever find enough room to start hammering. Could the aluminum be soft enough to just start spreading from 10,000 miles of stress? The old bearing looks and feels amazingly like the new bearing. No sign of heat, no grooves or rubs. When would I have even known I had a problem if I hadn't pulled the wheel for new tires? It's not an end of the world thing, the worst case would be replace the wheel, not a huge deal. But I would like to understand. If I could see why it happened, maybe I could keep it from happening again. I'm sure everyone who has experienced this has done all the same wondering I have, but has anybody got any feasible theories? I guess I'm just wondering on the dark side now. Ed | ||
| Ezblast |
Is the bearing dustcover blue? The new bearings are supposed to have a much improved life according to Buell's engineering rep on the phone. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Well, the ones I ended up with are brown, say japan on the side and came in a Honda bag(thanks to above referenced part numbers). My local HD place had exactly one bearing in stock, needed a week to get another, and Beck wants her wheels back KWICK!! Whats getting me though is the bearing seems fine, tried it on the rotor side, fits tight just like the one I knocked out. If it hadn't fallen out I would have left the bearings alone. Do they think the bearing is messing up the wheel? Funny thing--I was concerned, turning the wheel before I took it off, had a weird clunk every time I spun it slowly, (found a rock behind the sprocket)relaxed,thought I was okay, leaned the wheel to slide out ...CLANG, gee, there's a bearing on the floor!! | ||
| Ezblast |
lol | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Yes, I believe there was nothing wrong with my bearing either, but at $10 I wasnt about to put it back in! Unless you beat it with a hammer (instead of pulling it in with the axle) it shouldn't get too far out of alignment. So far after some commuting and a little track time, it is still solid in the wheel bore. The belt side seems to take the most beating and it may just be a wheel defect (too soft) that causes it to happen. Repeated bearing replacement will also cause it. Also (as I posted before)"An observation is that on the drive belt side it has a very small lip which the bearing seats against. The wheel centers the inner axle spacer on that side so what can happen is that dust can get between the wheel and the bearing and work the bearing out (more so than on the brake side), which leaves more room for dust to get in and further work the bearing out. Also, when the bearing gets a little sloppy the spacer can rub on the wheel and create more dust." So,yes I think we've all pondered the wheel bearing riddle! PS If it was a front wheel bearing instead of the rear, I'd be a tad more concerned. | ||
| Swampy |
Alignment? Put the bike back together with the James and Bartels still wet and the belt off. Leave the bike jacked up with no weight on the rear tire until cured, and viola! you have alignment that is so good that you can forgo dancing around the oak tree neekid. Of course you could still have Beck do it just for laughs.... | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Uhh, before it sets up................. OH BECKY!!!!!!!! | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Got it back together, looks and feels good. Left it hanging. May have worn a couple thousandths off that axle, in-out-in-out, so forgetful, I am. I'll know if it worked when she hits another 10,000 or so-how's that for faith? The congregated neighbors are getting a little weird about it, Beck says she's so cold and tired, I should have bought a wheel,and wants to know How long's she got to dance? | ||
| Ezblast |
Isn't it 3 times around then 3 back, then jump up and down 3 times as well? GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Swampy |
I'm in for 3 times also, Its not perfect science... | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I just want pictures (to make sure the dance is properly done)! | ||
| Rotzaruck |
We may have another problem Beck never was a Boy Scout, she knows pine trees and non pine trees Now being a Boy Scout, and mostly country boy, I know persimmon is the best thing for bridges or fence post that are used under water, but........ how do they work for wheel bearings? (ceremoniously speaking) (no pictures...maybe the neighbors got some) I got that silly thing all back together, blue and red and all torqued up good, pumped up the brakes, rode it around out back, everything working, parked it and the dumb thing walked right off the stand and fell in the dirt. Broke a lever and t signal....on and on and on....................Beck's gonna love it | ||
| Swampy |
Now you are gonna have to check you front isolator and front engine mounting bolts....LOL! | ||
| Xgecko |
HELP!!!!!! are the front bearings the same part number as the rear??????? (Buell)E6204/(Honda) 96150-62040-10, if no anyone know the Buell or more importantly the cross reference # so i can get a part at my local NAPA/Honda dealer. I ask because I just had one go on my way home from my parents today I need to get it replaced before my vacation trip in a week and a half. BTW 22,345 miles |
