| Author | Message | ||
     Kauai1800 |
Ok after lots of prep ( fixed bike, new riding gear, msf class on another island, insurance, and new tires...) I am coming to you live via iPhone while I wait for the repair truck. Got out this morning, gonna really go for my first ride.. Went 12 miles, heard a very odd sound from the back wheel. Stopped looked a d rear wheel is frozen up. Thought it might be rear brake so I checked calipers, but they weren't touching anything. Really got down and looked and the $&*%# wheel bearing is broken!!! So here I sit waiting.. My question is this ... The new tires were just installed, is there any way they could've messed up the bearing by forgetting a spacer or something? | ||
| Indybuell |
Can you post a pic of the broken bearing? | ||
| Ezblast |
Who installed the wheels and took them off? EZ | ||
| Cgent |
There should be a longer ... over two inches ... spacer on the right, belt side ... and a shorter spacer ... maybe just an inch ... inside the brake caliper unit on the left ... sounds as if something isn't assembled correctly. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"Who installed the wheels and took them off? " Ditto. Wouldnt be unusual for a 2001 bearing to go bad especially after sitting for a while. But if you just had the tires and wheels installed by someone else...hmmm. Overtorquing of the axle nut is possible. Nothing should be taken apart when replacing the tire and balancing and it would be really tough to put the spacers in the wrong way (or leave them out). If, for some silly reason, they took the bearings out of the wheel then its possible they forgot to put the inner spacer back in. Though, if the wheel hub was worn (which is fairly common), the bearing could have fallen out along with the spacer and the spacer was missed. | ||
| Kauai1800 |
Mahalo guys! I'm starting to sound like a whiny little girl over here, but damn, I just want to get out and ride. I was having s BLAST just before the god-awful sound of my bearings shredding. And I immediately called the place that changed the tires. The service guy who did the work was a previous Blast owner - learned to ride on one - so I had a lot of confidence that he put the spacers in correctly etc. And I'm guessing that he did, but that the bearing just gave out. I hadn't seen the multiple threads about bearings giving up around 10K miles, and my bike sits at 11.8K...sooo...I'm thinking that it probably wasn't their fault - more a result of the years this bike just sat unridden - and now that it's back on the road the gremlins are coming out. One thing I was musing about is how lucky we have it here...even though I was broken down by the road, the homeowner who lived there immediately came out and helped me move the bike and brought out some tools to check the brakes. Almost every car/truck that drove by slowed to see if things were OK, and the guys from Garden Island Motorsport who changed the tires were there in less than 15 minutes to put the bike on their trailer and take me and the bike back to town. That's what aloha is all about right there. My guess is they'll replace the bearings for a reasonable price and I can try this motorcycle-riding thing again soon! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"and now that it's back on the road the gremlins are coming out"Scary, but true (especially with used motorcycles). Buy anything used and the worst idea can be to take it immediately on a long trip. Did you take the wheel off yourself? Bearings are fairly easy to change and if they tell you the bearing has worn out the hub, we have a fix for that too! | ||
| Themagster |
Kauai - very sorry to hear about that you had a rough day on the road. I am the first to admit that I get very, very ticked when something goes wrong, just lost without my Blast. It was this very weekend, just before Super Bowl when I got my first Blast and was ready for my first long distance ride down to the Mullet Festival in Goodland, Florida when I had my very first "Das Boot" incident. Aaahhh, the four letter words that can come out of the mouth of a lady when she is PO'd. Anyway, got through it, got back on the road and to be sure, there have been a few more of those days. I wish you all the best to get back on the road soon. | ||
| Titusand |
To you experienced Blasters, we should expect bearings to be changed at about 10,000 miles...? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I dont think thats a hard fast rule. It also depends on how old the bike is and how its been treated. For early years that might be a good guideline. Blast wheel bearings tend to get a little 'crusty' when they sit for a while. Put a few miles on them and they are as good as new again. However, I'm sure at some point they dont come back. Left outside a lot is bad. Frequent washings with a pressure washer is also bad. (Sealed or not, spend enough time with the hose pointed at them is going to be bad). The reality is to inspect them. Look for broken seals, grease spun out or anything out of the norm. Some Blast wheels have worn out the hub before the bearing. How often has Maggie changed bearings? (80k+ miles?) How about Sycho? (20k+) I dont think jprovo has done many bearings, if any. (50k+). I've been swapping out 4 sets of wheels, so I dont have an accurate mileage count. | ||
| Kauai1800 |
Mahalos everyone...and I think seeing a Mullet Festival would be the bomb. As a newbie, I did try and figure out what services might need to be done around 10K..but did not see anything about wheel bearings specifically until I started digging. Maybe on the Thumper FAQ page you might mention something about checking wheel bearings? Looking over those threads there did seem to be several failures around the 10K mark, but I agree that it's a bike-specific thing; depending on where you live, how much you ride, etc. Here on Kauai rust and corrosion are part of life. I live less than 1/2 mile from the Pacific and it's almost amusing to see how fast some things will rust away. I had a set of powder-coated outdoor patio furniture that literally rusted to a pile of red flakes after 18 months. The glass table top just fell on the ground one night! If the bearings are prone to getting 'crusty' then I'm sure mine were 'extra crispy' lol. Should hear back from the repair guys tomorrow and I'll let you know what they found. | ||
| Swampy |
Once I got the bearings changed out....then glued in the hub, they don't seem to give you too much problems. What ever you do, do not over torque the axle nut, I think that has everything to do with bearing longivity. | ||
| Milt |
I had 14k on my bearings when I sold my Blast, and they were in fine shape. | ||
| Themagster |
Changed the rear bearings at 41,850 miles on the '05. No problems just did it with tire change as a part of normal maintenance. | ||
| Themagster |
Kauai - Mullet - fish, not hair  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I for one, am way disappointed. I was gonna grow mine back out! | ||
| Themagster |
Have yet to see a Mullet do at the Mullet Fest, but they do welcome visitors to get up on stage & dance along to the Buzzard Lope, so go ahead and grow it back out, Stan would love it  Start practicing: http://www.stansidlehour.net/ | ||
| Kauai1800 |
LOL!! That it was fish mullet didn't even cross my mind. We call mullet 'ama ama, so I forgot about mullet fish and FL going hand in hand. Duh! I did learn about the Buzzard Lope though... But then I did a search and was pretty amazed to see that there's NOT a hair-based mullet festival..I'm sure there must be one somewhere, but if there is, I didn't see it. I'm thinkin' there's an opportunity for someone..a mullet-fest would be very popular! | ||
| Ezblast |
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