[TonyG]

This came out of the front idle (right) side of the cx650e. The speedo cable drive side was a bit notchy and one seal was detached but otherwise ok. I don't know how long they were in the bike. Possibly 8-10 yrs and 40,000? miles. or possibly half that long.

Bout 2 yrs ago I replaced a bent rotor that also caused the pads to grab when the high spot came around. For a month or so the grabbing was gone. Then I began hearing a rut... Rut.... Rut... It sounded like the tire was rubbing against something, but I saw no rub marks on the tire. Eventually the grabbing returned eventually followed by extreme notchiness even a slight rising of the front wheel.

Thinking the wheel was likely bent, I sourced another wheel and installed some new "rising sun" bearings from the one seller who offers discount to our members. $9.00 for 2 bearings and 2 seals...

Last night the wheels got changed out along with new axle and pads.

I put about 50 miles on it today. This evening I got on the go to a store 2 miles away.... Rut, root...... Root.. rut..

Could the bearing have gone bad? So soon?

 

[TonyG]

The spider was behind the rotors. Bet he thought if he rode along, it would save him some labor when "spinning" his web.

Can bearings be of such poor quality that they go bad almost immediately?

 

[bahn88]

If the bearing maker has poor quality control..re tolerances then i would think quick failure is a posibility...

 

[mtreis86]

Allballz makes bearings for both style comstars

 

[Rayman]

if you put any sress on the inner race when inserting the bearing you will damage the balls and race and the bearing will be toast in a very short time -
make sure to only drive the bearing in fron the outer race and square - best option if you can is to press it in.

Rayman

 

[TonyG]

Allballz makes bearings for both style comstars

All Balls is one of the companies under scrutiny. Maybe they began by being made in the USA but they are now made in China. That is from other comments that I read. Most times they hold up but there must be reasons for people to question their sturdiness. Timken, SKF? Koyo (honda) and a couple others were mentioned as being reliable manufacturers of bearings. I stumbled across a website call bearings R Us or some similar seller of bearings. I typed in 6202 in the search feature and It produced 100 or more bearings. Many had the price of a dollar to $2 and others like the KOYO were a little over $13 even on a wholesale level.

So there must be a reason for such a diversity and price.

A pair of 6202 skf go for $30 on eBay. Can probably be found for a little less here and there.

 

[TonyG]

if you put any sress on the inner race when inserting the bearing you will damage the balls and race and the bearing will be toast in a very short time -
make sure to only drive the bearing in fron the outer race and square - best option if you can is to press it in.

Rayman

To the best of my knowledge I only put pressure on the outer race. I had the socket ready to go from the start and I don't think I used to hammer by itself. I have to admit it went in harder than I expected. I don't know if some bearings are fabricated a touch larger than others or not. This was possibly a virgin wheel, meaning it may have been the first time the bearings were ever replaced. It was a spare from a different bike with the same wheel that I had in storage in preparation for Restorations from those different bikes. You know the ones that have the t after the engine size. I don't want to keep the wheel on the euro any longer than I have to, but I will probably wear this tire out and then put the Euro wheel back in.

I went for another ride today and I did notice that my left side disc has a slight warp to it. I can't imagine that disc warp making this sound as it would rub against a brake pad as it has I sound like the tire is scrunching in the wheel. Similar to the sound that your foot makes when it flops up and down inside weft sneakers. Kind of funny to try to describe it. But it is the same sound I heard couple years ago before this bearing demolished itself.

I did not notice the sound today as I went for a ride perhaps only 10 miles. The only other thing I did today was to get some oil into the steering head bearings to soften the grease a little. What a world of difference that made in steering ability. They likely need repacked or replaced but that will wait till I rebuild the front forks whenever that happens

Those who think that they might buy a motorcycle to save fuel in these times of high fuel prices, I thought that 30 years ago and didn't take me long to know that with the added maintenance and continuous replacement of tires etc etc there is no savings to be had compared to even a 20 mile per gallon vehicle.

 

[Gerard]

"New" does not guarrentee it is "Good" , working for a car dealership has taught me that, so many things can go wrong when making stuff I'm amazed any of it works .

 

[Gumby22]

As Gerard pointed out, “new” does not mean “good.”

The stigma of non-USA made parts is also not as common a problem as people want to believe.

When it comes to wheel bearings in particular (having installed several hub assemblies and press fit bearings myself), I’ve found the most common reason for near-immediate failure is improper installation techniques.

In regards to the fit of the bearing in the wheel, most bearings are an interference fit, meaning they’re machined to be either the same size as the bore or a few thousandths of an inch/mm larger. Installation with a hammer is possible but not recommended. Some kind of press is best - one method I’ve often used is a length of all thread run through the center of the bearing, then using adapters/washers large enough to contact the outer race. This pulls the bearing into place with the precision of a press. Even a basic C clamp will work if you can get it set square

It won’t hurt anything to lube the race or wheel with a little oil or grease to aid installation.

It also helps seat the bearing to rotate the wheel as it’s being installed back onto the bike.

 

[MCReviver]

Put the bearings in the freezer over night. Apply some heat from a hot air gun to the wheel hub. It will go together with less force.

 

[TonyG]

I've done the freezer trick other times but not this time.

Does that sound... Scrunch. Scrunch, scrunch or root root root sound like bearings? or seals? Or??? Heard the scrunching again tonight. I would think rotor noise would be scrape, scrape, scrape....

Any chance of having gotten the axle too tight?


If it keeps up, I'll plan to pull the wheel and pop new better quality bearings in it.

 

[Newt]

FWIW, bearings are not horribly expensive. Yes, a quality bearing will be more $$ than the c-rap from the local big box store.

Bearings are standardized for sizing. The number on the side of bearing is coded for size and seals.

Suggest to make a visit to your local store who handles Power Transmission products. These guys specialize in belts, chains, gears, sprockets, bearings....... Take your bearings in to have them match up with some quality items.

Think brands like Koyo, Timken, INA for example.

Mind the install as previous posters have indicated.

Good Luck

 

[Gerard]

May be a annoying question ,but do you have the spacer inbetween the bearings and is it long enough to hold the bearings without to much (if any) side loading ? Double check that the brake pads are on the correct side of the rotors, and right way around.

 

[bahn88]

I've done the freezer trick other times but not this time.

Does that sound... Scrunch. Scrunch, scrunch or root root root sound like bearings? or seals? Or??? Heard the scrunching again tonight. I would think rotor noise would be scrape, scrape, scrape....

Any chance of having gotten the axle too tight?


If it keeps up, I'll plan to pull the wheel and pop new better quality bearings in it.

Ive heard a few disturbing sounds....but never a root,root....ignoring the sounds from rally tents....😗

 

[Sidecar Bob]

Are you sure the sound is coming from the bearing? I've heard similar sounds from the rear wheel rubbing on dirt stuck to a final drive's shield.....

BTW: I bought lots of 10 of the sizes of bearings my wheels take from en eBay bearing store that was selling them for electric motors or roller skates or something like that and the only time I've had problems with them was when water got past a seal and one rusted to the axle (not the bearing's fault).

 

[TonyG]

Double check that the brake pads are on the correct side of the rotors, and right way around.

Say what? Lol. I can't even picture that in my mind.

But yes the spacer is in. See response below.

 

[TonyG]

Well I put the motorcycle on the center stand and lock the front of the engine up so the front wheel lifted off the ground. As I was spinning I had a finger on different parts of the front end from the speedometer box to the brake rotor on either side do the brake pads and caliper on either side and to the bearings on either side. I could only feel a little vibration on the calipers. The one is ever so slight and due to the slightly warped rotor. The other was a little more noticeable and seem to be focused on the caliper. So just out of dumb locked I grabbed a 14 mm socket i and checked all my Fasteners. Sure enough the one caliper mounting bolt Bolt that has the slider pin and Greece boot was about a half turn or more loose. After I snagged it up and checked it over some more for noises and vibrations I took it for another 20 mile ride today. I did not hear the rut rut rut or scrunch, scrunch, scrunch today.

We will see what it is like as it cools down this evening.

Hopefully that is all that was 40. Well keep posted. Thanks for all the comments. I still don't know how you could get brake pads on the wrong side of the rotor. Maybe got them backwards? What are you smoking Gerard?

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I've almost done that. When you put the pads onto the pins if you don't push them all the way out against the pistons and the other side of the caliper it is possible to get the disc between the back of the pad and the other side of the caliper. But it isn't easy to push the caliper down over the disc (that's how I caught myself doing it). It would also easy to see that you had done that....

 

[Gerard]

Haven't made that brake pad mistake ,have had to correct it for customers a couple of times. I do try avoid working late into the night , when I am tired is when I would make a mistake ,like yes have missed tightening the brake caliper , a friend noticed it thankfully, saving yours truly,cheers

 

[TonyG]

Well a good side benefit of the installation of new bearings in the front wheel is that I realized how tight my steering head bearings were. I was blaming all my wandering and poor handling on my front wheel. After I got new bearings in the front wheel I still had this terrible wondering. So up on the center stand it went with the block under the engine and I pushed on the handlebars. I know they are supposed to pretty much fall over when you push on the handlebars. And you're supposed to be able to move them lock to lock with 1 finger. This was the opposite. It actually felt like my straps that I have wrapped around the steering head for a tank bag were binding on the steering stem and handlebars. It actually took Force to move them from side to side.

I looked at what was involved with taking the handlebars and top of the Triple Tree off and I really wasn't into it. I knew I had put tapered rollers in about 12 years ago and I had greased them well and had them in good adjustment. I think I had readjusted them seven or eight years ago. So I wondered if maybe the grease in the bearing had just gotten hard and older. How could I loosen up that grease? I thought to myself.

Lo and behold I can of WD-40 was within Arm's Reach. I flattened out the straw that comes out of the nozzle so that it would spray flight and pushed it up between the steering bearing cap and the steering neck. I sprayed a little then worked the handlebars a little. Waited a few minutes spray a little more and work the handlebars a little more. Now they are back to falling over when the bike is on the center stand and the wheel off the ground.

What a difference it makes in riding and handling.