► Wheel bearing failures

[smaytum]

Bad quality rear wheel bearings

My husband has just rung me and his wheel bearing has failed 80 miles east of Agadir. Can anyone assist or give advice? Thank you very much.

 

[Tim Cullis]

There is no BMW rescue service in Morocco, however...

The F800GS wheel bearing is a generic part that should be able to be obtained almost anywhere in Morocco. The real wheel bearing on my F650GS (basically same bike) failed in Fez and I got a replacement from a moped/scooter type shop.

Here's a link to the BMW parts fiche, look under wheels and tyres. The specification for the bearing are 20x47x14 whatever that means. The F650/800GS rear wheel bearings that I have here are brand name FAG and part number CB140159P.

French for rear wheel bearing is 'roulement de roue arriere'.

I don't know of any motorbike repair shops in Agadir, but check out 'moto location agadir' and you will find quite a few motorbike rental outlets who should be able to push him in the right direction.

 

[z900guy]

i can tell you the bearing is a 62042rs ( or 2z would be ok ) based on the dimensions if that helps .............probably the most common bearing available and fitted to thousands of bikes , electric motors etc ........good luck

Chris

 

[smaytum]

Folk, thanks a lot for the info regarding the bearing. My wife has been texting me your responses all evening. I made the 120km journey to Agadir with metal grinding the whole way. My brake pads are shattered as well so had to remove them.

Currently in a hotel enjoying a beer. Will write a report once I return to the UK and will ping a post tomorrow. I knew ukgsers will come throw with the right advise.

Rgrds
steve

 

[smaytum]

And a wax and shine please mrs Maytum.

Bike is now fixed! And the total cost was 300dh (£30). Both left and right bearings were replaced and they reshapped some new brake pads to fit the bike.

A local GSer stopped by and told the bikeshop where to buy strong parts. I will write up the detail on my return. Now a relax in the sun and I'll be off to the nearest piste in a marrekesh direction.

All is well!

Rgrds
steve

 

[ZZ10]

Bad quality rear wheel bearings

I checked the rear wheel bearings after seeing some bearings crash pictures at advrider forum, found out that both left and right where bad, replaced them with SKF bearings and left old ones to a person who worked in the field for nearly 30 years for an opinion about what is wrong:

bad china quality LFD bearings with poor protection for dirt etc.

he was very concerned how the bearings had ended up in a bike made for highspeeds, unresponsible and bad judgdement where his statement.

 

[turnipbmw]

depends upon what 'quality ' means

as you say, it would be a bad idea to use bearings made of an unsuitable material, with an ineffective cage and manufactured to a wide tolerance.

I considered myself very lucky that my 1150GS F/D bearing cage broke up just before I got home - after I had been on a high speed ride back from Wales

 

[Greggers]

Bearing quality has been raised a few times before, but the problem will always be perpetuated by BMW's insistence on using OE parts for warranty/dealer repairs when the OE parts are the same poor quality as those fitted at the factory.- - they will ultimately fail in the same way!
As with the the nasty drive chain they used, the only way you can be confident about bearings is by replacing the alloyed cream cheese items with industrial quality items like SKF or NSK.

Greg

 

[GADGET]

Recently replaced front bearings with SKF from my local bearing factors. £12 for the pair. Is there really any point in replacing with the cheapo BMW chinese ones.

 

[GunZenBomZ]

As with the the nasty drive chain they used, the only way you can be confident about bearings is by replacing the alloyed cream cheese items with industrial quality items like SKF or NSK.

It would be nice if we did a 'worn parts/quality item thread' for F800 parts. Had all of my rear bearings changed, the weekend I left your pad Greg. Don't know wether you heard the rear clunking/grinding as i left. Unfortunately I've bought the bmw parts (bike@22k) so next time..I'll ask for advice.

 

[v8legend]

Bearing quality has been raised a few times before, but the problem will always be perpetuated by BMW's insistence on using OE parts for warranty/dealer repairs when the OE parts are the same poor quality as those fitted at the factory.- - they will ultimately fail in the same way!
As with the the nasty drive chain they used, the only way you can be confident about bearings is by replacing the alloyed cream cheese items with industrial quality items like SKF or NSK.

Greg

With you on this.

But this isn't a cheap bike.

BMW seemed to have jumped on to the Chinese bandwagon a bit late, and without checking the factories. China can churn out some excellent quality components, but they're not on my bike.

My concern is that some important (and hidden) bits might be lurking for us all to find at a later date.

Gregg

 

[Wookie]

Had a set of rear bearings semi fail on me @ around 3k miles !! Local dealer didnt want to know and i spent 30min arguing about what a functioning bearing should feel like

We had done some awesome river crossings on the strata florida in wales which i believe lead to the crappy unsealed bearings obviously getting flooded and then rusting to buggery.

Best advise, replace with proper NON BMW bearings (which ill be doing for both bikes soon).

wookie

PS Im not sure BMW thought a F800GS would ACTUALLY ever go off road or under water ...

Full set of piccies

 

[GS Biker]

wookie

PS Im not sure BMW thought a F800GS would ACTUALLY ever go off road or under water ...

Full set of piccies

Great Pictures!

 

[Ducksbane]

I haven't really wanted to post, but I feel that I should point out this thread on ADVRIDER ... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499504

I have had rear wheel bearing trouble with my 800GS and it doesn't seem to matter whether you have chinese bearings or SKF's they still fail. The reason has been traced to the hub manufacturer boring some hubs out of spec and having the bearings too tight.

In my case the original bearings failed at 12,000km and the SKF's I replaced them with went 5,000km later. After another 5,000km the second SKF's were still good, but replaced under warranty with BMW bearings. Another 3,000km and I think they are alright.

So ... the bottom line, in most cases simply replacing the bearings with "high quality" bearings will probably not help in the long run. If you have a problem complain to BMW, I am hoping to get a new rear hub or wheel eventually, if the bearings continue to fail. It is possible that the BMW bearings have less crush and "May" last longer ... who knows ... I want a new hub! My dealer didn't believe me about this at first, but they are begining to come around to my point of view ... one more failure and I think I will have some action.

Shame that we have to put ourselves at risk to prove the point!

 

[ZZ10]

it doesn't seem to matter whether you have chinese bearings or SKF's they still fail.

I was told to change to SKF C3 bearings with some different specs than 6204, C3 will probably last longer if the hub is to thight.

 

[ZZ10]

We had done some awesome river crossings on the strata florida in wales which i believe lead to the crappy unsealed bearings obviously getting flooded and then rusting to buggery.

Best advise, replace with proper NON BMW bearings (which ill be doing for both bikes soon).

maybe better suited for offroad driving

Deep Groove Metric Ball Bearings - Sealed

Sealed (2RS1) bearings are fitted with two synthetic rubber seals to prevent leakage of lubricant as well as entry of dust, water and other harmful material.

Both standard and C3 clearance available

http://in.rsdelivers.com/product/skf/6204-2rsh-c3/bearing-ball-sealed-20mm-id-47mm-od/6671188.aspx

 

[Greggers]

Ahaaa ... now I see where the problem might lie ..

I had a similar issue on my TRX - if I seated the bearings fully into the hub, then they would be tight when I cinched up the axle-nut. I ended up leaving them just a gnat's knob proud then they were fine.

I guess it's down to poor components again - if the bearing spacer has been machined too short then tightening the axle-nut will 'nip' the bearings and cause the tightness which accelerates their ultimate demise..

I'll look at mine in a few days.

G

 

[Twit!]

The rear bearings in my 800GS failed at 6000 miles, I was really surprised - I've never had any last that little time. But, they were replaced without question by the dealer under warranty. Guess if they are collapse again I'll just change them myself with decent quality ones. At least its an easy job!

 

[SKON]

Standard or C3

maybe better suited for offroad driving

Deep Groove Metric Ball Bearings - Sealed

Sealed (2RS1) bearings are fitted with two synthetic rubber seals to prevent leakage of lubricant as well as entry of dust, water and other harmful material.

Both standard and C3 clearance available

http://in.rsdelivers.com/product/skf/6204-2rsh-c3/bearing-ball-sealed-20mm-id-47mm-od/6671188.aspx

Hiya,
So if I want to replace the original wheel bearings from a 2010 800GS,would I need a pair of the SKF 2RS1s standard or C3?(1 for front wheel,1 for rear). Also is it simple to do yourself,or is it a job for specialist workshop? Apologies for simplistic questions,never tried this before
Thanks

 

[Greggers]

Hiya,
So if I want to replace the original wheel bearings from a 2010 800GS,would I need a pair of the SKF 2RS1s standard or C3?(1 for front wheel,1 for rear). Also is it simple to do yourself,or is it a job for specialist workshop? Apologies for simplistic questions,never tried this before
Thanks

I've just looked for myself - the C3 spec is for high temperature change applications and is manufactured with greater tolerance to allow for expansion - i.e. when it's cold it's a little slack so that when it heats up and expands it's in tolerance... I'm not entirely sure that our humble lil ol wheels generate so much heat lol..
I'd probably go for this one or this one depending on your budget.

Has anyone actually checked the bearing dimensions? 20mm ID, 47mm OD, 14mm thickness... Just checking before I bang my old rear wheel bearings out lol...

Greg