failing rear wheel bearing - what happens?

birdseye

Registered user
Joined
Oct 18, 2004
Messages
1,224
Reaction score
0
Location
usk
My rear wheel bearing is failing at 11k miles - there is perceptibe side play and when rotated the bearing rumbles. But as yet no riding problems so I would prefer to keep riding until the cold weather / rain comes.

So what is the indicator that I should stop and get it repaired sharpish. Previous posts suggest heavy vibration but is there any real chance of failure and the wheel coming off? Not long since I lost a trailer wheen when a bearing failed so I dont see why this would not happen on my GS

I'd be interested to hear from people who have had this problem how the symptoms developed before they took action.
 
The initial rumbling is probably caused by the breakdown of the cage that holds the ball bearings in position.

The problem is, once it's started, it gets worse exponentially.......it might take a week for a mild rumble to turn into a grindy rumble, but then only 3 days to turn into a graunch then another day to go bang.

Obviously it depends on how much you ride the bike, but if it's more than an hour or two a week, it ain't gonna make it 'til Autumn.

Do the job yourself (lots of picture guides here) and it will take you no more than a couple of hours and will cost 80 quid or so, including bearing, seal and O ring.

The cheapest place to get the parts from, oddly enough, is still BMW themselves, unless that has changed very recently :thumb2

Don't fekk about and risk making things a lot worse and potentially dangerous......just do it :thumb2

EDIT.......sorry, I just noticed it's in the 12 section.....
Still, the recommendation stands, even if the prices and work will be different.....it needs sorting :)
 
My last MOT had a caution for lateral lay but still within tolerance. I checked it myself but could not find anything wrong. I keep checking and still find nothing.

However I recently fitted new wheels but have not had tyres balanced. I now have a thrum thrum vibration above 70 that can only be wheels vibration & the slightly different wheel revs create that interference effect.

I'm having them balanced next week and will report back.

If in doubt about any wheel bearing check it very regularly. As already said they can grumble for a while but final collapse is quick.
 
The bearing will eventually collapse and although the wheel will not fall off you will be stranded. Leaving it will only cause you more grief. Fanum has got the price etc wrong as the 1200 FD is a we bit more difficult that the 11**'s and can't be fixed for £80 all though he has acknowledged that.

Best advice from me is to whip it off, send it to Mikeyboy for a rebuild. PM him and he will get back to you with price and time:thumby:
 
The pre 2006 bike has a 30mm pinion bearing that's not up to the task. Nobody knows if why maybe not enough oil gets into where its needed. After 2006 a 32mm bearing was fitted which seems to last better. Maybe it sees just enough oil. Bearing size info from Patzx12 at http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166875

IMO, a collapsed wheel bearing really means the whole drive should be stripped because the bearing on the other side of the crown-wheel will have been overloaded. Changing the main bearing before there is any serious sideways slack should be enough to avoid any internal damage.

Despite what the MOT man said, I've yet to feel anything untoward on my wheel bearing but it now has over 40K miles so when it does show signs of sideways play I'll be having the FD stripped by Mikeyboy. I'm also running with at least 200ml of oil (probably 220 - it was hard to accurately read the bottle measure). If it leaks I'll take that as early warning of bearing failure. 2000 miles so far and no leaks.
 
Change rear wheel bearing ASAP, I've had three go in 7 years at about 25k each time. Now on 122k, I check bearing oil condition every 6k,
 
My first failed at 2K, then again 10K. No symptoms, dealer advised replacements,
 
The rear wheel bearing does not run in the oil so checking the oil condition does not indicate anything.

Replace as soon as it shows signs of wear.

Then re-consider decision to buy a bike without chain final drive
 
birdseye said:
My rear wheel bearing is failing at 11k miles - there is perceptibe side play and when rotated the bearing rumbles. But as yet no riding problems so I would prefer to keep riding until the cold weather / rain comes.

So what is the indicator that I should stop and get it repaired sharpish. Previous posts suggest heavy vibration but is there any real chance of failure and the wheel coming off? Not long since I lost a trailer wheen when a bearing failed so I dont see why this would not happen on my GS

I'd be interested to hear from people who have had this problem how the symptoms developed before they took action.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I have a rebuilt rear drive from a 2008 GS/A. Think I still have the receipt for the repairs. You will need the check the gear ratio on your own unit. My one is 32/11
 
Grizzly GS said:
Then re-consider decision to buy a bike without chain final drive
Click to expand...

Having just had mine rebuilt at 25k on my 2008 GSA, I decided to use my '97 vfr750 with 100k & zero breakdowns/failures, as my main transport again.
If only all bikes were as good as the vfr750:rob
 
littleredrooster said:
How many chain/sprocket sets...?
Click to expand...

Probably 5 I think, scotoiler+cleaned in paraffin every few weeks makes a massive increase on chain life
So that's a set every 25k, which seems like a similar mileage for an average rear hub. Chain & sprocket set £150ish, hub rebuild £300+.
Chain & sprockets can be done at home n you don't get some condescending main dealer charging the earth n telling u that comparable with a chain & sprocket bollox!
 
Every car has a shaft drive. When did you last have to have a car shaft or differential repaired? Ever heard of this job being a regular issue on a Pan?

Sure the gs is an attractive bike but the build quality really isnt good enough and we all know it. BMW woulnt have a bike business if Honda produced equivalent designs
 
birdseye said:
Every car has a shaft drive. When did you last have to have a car shaft or differential repaired? Ever heard of this job being a regular issue on a Pan?

Sure the gs is an attractive bike but the build quality really isnt good enough and we all know it. BMW woulnt have a bike business if Honda produced equivalent designs
Click to expand...

We keep hearing that old stuck record:rolleyes: Honda's are good bikes but have no soul in my book and I like teh shake rattle and roll of the flat twin. Sure, the drive is the achiles heel of the bike but it's not as common as you may think. People who have had a failure shout loudest and that is fair enough.

My advice to anyone is treat the drive as a consumable and have it rebuilt occasionally especially if they are doing big mileage. £350 is not a lot of money to have peace of mind so puts it in the same bracket as a chain drive with sprockets etc etc. It's sensible to do this and all part of teh ownership thing.
 
birdseye said:
Every car has a shaft drive. When did you last have to have a car shaft or differential repaired? Ever heard of this job being a regular issue on a Pan?

Sure the gs is an attractive bike but the build quality really isnt good enough and we all know it. BMW woulnt have a bike business if Honda produced equivalent designs
Click to expand...

How many car differentials have cantilever forces through their bearings? I think you'll find they are simply supported which dramatically reduces the forces acting upon them.

FWIW I've just discovered 0.25mm of play at the rim of my rear tyre (spec is 1mm) at 20,000 miles, my last FD was replaced at 9800 miles due to excessive play. Shit happens, if it gets worse I'll tear it apart and sort it.

Don't Honda produce a Crosstourer??
 
Sgt Bilco said:
My advice to anyone is treat the drive as a consumable and have it rebuilt occasionally
Click to expand...

IMO that's not really good enough.

bmw should just go back to a conventional swing arm as it's pretty clear they're not very good at single siders.

i've not had a failure though :)
 
i do.


it's a lot better than living with a honda zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Rear wheel bearing adjustment / replace
Replies
8
Views
406
Wrigsby1
Rear wheel bearing
Replies
4
Views
452
theoneandonly
theoneandonly
B15ape1981
Rear wheel bearing 1250 gs
Replies
12
Views
1,002
B15ape1981
B15ape1981
John B
Rear Wheel bearing R1150GS
2
Replies
21
Views
3,695
KMD
KMD
mpgscott
R1200GS TU rear wheel bearing
Replies
18
Views
3,566
mpgscott
mpgscott


Back
Top Bottom