Paralever bearings - again ;)

[MattW]

Just pulled the gearbox on my 1100 to send it away for refurb and when I took the FD off I was pi**ed off to see / feel that the paralever bearings have started to feel notchy. They are no where near as bad as when I changed the originals (and the knackered pivot pinions) about 10,000 miles ago but they're definitely no longer smooth.

I installed this last set 'by the book' (torqued to the recommended setting - 7 Nm I think from memory) and have regularly checked them for play - they've always been fine.

So, I guess it would be a false economy to refit them knowing they're showing wear? At £40 each on top of what is probably going to be a £400 gearbox rebuild and a £200 clutch, I'm rapidly running out of money

 

[cookie]

i'd leave them be. they only work through a minute arc, so are bound to wear strangely.

 

[Packer]

How about just rotating one part of the bearing by 90º so that it seats in a different position? Should take out the notchiness.

Obviously thoroughly clean, degrease and re-lube to make sure there is no grit in there.

 

[buellzebub]

Matt,
Just out of interest, where did you send your box and what sort of turn around did they quote?
Cheers,

Mick.

livin' the dream

 

[Ian J Hartley]

How about just rotating one part of the bearing by 90º so that it seats in a different position? Should take out the notchiness.

Obviously thoroughly clean, degrease and re-lube to make sure there is no grit in there.

There are 23 rollers in the bearing spaced at approx every 16 degrees. So the brinelling occurs around the race every 16 degrees on angular movement. You will have to explain to me why moving the bearing through 90 degrees is going to give you an area where there is no wear. It is after all a bearing. The roller cage will immediately move to the the point of brinelling.

Mind you if there is anyone that has successfully achieved moving the wear to another part of the bearing, then I would bow to there superior ability. For my part I feel it is impossible to achieve.

I go with the clean and re-lube, but if the bearing is not free to act as a bearing (ie brinelling to great) then the new bearing surface is going to be the casing or more likely the pivot pin.

I've followed the book on these bearings, and had signs of wear after only 1000 miles. Regular maintenance is the key to bearing longevity, but they are still going to wear out. 10000 miles sounds about average for life. I'm on my third set fitted at 36K.

 

[JoeC]

The problem is that BMW made the bearings too small for the job -that's why the 1200's are much bigger. Nothing we can do really. And BMW own the rights for this bearing so you can't get them from anybody else.

 

[a2zworks]

Hi,
Chris Harris says it should be between 10 & 12 Nm on the bearings.

See YouTube video link below,


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L0_j8SuiFQI&desktop_uri=/watch?v=L0_j8SuiFQI


Hope it helps,

Pablo

 

[Trullion]

i'd leave them be. they only work through a minute arc, so are bound to wear strangely.

Premature pivot bearing wear seems to be more prevalent on the GS than on the RS or RT. I would have thought that there is more movement on the GS rear suspension than the other variants of the 1100 that don't seem to need pivot replacement so soon. I had to replace the bearings on my 850GS at around 20k miles (though not the pivots), whereas the ones on y 1100RS are still ok at 32k miles. You could try using Honda Moly 60 paste to lubricate them.

 

[cookie]

IME they usually only feel bad disassembled and rotated by hand, but feel ok fitted and the bevel box moved through it's limited arc. it's not like they explode or anything (that i have experience or knowledge of anyway).

i think the reason they may work/feel better when rotated is because the forces acting on them only wear a small area. when turned, those forces bear on an unworn area?
for my part, if they are out, you might as well fit new ones. if they feel ok in situ when moving the bevel box, i wouldn't bother.

 

[MattW]

Thanks for the replies and advice everyone.

As suggested, I'm inclined to go with reusing them after a clean and relube. While I can feel unevenness in them, I'm pretty sure they aren't brinneled to the point that they'll lock and wear the pivots (the originals that I replaced certainly were too far gone - I had to replace the pinions too).

Still annoying that they've deteriorated after such a short time - more so given the ridiculous cost - £10 each and I wouldn't give it a second thought, but £40 a pop for a little plastic caged bearing...

Matt,
Just out of interest, where did you send your box and what sort of turn around did they quote?

I took the box to Steve Scriminger in Sleaford. It was basically a choice between him and Steptoe - both come highly recommended. I went for Scriminger as it was doable to deliver my box and a spare I got off eBay years ago (sold with a 'noise' but has an excellent casing). That said, with the Peak District being between me and Sleaford, it was still a six hour round trip

He didn't quote a turnaround time but I took it on Monday and he was starting it yesterday.

 

[Belper phil]

Still annoying that they've deteriorated after such a short time - more so given the ridiculous cost - £10 each and I wouldn't give it a second thought, but £40 a pop for a little plastic caged bearing...

Interesting this Matt and thanks for posting - i know it's not my 1150 but changed both sets on the Airheads when greasing the final drive. Felt that i should get at least 25,000 out of them after this.

In fact, was advised some time ago that wear on the bearings causes premature wearing and possible failure of the drive shaft and that replacement of said bearings should be classed as a service item after approx 25 to 30,000 , dont know how true this might be.

 

[Packer]

There are 23 rollers in the bearing spaced at approx every 16 degrees. So the brinelling occurs around the race every 16 degrees on angular movement. You will have to explain to me why moving the bearing through 90 degrees is going to give you an area where there is no wear. It is after all a bearing. The roller cage will immediately move to the the point of brinelling.

I was working on the basis that all the force carried through the bearing would be acting on one small arc as the FD pivots on the lower tie bar. I considered that it may be possible that changing the relative positions of the inner and outer race would separate the worn areas. Of course I could be completely wrong

 

[hutchy]

Hi,
Chris Harris says it should be between 10 & 12 Nm on the bearings.

See YouTube video link below,


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L0_j8SuiFQI&desktop_uri=/watch?v=L0_j8SuiFQI


Hope it helps,

Pablo

Chris's blogs are fkn excellent


Watched every YouTube blog and learned a shed load of stuff





Sent from my iPad using Technology I do not understand

 

[a2zworks]

Chris's blogs are fkn excellent


Watched every YouTube blog and learned a shed load of stuff





Sent from my iPad using Technology I do not understand

You are right Hutchy,

I wish we had someone like Steptoe so Chris Harris here in Tasmania for the more complicated matters that are beyond my level of skill.
Must say though, so far I have managed to carry out all services and repairs on my R1150GS, with the help of the great mob in this and other forums.

 

[gspod]

I've followed the book on these bearings, and had signs of wear after only 1000 miles. Regular maintenance is the key to bearing longevity, but they are still going to wear out. 10000 miles sounds about average for life. I'm on my third set fitted at 36K.

[/QUOTE]

Ignorance is bliss I guess - I've never done any maintenance on my bearings and have had no problems for the 114,000 miles I've done on my 1100.
It's gone in to Mikeyboy for a complete rebuild so he will replace all bearings/seals etc.. and, hopefully it's good for another 100,000 miles - fingers crossed.

Maybe I was lucky and just got a good one - special edition Kalahari yellow