Rear end play GS 1100

[Big Jets]

Sounds naughty.Iwas putting my rear wheel back on tonight after fitting new tyre,when I noticed a small but noticeable bit of play when moving the wheel from side to side,I presume its the bearings in the swingarm.The bikes done 36 k miles its a 1997 GS 1100.Is there any tolerance to play in a mot,is it quite a straightforward job,and is it a job I should be undertaking straight away for safety reasons.Professional advice please.Thanks Big Jets.

 

[Spout]

Do a search for "paralever bearing", get a mug of coffee and enjoy a couple of days reading!
I'd say it wont be your swingarm bearings.
Paralever bearing relatively cheap and easy to DIY - so no big problem.
If it's the rear drive bearing, things start getting more complicated.

Have fun...............

 

[MIKE R]

Same play was noticed on my swinging arm bearings ("paralever bearing"), by the mechanic (Roy Gardner) at the 30K service on my 1150. He simply tightened up the bearing to remove the movement. Only a short term measure as it was there again at 36k when it was replaced. If I remember correctly it was quite a simple (and fairly cheap job...about £75 ic. parts).

Unfortunately only 500 miles later i had a grinding noise at the rear end plus wheel movement. This time it was (what I call) the rear wheel bearings (rear drive bearing?). Bigger job and a bit more expensive.....cost me £185 inc parts, but the wheel movement had also knackered my brake pads!

If I remember rightly if it is the s/w bearing the wheel has no play but the s/w does. If it is the wheel bearing there is sideways movement on the wheel but not the s/w.

Both are the kind of job you can tackle at home if you are a competent mechanic. I didnt want to get stuck half way through and finish up with a bike in the garage with only one wheel!

Hope this helps

Mike

 

[Big Jets]

Sorry Spout Its the paralever bearings ,I misled you with saying swingarm .I think your right I can see movement in the gaitor clip rear end and not in the main section gaitor clip im pretty sure the paralever bearings have play in them. Good job for Christmas when Im bored out my Tits Cheers Again Big Jets.

 

[Big Jets]

Cheers Mike

 

[Colban]

Sounds naughty.Iwas putting my rear wheel back on tonight after fitting new tyre,when I noticed a small but noticeable bit of play when moving the wheel from side to side,I presume its the bearings in the swingarm.The bikes done 36 k miles its a 1997 GS 1100.Is there any tolerance to play in a mot,is it quite a straightforward job,and is it a job I should be undertaking straight away for safety reasons.Professional advice please.Thanks Big Jets.

If it's the paralever bearing,you can adjust any play out of them from the wheel side of the swing-arm.
Remove wheel,heat the 36mm locknut/adjuster to 120 degrees to melt Loctite,undo locknut,remove adjuster pin with 12mm allen key,clean threads and fit pin back in and torque to 9Nm (i think),tighten 36mm locknut to 160 Nm.That should remove play and correctly load bearing.
I'm sure theres a better "how-to" on here somewhere-do a search.

 

[Big Jets]

Nice one Colban I will definately have a go at that.Cheers.

 

[longdog]

If it's the paralever bearing,you can adjust any play out of them from the wheel side of the swing-arm.
Remove wheel,heat the 36mm locknut/adjuster to 120 degrees to melt Loctite,undo locknut,remove adjuster pin with 12mm allen key,clean threads and fit pin back in and torque to 9Nm (i think),tighten 36mm locknut to 160 Nm.That should remove play and correctly load bearing.
I'm sure theres a better "how-to" on here somewhere-do a search.

I've tried and tried to get enough heat into mine, started with a nice little pen-type butane torch, no us. Then tried tried a bigger butane/propane lamp, too scary!!! Now I've tried an industrial hot-air paint stripper thingy and still the little fecker won't budge!!! Well it's going to be a 3 foot pipe on the end of the wrench and sod the consequences next!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rob Farmer]

I'd be carefull with the brute force approach. You can crack the ally bearing spigots. I did exactly that on my GSA and ended up drilling the thing out and gently chiseling the old bits out of the thread - took about 2 days

 

[Colban]

I'd be carefull with the brute force approach. You can crack the ally bearing spigots. I did exactly that on my GSA and ended up drilling the thing out and gently chiseling the old bits out of the thread - took about 2 days

+1.
Stripped threads.
That's why i'm after a new gearbox casing.
I think corrosion gets in there and they can be a bitch to remove.
Penetrating oil and heat,be patient.

 

[Big Jets]

Brought a heatgun home from work and 12mm allen socket,heat not needed it came out no problem ,I will get a small torque wrench tomorrow and tighten it up ,cheers again lads.

 

[tagesk]

Any news?

Brought a heatgun home from work and 12mm allen socket,heat not needed it came out no problem ,I will get a small torque wrench tomorrow and tighten it up ,cheers again lads.

Any news on how this went?

Getting that preload right isn't easy as 7Nm is very, very little on a bolt of that size. I had play in my rear wheel and went to the dealer. He said it might be the main bearing, but I told him it was changed 3K km ago.

He then first marked the floating stud with a pen, heated it and undid the 30mm lock nut. He then slowly tightened the floating stud while carefully checking for play. When all lplay was gone he backed out a tiny little bit. Marked with the pen again, and set the lock nut to 160 Nm while checking that the floating stud didn't move.

Took 15 minutes and he did it for free.

However, he over-did it just so slightly, and now (5000 km later) my bearings are toast. Look at this:

You can clearly see that they have been set too hard.

In any case: For detailed description of the whole operation, see here.

[TaSK]

 

[Big Jets]

I think I will do them again ,I probably nipped them up a little tighter than 7Nm .Thanks for the info .

 

[tagesk]

Keep us posted, please

I think I will do them again ,I probably nipped them up a little tighter than 7Nm .Thanks for the info .

I spent most of an hour cleaning the threads on both the bolt and in the housing. In order for the bolt to be given a 7Nm torque it must go in completely without resistance. When you screw it in with your fingers you need to feel when it "hits" the bearing. For this to be possible it needs to be clean, clean, clean.

A tip: If you add (a little!) Locktight to the bolt and leave it over night, you can torque the lock nut to 160Nm without the bolt moving. BMW has a special tool for this (because they can't wait).

[TaSK]

 

[DrFarkoff]

However, he over-did it just so slightly, and now (5000 km later) my bearings are toast. Look at this:

Sorry Tagesk You're wrong There was free play beacause the bearing shells/casings were already marked and good ness knows how long you'd been riding around before they were adjusted?????

BAsically they were already on their way out, bear in mind that the paralever motion is within a very minute sector or these bearings surface area, therefore you get excessive pressure on a very small area of the bearing whilst in use and that's even worse when you are mainly on road because you don't really use your suspension very much (i.e. make it travel to it's extreme ends of travel)

 

[MikeP]

Here you go........

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85797

Steptoe tells me he never bothers with Loctite and he has done loads of these but I'm just an enthusiastic home-bodger!

If you use a jack or something under the FD, it helps line-up the bearing and makes putting the adjuster back in easier, it's also a good idea to stick a finger in and rotate the bearing, you will feel if it runs smoothly. If not they will need replacing.

 

[tagesk]

Might very well be

Sorry Tagesk You're wrong There was free play beacause the bearing shells/casings were already marked and good ness knows how long you'd been riding around before they were adjusted?????

3.000 km before this I had a final drive failure. I just have assumed that bearings as worn as these would not have been re-installed. But I might be wrong on that account.
Nevertheless, I think it is correct that setting the bearing too tight will destroy them. What is your take on that?

[TaSK]

 

[Big Jets]

Thanks for the advice guys ,I maybe set the pinnion slightly more than 7nm and I will keep an eye on the situation,the play seems to have disappeared for the moment.Cheers Big Jets.