► Wheel bearing failures

Tim Cullis

Tim Cullis

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I was riding at 20mph in the centre of Fez (Morocco) when the F650GS suddenly developed a horrible scraping noise as if the side or centre stand was scraping along the road. Then there was a worrying wobble from the rear.

We can't see anything obvious. It is not the stand. The chain looks OK and we've run it through various cycles to check tension. The tyres are OK. The rear disc is cool, so not that. The noise/vibration and the wobble still happens when coasting with the engine off. The scraping happens maybe five times per 100 metres, then sometimes stops for a few hundred metres. The wobble seems to continue.

Yesterday was spent on very gentle cruising, so the bike has been under absolutely no strain. Mileage to date is 13000.

I'm currently in Fez and will go to a bike shop tomorrow but would appreciate any thoughts as to what it might be.

Tim
 
Oh dear. We thought it was either the rear wheel bearings, the cush drive or maybe somehow the gearbox, but didn't want to influence your responses.

If anything the noise seems to be coming from the left rear. If we take the rear wheel off will we be able to easily check the bearings? I have the fiche diagram open at maxbmwmotorcycles.

One option is to ride (slowly) to the BMW dealer in Casablanca but I'm not confident the bike would make the 250 km (150 miles).

Tim
 
Tim Cullis said:
If we take the rear wheel off will we be able to easily check the bearings?
Click to expand...

I changed my rear bearings on Friday - 20 minute job on my DR350 once the wheel is off.
If the noise is coming from the bearings you'll feel it for sure when you rotate them with your index finger. (you'll probably see it if it's making the noise you descibe.)

You'll need a thin punch or at least a long chunky screwdriver to knock the bearings out. My knackered/rusty ones came out no problem.

:thumb2
 
I wouldn't think the rubber cush drive breaking up would be the cause, you would get some noises, harsh transmission, but there wouldn't be anything to cause the wobble.

Rear wheel bearings a possibility for sure, but on the stand you'd be able to suss out any play/noises as you spun the wheel. Grip the wheel in turn at top and bottom and then front and back and try to wiggle sideways :eek:

Loosen the spindle and move the wheel well forward and hang the chain off the sprocket, see how the wheel spins then!

Has the tyre got a bulge at one point, maybe only visible when the bike is resting on the tyre at that particular spot?

Don't underestimate the possibility of more than just one problem... ie. disc pads worn for the noise, head bearings shot for the wobble :eek:
 
I would go for wheel bearings, a stone in the caliper would not induce a wobble.

Check the bearings by trying to wobble the wheel, grab it at 9 oclock 3 oclock position and give it a backward / forward tug then try at 12 and 6 oclock positions.
 
Many thanks for all the help and advice.

I emailed three BMW dealers yesterday, two in the UK, the other in Morocco. Got a reply from Smeia in Casablanca but not the UK dealers. :( Smeia don't have them in stock but can get them special order.

The good news is that Seatownmaster (Adrian) has picked up F650GS bearings in Malaga, southern Spain, and I'll be seeing him tomorrow in Fez. In the meantime I visited a moped shop in Fez and within a couple of minutes the technician had measured up the bearing and sent a runner off for a replacement. He didn't have a bearing puller, so welded a second smaller bearing onto the old one so it could be drifted out from the other side. Boy was it shot.

The runner came back with a perfectly matched Japanese-made bearing but the technician wasn't happy as it didn't have the side seals so he sent the kid off again who came back with a French-made bearing with side bits which was then fitted. Elapsed time to get it fixed was 1.5 hours. Total bill including the cost of the bearing was 100 dirham, sometime like £8.

In 42 years of driving a wide variety of sometimes quite knackered scooters, bangers and thumpers I have never had a wheel bearing go before. Let alone on a one year-old BMW.

Tim
 
Wheel Bearings again

I was not amused to get a call from SLM where my F800 GS is receiving a 6000 mile service (at rather less than 6000 miles - more like 5000 - but it's a year old and the computer told me it needed a service) to tell me that the rear wheel bearings are kaput. They will be replaced under warranty but WTF?

As I am going on an extended European trip in a few weeks time, I asked them to double check the front also - at this time they say those are OK but I want to be sure.

And OK, I admit, I have taken the bike off-road but it's only seen light service in that situation and if it can't handle that then I'll trade the bloody thing for a real bike.

Bottom line for all you good folk - check your bearings now, they can crumble any time. :rob
 
Yeah - it's been said before... Tim's rears, my fronts...

It's a real shame that BMW seem to have compromised what is, in essence, a sh!t-hot bike by using some plain old sh!t components.. chains, wheel bearings, head bearings...

Does anyone know if the engines are bought in as assembled units, or are they manufactured under license from Rotax.. I'd have grave concerns if the same quality of bearings are used in the motor as are used on the chassis...

G
 
Rear Wheel Bearings

I've done a search to see if there are any wheel bearing topics, but can't see any. Apologies if this has been discussed previously, or this is a dumb question :augie

My 650 had new tryes put on today and while they had the rear wheel off they noticed the wheel bearings were fooked, and also there was some pitting on the rear wheel.

The bike has done just over 11k.......................so my question is this :

Is it normal for the wheel bearings to be fooked after 11k? and for the wheels to start looking like rust spots are breaking through :confused:

Just thought I'd ask, cos there does seem to be a fair bit wrong with these ere 650 / 800s. Must admit I've been relatively lucky (I think), cos I've only had the radiator hose issue at about 9k.

Your thoughts would be pretty much appreciated - should I give BMW some stick about this - the bike is 16 month old.
 
Its not unusual for wheel bearings to fail at low mileage. I have just moved to the F800GS from a Versys and it was not unknown for front and rear bearings to fail, the ones fitted were quite a poor quality. A lot depends on how you clean the bike and if you use strong detergents, pressure washing with a detergent is a rapid way of removing all the grease and causing bearing failure. You should still be covered by the warranty for the bearings and signs of corrosion provided there is no sign of neglect.
 
Bearing failures are common - my fronts were shagged after 1800 miles, Tim C. had disastrous problems with his rear wheel bearings in Morocco...

IMVHO ... the bearings used by BMW are of a similar quality to the OE drive chain, i.e. made from inferium shitite steel - sadly one of the downsides of building a bike down to a price...

I let my dealer replace the fronts with OE bearings, but when I next change my rear tyre I'll replace my bearings with a quality item from my local bearing supplier ...

Greg
 
Greggers said:
Bearing failures are common - my fronts were shagged after 1800 miles, Tim C. had disastrous problems with his rear wheel bearings in Morocco...

IMVHO ... the bearings used by BMW are of a similar quality to the OE drive chain, i.e. made from inferium shitite steel - sadly one of the downsides of building a bike down to a price...

I let my dealer replace the fronts with OE bearings, but when I next change my rear tyre I'll replace my bearings with a quality item from my local bearing supplier ...

Greg
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that, cos that's more or less what the guy at the shop told me, so he has replaced them with quality ones - I didn't know I could get them done under warranty so I paid the shop to do it there and then when they had the wheel off.

I'm off to Scotland for a few days next weekend and needed to get it sorted pretty sharpish from what the guy was saying (he gave he the knacked ones in case I needed to show BMW)....................it seemed the easiest option at the time............ Suppose that will probably invalidate my warranty :nenau

I'll give the dealership a ring on Monday and see what they have to say, especially about the blistering on the rear wheel. The bike has been very much looked after, so much to the point that the dealership commented the other month about what good nick it had been kept in.

Thanks for your comments guys :thumb
 
My rear wheel bearing failed at around 5000 miles - discovered by the dealer at a service. The dealer told me the fronts were OK but they weren't. This was despite me stressing that I was going on a long trip abroad and wanted to be absolutely certain the bearings were OK. I knew the fronts were knackered because immediately after the service I removed the front wheel to change the tyre and they felt extremely rough turning them with my finger (they hadn't felt rough when turning the wheel and I conclude the dealer hadn't bothered to remove the wheel to check them).

I replaced the fronts myself with quality (SKF bearings as the OEM bearings were no-name Taiwanese things). The OEM bearings were full of rusty water too.

A good tip I received for changing bearings is to prise the seals off the new sealed bearings and pack them properly with waterproof grease - they don't put much in when they make them! Then replace the seals.
 
chrisjk said:
they felt extremely rough turning them with my finger
Click to expand...


That's exactly the same as mine.................also mine had a lot of sideways play on the inner metal ring which had started to rust aswell :eek
 
It's perhaps worth noting that the spec for the outer seal for the RH front wheel bearing - that is to say, the seal that slips over the axle - had changed since my bike was made (mine is an early 2008 model). as I discovered when ordering a replacement. I guess it was done to improve its sealing qualities.
 
Result :clap

Rang the dealer today and explained what had happened - he was a little surprised that the bearings had gone, and I expalined I'd paid for them to be replaced cos I didn't realise they should be covered under warranty - gonna get a refund, and they will look at the rust spot on the wheel next time I'm over (probably next week for the 12k service).

Excellent customer service :bow

Chhers for your comments above guys :beerjug:
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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