| Author | Message | ||
     Tankhead |
1800 miles into my trip to Nova Scotia. 80 MPH. Trans Canada Highway right near exit 26. Sunday, August 25th. Towed to a friendly citizen of Nova Scotia. Took wheel apart. Spacer=Toast. Race seized to wheel. Swing arm chewed up. Tried welding a piece of steel to knock the spacer out along with hear gun. Nothing. Kind citizen drove me 2.5 hours to Halifax to Privateers HD. Rented car to get to my buddy's car at the Digby-Saint John ferry. 12 hour drive home with pneumonia. 103.1 temp. Emergency room, Chest Xray. Ordered '10 wheel kit. Got to get back up there and get bike. What a damn shame this problem was not fixed before HD shut the doors. I think my days are numbered with this bike. Privateers says they can file the swing arm to flat surface to get me home after they order a new spacer and get the race out of the wheel. Don't feel confident driving that bike 1800 miles home. Once the 2010 wheel is replaced and possibly the swingarm I think she will go up for sale. What a mess. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Tankhead- sorry about your troubles, and I hope you're well by now. OTOH, IMHO anyone that took a Uly on a 1000+ mile trip with a pre-2010 rear wheel or at least fresh wheel bearings was asking for trouble. Failures of the rear wheel bearings are well-documented on this site. Once you have a 2010 rear wheel installed you can ride the bike with confidence. | ||
| Tankhead |
Thanks Hugh. But that's the problem New tire thousand miles ago bearing were fine. Did ride two hours in pouring rain in beginning of trip. A bike that can't be in the rain as a touring bike is unacceptable. I was very well aware of problems with rear bearings. Also about the five cases of 2010 wheel wheel problems documented here. We shall see. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I've ridden a ton with many Buells (including a Uly) in the rain with no rear bearing problems, even with the old style marginal design 2 bearing wheel. So its not as simple as "you can't ride an XB in the rain". You can, often, and it will be fine. Installation of the rear wheel has a critical and precise set of steps and torque settings that have to be followed. That helps avoid the problem in many (but not all) cases. I suspect that in some cases there are just machining variances that push a stack up of errors that *just* exceed the happy place, and you are going to be screwed no matter what until you upgrade to the new wheel. The 2010 upgraded wheel is a nice option. I pack along a spare set of bearings and a spare spacer, and try and keep an eye on it. This may burn me before I'm done. | ||
| Uly_man |
Thank you Reep. It is good to hear from someone who knows about bikes and more so on this one. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Wow, sorry to hear about your bike and health problems, Tankhead. I understand your frustration. Fortunately, I read a lot about the crappy two bearing wheel and bought a 2010 early on. I don't even think about my bearings and have made a number of long trips. Glad you are healthy again and hope you can get your bike back and regain some confidence in it. Best to ya'. | ||
| Hughlysses |
One thing to add about the '10 wheel kit- if you got it from American Sport Bike, it's worth paying Al the small additional fee to install the bearings so that you KNOW they were installed correctly. If you're doing the bearings yourself or paying someone to do it, carefully follow the shop manual/bulletin that comes with the kit. Like Reepi said about the rear wheel install, properly installing the bearings and spacer is at least as important to ensure their longevity. | ||
| Reepicheep |
The good news about trashing your wheel is that it ends the suspense. Just pony up the $300 or whatever for the 10 retrofit kit and ride with confidence. Since I haven't had problems, I just pack spares for my current older model. But I won't kid you and say that I don't wonder about it often when I am riding somewhere. Does that back end feel a little loose? Was it grooves in the road? Was it a wet paint stripe? Nah, its normal. No wait, maybe it did it again. I know that bearing is going. No, never mind, it feels fine. No wait, that does feel wierd. Fine, I'll stop and look at it. Sheesh... its fine. Stop being so paranoid. (hop back on). Wait a minute, does that back feel loose? (repeat ad-naseum). At some point, I kind of wish it would just go and show some concrete evidence of a problem and end the suspense.  (I bought the bike with 10k miles, as far as I know they were the original bearings. I am now at 27k miles, still on the original bearings. I never touch the bike with a pressure washer, and at 20k miles I pried off the covers and cleaned and repacked the original bearings. I check the axle for play every week or so, check the bearings for being stuck or loose whenever I change a tire, and follow the factory service manual rituals to the last jot and tiddle every time I touch that rear axle. I also (come to think of it) drilled out the bolt holes for the tentioner one size bigger to give myself just a little less tension on the belt. I know this made the belt easier to get on and off, I suspect it might also be helping those rear bearings. Before I did it I could feel the belt load up when I hit a big bump under throttle and approached bottoming out the suspension. I no longer feel that, and if you do the math, that kind of scenario would yield tension that is insanely and bearing crushingly high. I'm pretty sure my XB9SX had it's original bearings from the day I bought it new until I sold it at 35k miles or something... I know they never failed, I don't recall if I changed them proactively, I don't think so. But that bike never felt like it loaded up the suspension. I was also the only person to ever touch that rear axle on that bike, and did it absolutely by the book ever time. Without the right procedure, it is really hard to get that axle tension right, and really easy to overload or underload the pinch on that axle / wheel / bearing. | ||
| Tankhead |
Yeah, First of all: lots of standing water in the hub when we removed it. Also, I talked to AL. He advised to order the wheel from local HD when I get the bike back, "they should be ok with pressing the bearings." He was very kind and giving with his time as always. Bought the wheel through Surdyke because they helped me in St. Louis when I needed tires. LOYALTY. Travis in NS said he can get the bike going with the f'd up swing arm and wheel just need spacer. I was just reporting another wheel thread so people understand that switching to the '10 wheel is prudent and necessary. Thanks for responses and well wishes. Still feel like crap. | ||
| Tankhead |
My city-X was flawless for 32000 miles in two years. I have also read about opening the holes in the tensioner. Sound good. If I keep the bike I might do that. tanks man. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Here is what I recommend for the flu. Hope you feel better soon! http://kybourbontrail.com/ | ||
| Schwara |
Tank - definitely sorry to hear all of this and I do hope that you feel better soon if nothing else. I've had no issues at all but the 2010 wheel is on my Christmas list this year so knock on wood. Does anyone possibly have a link or two for checks or recommended maintenance that is good to run through on a pre 2010 wheel? Much appreciated ... | ||
| Reepicheep |
Carefully pop off the exposed cover when you have the wheel off for service. Clean out the old grease, look for rust, feel for play in the bearing, and feel if it is notchy or sloppy. If it is good, repack with fresh grease, put the seal back on, and put it back together. Before every ride, look for that seal to have popped off, for rust stains drooling down, or for a clearly physically displaced bearing hub... I think the belt side almost always fails first. Listen for clunking or crunching when you move the bike with the motor off. | ||
| Schwara |
Thanks Reep ... I think you walked me through that once before so sorry to make you repeat yourself. Now that I have it digital it'll be easier for me reference until I have it memorized. I will most likely be pulling the wheel off tonight or tomorrow so I will check it closely then. | ||
| Hughlysses |
As far as inspecting, the only additional suggestion I can make is if you have a rear stand or a motorcycle jack and muffler cradle, you can lift the bike off the rear wheel and spin it as an additional check for roughness. Place a fingertip inside the axle end or on the swingarm adjacent to the bearing as you turn the wheel as this may help you feel the vibration from a rough bearing as you turn the wheel. BTW- I still have my original 07 2-bearing wheel; I'm keeping it as a spare. It has a set of Koyo bearings I installed at ~8000 miles which now have somewhere around 18000 miles on them, including several hundred miles of 2-up, heavily loaded long distance travel. Those bearings still feel smooth. | ||
| Schwara |
Good to know as well Hugh ... thanks. I will play with it a little (supported) before pulling it all the way off. | ||
| Kag |
Man thats a damn horror story. A huge round of beer for the guy who helped you out up there. Good people did still exist and it seems you found some. Then to be sick as a dog on top of it. I just did a bearing change last week and after reading this I am so glad I did. A little confidence builder for me. As long as I have the bike I will more than likely every other new rear tire mount change them. It was easy. if the bearing pocket wears then I will look at a 10 wheel. I saved my old bearings for just in case and will go into my "Possibility Kit" I am putting together. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I saved my old bearings for just in case and will go into my "Possibility Kit" I am putting together. Not a good idea. Only way to get the old bearings out is by hammering or pressing on the inner race. This causes the balls to dimple the inner and outer races ruining them. They might last a few miles, but they might fail without warning. Do yourself a favor, chunk those in the trash and buy two bearings for your "Possibility" kit. BTW- if anyone wants spare bearings for a 2010 rear wheel, EBR sells them for $10 each, which is a darn good price. | ||
| Motorfish |
Man, and I thought my 350 mile ride home in a U-Haul was bad, after my rear bearing failure! Really sorry to hear of your mess. I hope you get well soon. Health is more important than any bike. My `06 had 13K on it when the bearings went. They were all chewed up, and the hub was full of rusty water. After major engine work (`08 crank), I have 19k on it now, and just bought a `10 wheel. There are some failures with them, but I can`t see it being worse than the original design. Like stated, the proper installation of the bearings is critical. I had the dealer I bought the wheel from do it. I hope it`s right. After sinking way too much into this bike, I reached the point of no return, and figured why not get the `10 wheel. I have fixed just about all the `06 quirks, except ECM relocation. With the spacer block, the seat does not hit it. I will probably relocate it anyway, for more peace of mind. I carry an extra belt (stretched), a new clutch cable, and plenty of tools. I do know that anything can happen, with any bike. I wish you the best, first good health, then getting your Uly back on the road, and more reliable. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Good tip Hugh! On a Uly with a stock exhaust, all you really need is a floor jack and some care. Leave the side stand down, put the floor jack under the rearmost jacking point on the exhaust, and jack until the rear wheel is about 1" off the ground. Put the bike in neutral and you can then spin the wheel. An easy check. A velco strap locking the front brake lever on would be prudent to add a little more safety margin. The cradle will make things safer yet, but if you are willing to take some risk and use some care you can do it with just the floor jack (I have several times). | ||
| Buewulf |
Holy crap! Ulys cause pneumonia too?! | ||
| Tiltcylinder |
I thought I had it bad when I was 400 miles from home. Glad you found a person willing to help. I walked/ idled the bike a mile or two to an intersection, and within 20 minutes a state trooper stopped, the only vehicle traffic I encountered for another hour. he told me where the nearest auto parts store was and offered to come back and check on me later in the day! The only indication I had was a slight 'wiggle' and initially pulled over thinking the rear tire was low on air, forgetting the bearing issue until it happened again. It was a very windy day, with 50 - 60 mph gusts and I thought that was the cause. I had swapped rubber less than 1000 miles prior to the failure, the bearing spun smoothly at that time. Glad you found help. The folks at the NAPA store I limped the bike to, let me use their computer to access the BadWeb and find the bearing part #, but only one was in stock. A friend who lived close (only 100 miles away) picked the bike and I up, then we picked up bearings at the Troy NY HD dealer ( close to 150 miles south) and I popped the old ones out with a steel drift and installed new, on the floor of my friends barn. Rode it home and to the dealer the next day, got the wheel replaced with a '10 unit under warranty (which expired 7 days later!). Been checking the '10 wheel's bearings during the last 3 tire changes and it all seems OK, and I'm not finding water droplets clinging to the axle anymore. Damn, I love this bike but I hate the little voice in the back of my head... | ||
| Tankhead |
Yeah, took him and my buddy to dinner that night and gave him a c note when he dropped me of in Halifax. I really appreciated it. | ||
| Tiltcylinder |
Mine 'owed' me one as I had disassembled his Harley dresser's primary side to fix a stripped shift lever a month earlier. I of course took him and his lovely wife out for dinner and drinks later on, as my 'emergency' interfered with their entire day. I surely hope the '10 wheel cures the problem, because I ride rain or shine and it seem I'm cursed with frog drowning downpours whenever I plan a trip on the Uly. | ||
| Jetranger_2000 |
Tank I'm not sure if it helps but I live in halifax if you need anything shipped or need to store the bike for a while. I've got lots of space and tools. Let me know if I can help you out with anything Can get hands on a trailer as well | ||
| Tankhead |
Thanks Brother, I will keep that in mind and I do appreciate it. | ||
| Jetranger_2000 |
Forgot to post my number 6132439229 | ||
| Arcticktm |
Reep, I thought it was the brake side rear that typically went first? That's what mine did the first time (9k). Mine was a water induced (rust) failure, so that makes sense, as the brake side is down when on the sidestand, so the water will sit there if it cannot get out. Fortunately, I caught both my "failures" before they caused a problem, just by inspecting them during tire changes and any time the rear wheel was off. They felt gritty both times. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I've never had one fail, so you would know better than I would. I thought it was the pulley side because everyone kept saying to buy the Free Spirits tensioner to fix the problem (which I personally don't recommend, but that's a different thread). | ||
| Mnrider |
Sorry to hear about your illness and breakdown Tank, I had the flu a few years ago and it was tough. In the last couple years I've put front wheel bearings in a DR350,rear wheel bearing in a XR650L and on our last trip the rear wheel bearings went out on my buddies DR650 and we had it hauled and I put those in for him. For sure the rear hub should have had drainage because of all the water related failures. I drilled holes in my hub and replaced my notchy bearings and just keep my fingers crossed on trips and like reep says does it feel right. |
