Ok, so on my way home yesterday my front wheel started to hum. The handlebars started to vibrate steady like a cell phone. It increased and decrease with the speed of the bike, but pulling in clutch and revving didn't change it. So I'm sure the front bearing is going. It isn't very loud and started about 6 miles from the house. My speed didn't go over 35 so I didn't push it. Is it possible that my axle could be ok and I can just change the bearings? What do I need to look for on the axle to tell me that it needs to be replaced?

Scionic

 

Assuming the bearings are toast,,Inspect the axle for damage,,
It should be ok,,
Because you were smart enough not to push it.

You didn't say the age or miles on the bike,,bearings could need adjustment.
Did you have the wheel off recently ??
Miss a spacer ??

 

Its an 06 with about 23K miles. I removed the wheel last summer when I changed tires. I took extra care to replace the spacers as I removed them, even took pictures as reference. Didn't replace them, they didn't look beat up or anything..

 

It wouldn't hurt to change the bearings anyway. It's an easy job and not too expensive.

 

Anyone know how to remove them and install without buying the $310 tool from HD? I am short on cash right now, so if the tool is what I need then I'll have to cage it for awhile.

Thanks

 

Ok, I found a thread that talks about using washers and a threaded rod to install the bearings. Haven't found anything about removal. Are they anything like the bearings on a car or truck? Can I use a punch and hammer them out from the inside?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tchlink:top:en

 

Checking wheel bearings is easy. Remove the front wheel. Place your finger on the inner race of the bearing. Rotate the bearing. If you feel any sticky or ruff spots, the bearing needs to be replaced. If you can move the inner race side to side replace the bearing. When you installed the front wheel, did you tighten the axle to the proper torque? If not, this could cause bearing damage. Other possible causes are, lost wheel weights, loose spokes, internal tire damage or improper front or rear(rear tire can affect the front end) tire inflation.

 

Thanks guys for your help. xwhyz1959 I will definitely check those out for the rear and future. Osco and Gpsjr10, thanks for the advice.

Well, I actually went to Biker's Bay to get the bearings and started to talk to one of the techs. He said for $25 he would remove old bearings and install new ones. I jumped on it, for now. It's been two days since I've been on the bike, withdrawals are tough.

Just a rant... I wanted to get an idea of what I was looking at (price wise). I called HD dealer, they said $30 for each bearing, yeah I repeated it back to him, $30 each bearing. And $73 for axle. Bikers Bay sold me Drag Specialties bearings, $25 for the pair. And the axle was $45. Luckily my axle had no damage of any kind, looked almost brand new. So total was $50, plus $4 for anti-sieze. Wow, I need to pay closer attention to parts prices. Thanks again to everyone, this is an awesome forum.

Scionic