Wheel bearing fit up
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Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2007
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Wheel bearing fit up
Hey guys,
I had my wheels powder coated and I was going to install new wheel bearings. I want to know how far in should they sit, flush, recessed, should they pinch the sleeve inside, or should there be a little play in the sleeve?? I bought the bearing installer tool. Just want to know where they should sit. If I leave play in the sleeve, will it tighten up once I install the wheels back on the bike??
Thanks!
I had my wheels powder coated and I was going to install new wheel bearings. I want to know how far in should they sit, flush, recessed, should they pinch the sleeve inside, or should there be a little play in the sleeve?? I bought the bearing installer tool. Just want to know where they should sit. If I leave play in the sleeve, will it tighten up once I install the wheels back on the bike??
Thanks!
Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 537
Likes: 120
From: DELMARVA
bearing setup
Follow the procedure in the shop manual about which bearing goes first and how far it goes in the hole.
Both bearings should just barely touch the inner spacer with zero rattling when you push and pull on it. Keep checking the amount of movement as you make them move closer so that you do not go any further than just barely getting rid of the rattle.
The idea is that if both bearing are just touching the spacer then when you chow down on the axel nut and tighten the bearings they will not be able to move any closer to each other because the spacer is there. So that means they will not bind up but will run true.
If you do it wrong and there is rattle then when you squeeze the axel shaft the bearing will receive a squeezing when you tighten the nut which will ruin the bearing right quick. Because nothing is holding the center of the bearings in place.
On the other hand if you keep seating the bearings closer after they already meet at the sleeve then you are bending them inward. That's no good either. Bearings do not like being bent either on the outer race or the inner race.
Harley mechanics mess up bearings quite regularly as the book doesn't say how tight to make the second bearing and how to check the rattle.
Now you know how this spacer works so you should be one of the few guys that does it right. It sure is nice to have sweet running wheels. OK?
Both bearings should just barely touch the inner spacer with zero rattling when you push and pull on it. Keep checking the amount of movement as you make them move closer so that you do not go any further than just barely getting rid of the rattle.
The idea is that if both bearing are just touching the spacer then when you chow down on the axel nut and tighten the bearings they will not be able to move any closer to each other because the spacer is there. So that means they will not bind up but will run true.
If you do it wrong and there is rattle then when you squeeze the axel shaft the bearing will receive a squeezing when you tighten the nut which will ruin the bearing right quick. Because nothing is holding the center of the bearings in place.
On the other hand if you keep seating the bearings closer after they already meet at the sleeve then you are bending them inward. That's no good either. Bearings do not like being bent either on the outer race or the inner race.
Harley mechanics mess up bearings quite regularly as the book doesn't say how tight to make the second bearing and how to check the rattle.
Now you know how this spacer works so you should be one of the few guys that does it right. It sure is nice to have sweet running wheels. OK?
Last edited by rleedeuce; Oct 19, 2014 at 04:10 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
From:
Follow the procedure in the shop manual about which bearing goes first and how far it goes in the hole.
Both bearings should just barely touch the inner spacer with zero rattling when you push and pull on it. Keep checking the amount of movement as you make them move closer so that you do not go any further than just barely getting rid of the rattle.
The idea is that if both bearing are just touching the spacer then when you chow down on the axel nut and tighten the bearings they will not be able to move any closer to each other because the spacer is there. So that means they will not bind up but will run true.
If you do it wrong and there is rattle then when you squeeze the axel shaft the bearing will receive a squeezing when you tighten the nut which will ruin the bearing right quick. Because nothing is holding the center of the bearings in place.
On the other hand if you keep seating the bearings closer after they already meet at the sleeve then you are bending them inward. That's no good either. Bearings do not like being bent either on the outer race or the inner race.
Harley mechanics mess up bearings quite regularly as the book doesn't say how tight to make the second bearing and how to check the rattle.
Now you know how this spacer works so you should be one of the few guys that does it right. It sure is nice to have sweet running wheels. OK?
Both bearings should just barely touch the inner spacer with zero rattling when you push and pull on it. Keep checking the amount of movement as you make them move closer so that you do not go any further than just barely getting rid of the rattle.
The idea is that if both bearing are just touching the spacer then when you chow down on the axel nut and tighten the bearings they will not be able to move any closer to each other because the spacer is there. So that means they will not bind up but will run true.
If you do it wrong and there is rattle then when you squeeze the axel shaft the bearing will receive a squeezing when you tighten the nut which will ruin the bearing right quick. Because nothing is holding the center of the bearings in place.
On the other hand if you keep seating the bearings closer after they already meet at the sleeve then you are bending them inward. That's no good either. Bearings do not like being bent either on the outer race or the inner race.
Harley mechanics mess up bearings quite regularly as the book doesn't say how tight to make the second bearing and how to check the rattle.
Now you know how this spacer works so you should be one of the few guys that does it right. It sure is nice to have sweet running wheels. OK?
They were stock wheels that i had powder coated. I have a manual but it doesnt say how deep the bearings should sit on either side. I tried to even them out as best as possible. I was barely off, so the wheel wouldnt slide in. I had to adjust them a little bit. This is cause of the sprocket, its fixed in place.
So in case anyone is going to replace their bearings... Have the sprocket side bearing fit right up to the spacer thats on the sprocket. If its too deep, then the bearing on the other side will sit too far out which will make your spacer sit too far out and the wheel wont slide in.
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 69
From: Centerville, ohio
On one side the bearing should bottom out to set the spacing. It's the one that needs installed first. On the front it happens to be the left, primary or shallow pocket side. On the rear the right side is first. Install the bearing till it bottoms out, flip it over install the sleeve and other bearing. You should tighten it down until it stops against the sleeve.
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