Mag wheel out of round? Bearings misaligned?
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Cruiser
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From: SoCal
Mag wheel out of round? Bearings misaligned?
Im restoring an 09 street glide, it had pulsing front brakes so I rebuilt the calipers, put on fresh floating rotors and pads, I also rebuilt the front forks, restored the corroded finish on the front wheel and installed new wheel bearings, but soon, the pulsing came back. It looks like the brake rotors are a little bit off, but also the wheel is off too. Could it be the bearings are sitting crooked in their sockets?
What is the fix for this? (Video below)
What is the fix for this? (Video below)
Last edited by Scottyxbones; Oct 28, 2025 at 05:40 AM.
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Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Honah Lee
The wheel itself is probably from mounting a tire damage. Probably can be fixed maybe in a trueing stand. (Then bending it)
Harleys' cast and turned aluminum rims are light and easly bent from being rough with them mounting a tire by careless mechanics.
Probably a lot safer to replace it. Check it carefully for cracks if you start repairing it.
Is the replacement rotor new? Looks like a lathe turned finish rather then the Blanchard ground (AKA tub grinder) finish.
Also, the rotor apears to be a floating rotor. Can you move it enough by hand to true it?
If so, the caliper pads will do it.
However the rotor appears like it has some wave in it...not just out of being flat. Put a micrometer on it and see if it's the same thickness around it. Be sure it's above minimum thickness stamped on it.
Inspect it with your indicator at the wheel with the rotor off.
You install the wheel bearings? How did bores look? One side bottoms in bore. Other side pressed to and stops on center spacer. If the bearing bores looked good, your probably OK.
My guess is if you have a 1" axle, that size bearing has 0.0002 play in a grease packed sealed bearing.
By the time you get out to the outer rim, you can see some play on your indicator. However, it's not much more.
If you bottomed that one bearing, and hubs bores looked good, I think you have other issues I mentioned at first in this post.
Harleys' cast and turned aluminum rims are light and easly bent from being rough with them mounting a tire by careless mechanics.
Probably a lot safer to replace it. Check it carefully for cracks if you start repairing it.
Is the replacement rotor new? Looks like a lathe turned finish rather then the Blanchard ground (AKA tub grinder) finish.
Also, the rotor apears to be a floating rotor. Can you move it enough by hand to true it?
If so, the caliper pads will do it.
However the rotor appears like it has some wave in it...not just out of being flat. Put a micrometer on it and see if it's the same thickness around it. Be sure it's above minimum thickness stamped on it.
Inspect it with your indicator at the wheel with the rotor off.
You install the wheel bearings? How did bores look? One side bottoms in bore. Other side pressed to and stops on center spacer. If the bearing bores looked good, your probably OK.
My guess is if you have a 1" axle, that size bearing has 0.0002 play in a grease packed sealed bearing.
By the time you get out to the outer rim, you can see some play on your indicator. However, it's not much more.
If you bottomed that one bearing, and hubs bores looked good, I think you have other issues I mentioned at first in this post.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Oct 28, 2025 at 06:17 AM.
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super +1 mr. jp
think of a tetter-totter and the fulcurm. the further from the axis the more the movement, reason why a lot of people get blown away when the see movement on a clutch basket.
a bent side on the upper part of the rim will not cause a problem and trying to fix it will an accident waiting to happen, the reason why rim shops do not do mc rims. when you move the base metal, it will never return especially with cast and some aluminum alloys.
pulsing in the lever suggests a rotor that has diff metal characteristic in spots and the pad glides over it and the friction changes and reverts back when the pad passes it. also a wrapped rotor that exceed the float characteristics of the caliper that allows pressure changes in the clamping force. then there are the floating disks that can have issues with the holding points especially with the round types, reason why high quality rotors are more trapezoid in shape.
if you are getting pulse in the steering, look for alignment issues which also includes the bearings. if you have a spinning bearing there will be other tells.
think of a tetter-totter and the fulcurm. the further from the axis the more the movement, reason why a lot of people get blown away when the see movement on a clutch basket.
a bent side on the upper part of the rim will not cause a problem and trying to fix it will an accident waiting to happen, the reason why rim shops do not do mc rims. when you move the base metal, it will never return especially with cast and some aluminum alloys.
pulsing in the lever suggests a rotor that has diff metal characteristic in spots and the pad glides over it and the friction changes and reverts back when the pad passes it. also a wrapped rotor that exceed the float characteristics of the caliper that allows pressure changes in the clamping force. then there are the floating disks that can have issues with the holding points especially with the round types, reason why high quality rotors are more trapezoid in shape.
if you are getting pulse in the steering, look for alignment issues which also includes the bearings. if you have a spinning bearing there will be other tells.
Thread Starter
|
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 210
Likes: 39
From: SoCal
The wheel itself is probably from mounting a tire damage. Probably can be fixed maybe in a trueing stand. (Then bending it)
Harleys' cast and turned aluminum rims are light and easly bent from being rough with them mounting a tire by careless mechanics.
Probably a lot safer to replace it. Check it carefully for cracks if you start repairing it.
Is the replacement rotor new? Looks like a lathe turned finish rather then the Blanchard ground (AKA tub grinder) finish.
Also, the rotor apears to be a floating rotor. Can you move it enough by hand to true it?
If so, the caliper pads will do it.
However the rotor appears like it has some wave in it...not just out of being flat. Put a micrometer on it and see if it's the same thickness around it. Be sure it's above minimum thickness stamped on it.
Inspect it with your indicator at the wheel with the rotor off.
You install the wheel bearings? How did bores look? One side bottoms in bore. Other side pressed to and stops on center spacer. If the bearing bores looked good, your probably OK.
My guess is if you have a 1" axle, that size bearing has 0.0002 play in a grease packed sealed bearing.
By the time you get out to the outer rim, you can see some play on your indicator. However, it's not much more.
If you bottomed that one bearing, and hubs bores looked good, I think you have other issues I mentioned at first in this post.
Harleys' cast and turned aluminum rims are light and easly bent from being rough with them mounting a tire by careless mechanics.
Probably a lot safer to replace it. Check it carefully for cracks if you start repairing it.
Is the replacement rotor new? Looks like a lathe turned finish rather then the Blanchard ground (AKA tub grinder) finish.
Also, the rotor apears to be a floating rotor. Can you move it enough by hand to true it?
If so, the caliper pads will do it.
However the rotor appears like it has some wave in it...not just out of being flat. Put a micrometer on it and see if it's the same thickness around it. Be sure it's above minimum thickness stamped on it.
Inspect it with your indicator at the wheel with the rotor off.
You install the wheel bearings? How did bores look? One side bottoms in bore. Other side pressed to and stops on center spacer. If the bearing bores looked good, your probably OK.
My guess is if you have a 1" axle, that size bearing has 0.0002 play in a grease packed sealed bearing.
By the time you get out to the outer rim, you can see some play on your indicator. However, it's not much more.
If you bottomed that one bearing, and hubs bores looked good, I think you have other issues I mentioned at first in this post.
but
The whole wheel had corrosion, even inside where the bearing races sit, not a ton, but maybe enough to misalign the bearings? Is there any way to check at home if the bearings are misaligned to the wheel or do I have to take it to a machine shop? Both the wheel and the rotors have a wobble, wouldnt that mean its the bearings causing it? Or is it more likely the wheel and rotors are all warped?
replacement rotors and pads were new (about 250 mi I put on since then) yes they float, I tried knocking the high spots a little bit with a mallet, didnt seem to change anything, I didnt want to get too rough with them and put a crack in em. Micrometer shows the same thickness all the way around. Indicator at the wheel where the rotor mounts shows minimal movement, its like .002, consistent with the more dramatic movement at the rotors edges. I installed the bearings myself, left side pressed in till it bottomed and right side painstakingly pressed in little by little till it bottomed against the spacer but not too much to side load it
With the calipers mounted, the brakes drag and the wheel will only spin a half turn before stopping no matter how hard I push
Last edited by Scottyxbones; Nov 2, 2025 at 08:01 PM.
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38,414
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From: Honah Lee
A machine shop would eat up the cost of a new rim messing with it and still not fix the issue if bearing bores are the issue.
Obviously, you can't live with the wheel running out so much wheel stops by the pads grabbing it when you spin it.
However it not unusual to fill a litte drag in places.
Obviously, you can't live with the wheel running out so much wheel stops by the pads grabbing it when you spin it.
However it not unusual to fill a litte drag in places.
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