Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Wheel Bearings Anyone? Need Feedback.

Hey all. My 06 TBA has 185XX miles on it and the rear wheel bearings have gone out. Its the two in the wheel. The one in the drive plate seems to be fine.

My questions to you all are:

1. Does 18Kmiles seem short on miles for wheel bearings?

2. For you dealers... Should wheel bearings at just 18k fall under warranty?

The following questions apply if should the answer to question 2 is no.

3. I just put my second set of rubber on. Is there anything that I might have done or not done that could have promoted this situation? I've been working on stuff since I was 8 so I already know to keep the dirt and sand out while the wheel is off of the bike. There is grease all inside the hub but I never tried to pack any more in seeing that the bearings are sealed.

4. Does anyone know a part number for a standard bearing replacement or am I condemned to go through Triumph for these parts.

5. Do you have any suggestions for the best way to remove the old bearings? I have the means to press them back in once I've gotten them out.

6. Is there anything else you might suggest to someone in my situation?

Thats it ya'll. I surely appreciate your responses. With my TBA temporarily disabled, I've been forced back onto my old Suzuki. Now I got Suzuki all over me and I'll have to get shower. Naw, I really like my old 82 Suzi. With her age, I just want to limit the miles.

Hope you all had a great ride today.

Hubert

18,000 does seem premature. Look at the bearings there should be numbers on them. Those numbers should cross reference and allow you to order them at most anywhere you can get bearings.
I kind of doubt you did this but if you over tighten the rear wheel you could put too much pressure on the bearing causing more rapid wear. I haven't done bearings on our bikes yet so I am not sure of the whole procedure, but have done many others. There is normally a threaded retainer or a snap ring holing them in place with a spacer behind the bearing. remove what ever type retainer there is.In some cases you can press the whole bit right through. In other cases a slide hammer with a hook end on it made for this type of job ,work the hook around to pull it out straight. There are other variations but thats basicly it. There are also pullers out there for this task.

Thanks Dog. Happy Trails!

From the Tech Vault:

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...true#Post193744

Thank you Earl. I never thought about the tech vault.

Upon closer examination, I have only one bearing that went bad on the side the brake rotor is on. It appears that something hit the outside seal, on the bearing itself, hard enough to cause it to pop off. The loose seal was not visible because it was hiden by the outer wheel seal. There is a visible mark on the bearing seal. I suppose I could have done it at some point, but most likely it was damaged during the mfg. process. However, that is purely speculation.

I road several hundred miles one day last summer pushing through a heavy rain storm and probably started the process of washing the grease out of the bearing. Several weeks ago I began to notice a vibration when turning into the driveway at home, and other slow corner situations, which probably was an indicator that something was going wrong. Since I had just put new tires on, I assumed the vibration was from the tire tread.

The generic bearing number is 6304LU. I'll pick one up tomorrow morning and be back on the road by afternoon.

Thanks to those who offered guidance during this issue. Problem solved. No need for any more posts to this thread.

HD