Rear wheel bearings

Is there any info here (or anywhere else) on replacing rear wheel bearings on a 06 FZ6? I'm getting this weird howling noise from my rear wheel that gets worse at speed. I'm not 100% it's a bearing problem but it couldn't hurt to change them out anyway. Looks like there's a seal on either side, and I'm assuming it's pressed in? Is there a service manual available for download anywhere? TIA


Brandon

Are you sure it's has nothing to do with your rear brake?

CanadianFZ6 said:

Are you sure it's has nothing to do with your rear brake?

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That's a good question. Originally I thought it was a tire noise. Both tires were severely worn, and pretty choppy. I replaced both tires, cleaned and lubed the chain, and I still have the exact same noise. Brakes looked fine when I had the wheels off.

When I put the bike on the center stand I don't feel any looseness in the wheel, but that doesn't mean the bearing isn't making noise. I was thinking of replacing the chain and sprockets too, but this is all a stab in the dark at this point.

How about the chain... It's age? Does it bind or have kinks? Maybe it is rubbing on plastics or the chain wear guards on the swingarm?

Here are the instructions on how to replace wheel bearings on the FZ6 (both front and rear).


As said above, there are some things that could cause the grinding/howling noise:

• wheel bearings
• rear brake (disc or brake pads)
• chain and sprocket
• alignment of the wheel

Any one of these can cause your symptoms.
I'd suggest to start looking if the alignment is 100% correct, especially since you said you had the tires replaced.

Grtz,


Degake

I would say that from previous experience rear wheel alignment is the number one cause of the majority of howling noises and excessive vibration from the rear of motorcycles in general, the FZ included. I personally would definitely have a good look at this area prior to going down the wheel bearing route.


As previously mentioned :thumbup:, its also well worth checking;


Chain lubrication,

Sprocket wear (both front and rear),

Chain wear/tightness/stretch,

- If a chain is overstretched it will no longer mesh properly with the sprocket teeth, more common on motocross bikes as their chains tend to stretch at a faster rate, but is still a possibility. A guide to measuring the stretch of the chain can be found in the owners manual.

This is quite a common occurence when new sprockets are fitted with an old chain, something worth considering if you've recently changed sprockets?


Hope this helps,

Yamahaboyz

Thanks for the responses all! I see the string method of aligning the rear wheel, so since its free I'll start there. Now that I think about it, I didn't notice this noise until I adjusted the chain. Judging by the hash marks by the axle all is straight, but let's see what the string method says. I'll post back with results.

This bike has about 11k on it, not ridden hard at all, what's average life expectancy of bearings, chain, and sprockets? (I'm still a little new to bikes)

Truth said:

This bike has about 11k on it, not ridden hard at all, what's average life expectancy of bearings, chain, and sprockets? (I'm still a little new to bikes)

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Bearing life expectancies are quite hard to predict, however you can check for wear.

You may be familiar with this already, but incase you haven't come across it;

With the wheel off the ground, one hand placed on top of the tyre, and one on the bottom of the tyre, try to 'wobble' the wheel slowly, pushing away with one hand, and pulling towards youself with the other repeatidly in opposite directions, repeat with one hand on the rear and one on the front of the tyre, if you feel any slack (normally feels like a small quite defined clunk), providing the axle is torqued to specs, your wheel bearings are worn and should be replaced. Once you've felt a worn bearing this way you'll know exactly what your looking for in the future, very distinctive.


Chain and sprockets wise, life expectancy is really down to how they are maintained, and again is quite difficult to predict.

In this thread 'http://www.600riders.com/forum/garage-mechanical-help/37970-chain-cracking-under-load-take-off-2.html' there's a picture of the front sprocket that has covered 51,000 km, from what I can see from the picture, it looks like its about time for it to be replaced as the teeth are quite worn and are starting to resemble a 'hook' type shape. Does show how long chain and sprockets can last though :thumbup:.


Hope this helps,

Yamahaboyz

I'd vote for chain tension as the main issue. It's likely on the tight side and these like them on the loose side and clean and well lubed otherwise the gear box whines. . . . Yes, been there and done that (loosen it). . .

If that fails, do the string align and test drive. If that fails, the wheel can be pulled in a matter of minutes and you can feel the bearing with your finger tips. They should be smooth with ZERO catches. There is also a needle roller bearing in the hub. Make sure you don't contaminate it when pulling stuff apart.

If a bearing is rough = noise and opt for replacing it. But I must say, I doubt thats it unless the bike was ridden through rivers and streams or pressure washed a few times where the BLAST was directed right at the rear seal.

Anyway - if you pull the caliper to inspect it, you're one nut away from pulling the wheel so pull it and have a look at the bearings.

Oh - don't rely on the hash marks at all. They only get you close.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/how-tos/40463-how-string-align-your-rear-wheel.html

Ok... I did the string align on the wheels. Took me a bit to get it just right. Every time I had the wheel where I wanted, the chain wound up way too tight. After fiddling with it a bit I got it dead on. Tightened the lock nuts, torqued the axle down and took for a test ride. No noise up to 50 mph (as fast as I can go in front of work) The real test will be the ride home on the highway tonight. But here's what I don't get... According to the hash marks on the swing arm I'm off by quite a bit.

Truth said:

Ok... I did the string align on the wheels. Took me a bit to get it just right. Every time I had the wheel where I wanted, the chain wound up way too tight. After fiddling with it a bit I got it dead on. Tightened the lock nuts, torqued the axle down and took for a test ride. No noise up to 50 mph (as fast as I can go in front of work) The real test will be the ride home on the highway tonight. But here's what I don't get... According to the hash marks on the swing arm I'm off by quite a bit.

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A good test to do to see if the back wheel is aligned is "the hands off" test... Get up to about 20 ~ or so mph and carefully take your hands off the bars... If the bike veers left or right, then the back wheel is out of alignment...

usually you can check by putting your bike on the centerstand, wiggle the wheel side-to-side and check for movement. next, spin the wheel and check for notchy-ess.

i'd be very surprised if there was a bearing problem on this bike unless you have very high miles, like more than 50k mi.

on a bmw f800gs, on the other hand, there are some wheel bearing failures.
it happened to my friend's 2011 bike, which had less than 5k mi on it.
dented rim, too. both warranteed.

Truth said:

Ok... I did the string align on the wheels. ......
No noise up to 50 mph (as fast as I can go in front of work) ... According to the hash marks on the swing arm I'm off by quite a bit.

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Explain; what you saw and what you did an maybe how you left it.
Should be an equal count on th hash marks its the gap in between the marks that's enough to screw it up. . .

FinalImpact said:

Explain; what you saw and what you did an maybe how you left it.
Should be an equal count on th hash marks its the gap in between the marks that's enough to screw it up. . .

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I left the bike at home today so I'll double check The hash marks when I get out of work.

I taped string to the rear tire at 5o'clock, ran the string under the bike, through the center stand, and out by the front wheel. Steered front wheel straight ahead, the placed a car rim right in front of the front wheel. Tied bolts to the end of the string and let them hand through holes in wheel. That way I could place the string right against the rear tire without touching anything else. Took a tape measure to the rotor and measured out to the string. I played with it for a while until I got it equal, tightened everything up and then noticed the difference in the hash marks. Took it for a ride anyway, and felt fine, but I can still hear the same noise at speed and it's annoying as hell.

Riding down the road (at any speed) I can let go of the bars, and it tracks straight down the road with no input from me.

I'm thinking I'm going to go ahead and replace the bearing. I've checked it every way possible and there's no rough spots, no play in the wheel, but if this was a car it sounds exactly like an automotive hub bearing noise.

How much slack is in your chain and is it clean and WELL oiled?

Too much tension and it makes the gear box whine. I run mine at the max limit on the loose side and it really dropped the gear box whine. Its huge difference!

How many miles on the bike and has it ever been under water? I mean even with 40,000 miles, i doubt a bearing would go bad on these. Not that it can't. Loosen the chain and try it.

First off I'd like to say thank you all so much for the replies... Now... On to me being a dumbass.

I should preface this by saying this is my second bike, and my first was a shaftie. Reading the responses at work today while thinking what happened right before this noise started. I was out riding and caught my reflection in a building and it looked like my chain was flapping around like mad. So I got home and snugged it up. THEN I heard the whine noise. You guessed it, I had the darn thing a bit too tight. I came home today, loosened everything up, aligned it, and left the chain a bit on the loose side. Test rode on the highway and noise gone... Finally.

What really gets me is that after I mounted the new tires I tensioned it too tight AGAIN! But, all is resolved now. I'm used to cars, and the only chains I deal with are timing chains, so that's pretty much how I tightened it without taking into account the suspension needs to be able to move.

Big thanks to you all. Now I'm finally ready for my 400 mile ride tomorrow.

Truth said:

First off I'd like to say thank you all so much for the replies... Now... On to me being a dumbass.

I should preface this by saying this is my second bike, and my first was a shaftie. Reading the responses at work today while thinking what happened right before this noise started. I was out riding and caught my reflection in a building and it looked like my chain was flapping around like mad. So I got home and snugged it up. THEN I heard the whine noise. You guessed it, I had the darn thing a bit too tight. I came home today, loosened everything up, aligned it, and left the chain a bit on the loose side. Test rode on the highway and noise gone... Finally.

What really gets me is that after I mounted the new tires I tensioned it too tight AGAIN! But, all is resolved now. I'm used to cars, and the only chains I deal with are timing chains, so that's pretty much how I tightened it without taking into account the suspension needs to be able to move.

Big thanks to you all. Now I'm finally ready for my 400 mile ride tomorrow.

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Glad that healed it! Another Happy Beginning!!! :thumbup: