Did my rear wheel bearing decide to die prematurely? Video w/ Noise

[KHarper4289]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWZI8-ojMrg&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

Noticed this this morning when backing my bike out of the driveway. Video makes it sound louder and sharper than it is.

Yesterday I put a Penske shock in the rear - cannot say for sure if it was making this noise before that modification.

Things it's not : Chain, rear sprocket, tire hugger.

Things I've done already : Checked chain for tight spots, adjusted the slack, aligned rear wheel, cleaned + lubed. Took off the tire hugger, still makes noise.

Things of note : Does not make any noise at all when on center stand. Bike has never been under water, it spent most of its life in the desert of California, then only recently in my garage up in Oregon. 2007, 9k miles

 

[FinalImpact]

You might apply slow long pressure to the rear caliper to separate the pads. Then pull it back to get the pads off the rotor. Free spin in the air, verify pad to rotor sound is nil and repeat ground test.

Also, add YOUR rider weight to it Beforehand and see if it gets louder!

Next, pull the wheel and inspect the bearings. Apply hand force and feel for roughness. Sprocket carrier bearing should not impact this.

Assembly and leave the chain off the sprocket and pads out of caliper. Torque to spec and repeat roll test. Here you have isolated the bearings from the chain and the transmission....

Report back.
? Positive it is not from the front?

 

[KHarper4289]

You might apply slow long pressure to the rear caliper to separate the pads. Then pull it back to get the pads off the rotor. Free spin in the air, verify pad to rotor sound is nil and repeat ground test.

Also, add YOUR rider weight to it Beforehand and see if it gets louder!

Next, pull the wheel and inspect the bearings. Apply hand force and feel for roughness. Sprocket carrier bearing should not impact this.

Assembly and leave the chain off the sprocket and pads out of caliper. Torque to spec and repeat roll test. Here you have isolated the bearings from the chain and the transmission....

Report back.
? Positive it is not from the front?

100% sure it is not the front. I will take another look at the brakes. I applied brake cleaner and verified the wheel spins free. There is the slight pad-rub sound but it is not even close to enough friction to slow the wheel down.

When placing my hand on the caliper i cannot "feel the noise". However, on the axle I can. Really looking like it's a bearing, which seems unlikely.

I can't think of a way the new shock could be causing this unless it is pulling/pushing on the swingarm in some weird fashion.

Sound is the same with my weight on the bike.

 

[FinalImpact]

What kind of shock and what type of bushings are top and bottom?
The OEM bottom has caged needle bearings and they do go bad which could crunch but would do so from ride height changes vs rolling...

Keep us posted.
PS the right side WB is a sealed roller bearing, the left is another caged needle bearing. Water intrusion could take it out. You'll know for certain when the wheel is out.

 

[KHarper4289]

What kind of shock and what type of bushings are top and bottom?
The OEM bottom has caged needle bearings and they do go bad which could crunch but would do so from ride height changes vs rolling...

Keep us posted.
PS the right side WB is a sealed roller bearing, the left is another caged needle bearing. Water intrusion could take it out. You'll know for certain when the wheel is out.

Penske 8983 - Came with bushings, they were all good going in. I'm dropping it off at the track tomorrow to get the front forks worked on (I wish I knew what I was doing inside those things). I'll get their opinion. If it is wheel bearings, I'll be out $60 but I have a bearing press and a puller so that job won't be very difficult. The bike should not have ever been submerged in water but I can think of a time the water got up near the chain because of flash flooding, promptly moved the bike to high ground - but if a few minutes of exposure are enough to do it in...

 

[KHarper4289]

You might apply slow long pressure to the rear caliper to separate the pads. Then pull it back to get the pads off the rotor. Free spin in the air, verify pad to rotor sound is nil and repeat ground test.

Also, add YOUR rider weight to it Beforehand and see if it gets louder!

Next, pull the wheel and inspect the bearings. Apply hand force and feel for roughness. Sprocket carrier bearing should not impact this.

Assembly and leave the chain off the sprocket and pads out of caliper. Torque to spec and repeat roll test. Here you have isolated the bearings from the chain and the transmission....

Report back.
? Positive it is not from the front?

Hey Finalimpact - You seem knowledgeable about Fork builds

I read that R6S forks are supposed to about 10mm shorter than FZ6 forks. Curious, I compared my R6S forks fully extended to my FZ6 forks fully extended.

There is a lot more than a 10mm difference... It's over an inch in difference. Is that something that is correctable with another rebuild? These things are really starting to piss me off, I wish I didn't buy them.

 

[FinalImpact]

You have to compare apples to apples. Fully topped vs fully compressed. The FZ springs play a roll here as does the physical 13mm loss.
I have them and they are slid up the triple 6 to 8mm so even tho they are shorter, the ride height is all about spring rate and SAG.

Dont worry about and bolt them in. Measure the sag and figure out if you have the right springs
Start a new thread tho!

 

[KHarper4289]

You have to compare apples to apples. Fully topped vs fully compressed. The FZ springs play a roll here as does the physical 13mm loss.
I have them and they are slid up the triple 6 to 8mm so even tho they are shorter, the ride height is all about spring rate and SAG.

Dont worry about and bolt them in. Measure the sag and figure out if you have the right springs
Start a new thread tho!

Alright... Check this out :

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

There is quite a bit of fork missing. I knew I wasn't imagining it when the front end felt outrageously low. My man parts would get some smashing every time I braked.

Missing spacers? Chopped springs inside? What do you think? I'm dropping them off at EDR for a rebuild with stock parts. This is getting expensive...

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Even if the springs were shortened, it should still extend out fully until it stops.

They sure a bit shorter, even with stiffer springs (R6 forks) and lots of sag from the stock forks, it looks like it'd still be short..


Probably too late now, but post #24 shows stock sag, much less sag with air and with operation:
http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/54803-air-assist-fork-caps-3.html

 

[FinalImpact]

Look here and what year did those come from? Something seems wrong... I have pictures when I did mine too. It didnt seem that drastic.

R6 Fork Comparison

 

[FinalImpact]

Alright... Check this out :

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

There is quite a bit of fork missing. I knew I wasn't imagining it when the front end felt outrageously low. My man parts would get some smashing every time I braked.

Missing spacers? Chopped springs inside? What do you think? I'm dropping them off at EDR for a rebuild with stock parts. This is getting expensive...

Not lined up so well but here is a side by side....

 

[KHarper4289]

Not lined up so well but here is a side by side....
[/QUOTE]



I went ahead and returned them. That's a can of worms I don't want to open. I bought some better looking ones that do not have leaky seals (Saved about $150) from a newer model.

Worked out okay I guess!

No idea what happened with the forks - They are over an inch shorter than they should be.

 

[ShoopCE]

Good move to return the short forks. It seems really strange that they'd be like that. Best of luck with the new set.

Did you determine whether the rear wheel bearings were bad?

 

[KHarper4289]

It can't be anything else at this point. I greased them a bit and it went away, I am sure it will be back. I will be ordering them soon as well as some fork seals for my new forks.