Bearing Seizing

[FJrider1]

How would you know if your front bearing's are ready to seize? I mounted a front road pilot last year (which btw has cupped badly) and had some problems getting the tire to balance. While riding the bike seems to hold back, probably in the back of my mind I'm thinking I'm pushing the tire along as opposed to wheeling freely... I've had a buddy push down on the rear while I spin the front but hard to tell with the brakes dragging.

I've had rear tires seize which you know about right away...

Thanks guys!

 

[radman]

How would you know if your front bearing's are ready to seize? I mounted a front road pilot last year (which btw has cupped badly) and had some problems getting the tire to balance. While riding the bike seems to hold back, probably in the back of my mind I'm thinking I'm pushing the tire along as opposed to wheeling freely... I've had a buddy push down on the rear while I spin the front but hard to tell with the brakes dragging.
I've had rear tires seize which you know about right away...

Thanks guys!

If I suspected a problem with the front wheel, I would, ummm, remove the wheel.

 

[FJRMGM]

take the wheel off, stick your finger in the bearing hole and spin the bearing with your finger, if you can spin the bearing easily with no "grinding" or "rough" feel to the spin you are most likely OK.

If ou feel grinding or rough - replace the bearing.

Sometimes you can just jack up the front wheel on the bike and spin it an listen but the old "finger in the hole" routine lets you feel the roughness.

 

[markjenn]

How would you know if your front bearing's are ready to seize? I mounted a front road pilot last year (which btw has cupped badly) and had some problems getting the tire to balance. While riding the bike seems to hold back, probably in the back of my mind I'm thinking I'm pushing the tire along as opposed to wheeling freely... I've had a buddy push down on the rear while I spin the front but hard to tell with the brakes dragging.

Any bearing problem bad enough to be detected from the saddle, would be severe enought that you'd notcie incredibly bad handling, looseness in the front end, bearings glowing in the dark due to heat, etc. What you're probably experiencing is the slight lean surge that all our bikes do to some degree or other, solvable by a PC if it bothers you.

Yes, the way you confirm bearing problems is to unload the wheel and check for smooth rotation, grittiness, and play. You could remove the brake calipers, although if I did this, I'd probably just remove the wheel and check it on the bench.

It's very unreliable to depend on free wheel bearing movement to do wheel balancing. Any good balancing stand should include it's own bearings so that the axle can rotate freely independent of the wheel bearings.

- Mark

 

[PerfectBlueride]

take the wheel off, stick your finger in the bearing hole and spin the bearing with your finger, if you can spin the bearing easily with no "grinding" or "rough" feel to the spin you are most likely OK.
If ou feel grinding or rough - replace the bearing.

Sometimes you can just jack up the front wheel on the bike and spin it an listen but the old "finger in the hole" routine lets you feel the roughness.

If you finger comes out bloody you have a problem

 

[FJrider1]

If you finger comes out bloody you have a problem

Hey Perfectblue, you and radman buddys??? :drinks:

You have the best advice! :lol:

I'll take BOTH your advice though!

Thanks!

 

[Bananas]

Years ago, I had a 1945 side valve 74. Suspected that the front wheel bearings were bad. I used the fingers in the hole method. Put the fingers in the holes and rolled the tire on the floor to get it spinning. As it turns out the bearings were bad, but with bad bearings, I almost twisted my fingers off. Be careful when you do this.

Bananas!

 

[TWILKIN650]

Front wheel bearings on my '05 went south at about 2000 miles. Tip off was the noise from the front wheel at low speed. Sounds like a threshing machine in a stone quarry.

 

[Bounce]

Pilot Road cupping? What PSI are you running? 41 - 42 should stop that.

Do you use a car wash or any sort of pressure washer, or blow dry the bike? If so that could cause early bearing death.

 

[ionbeam]

I've had a buddy push down on the rear while I spin the front but hard to tell with the brakes dragging.

You're going to have to pull the front wheel at some point and in order to get the wheel off you will need to spread the front brakes apart. So, go ahead and spread the front brakes(!) and then repeat the buddy push/tire spin. If the front wheel turns effortlessly, with no noise you have found your problem -- clean and service your front brakes. If the front tire does not spin effortlessly and/or makes noise you have found your problem -- pull the front wheel and service the bearings. Unless, the front wheel was, ahem, not installed properly. Those pesky spacers and ABS covers have a way of ending up in all the wrong places