rear tire movement

[RICH7196]

99 R1100RT.. changed FD gear oil, was clean.. no metal, etc.. just did a check and low and behold i have a very very slight movement at the 12/6 test.

pushed rear brake and its still there.. when i grab for the 12/6 test i hear a little click.. like i said, i change my FD gear oil every 3k (yes paranoid).. it was very clean, no smudge, or anything.. please advise.. thank you.

 

[pglaves]

If you feel it with the brake on - clamping the wheel to the final drive - it is not in the final drive. It is movement in the paralever pivot bearings. If clamping the brake on does make the movement go away then it is likely to be in the final drive itself.

 

[RICH7196]

so even with no metal , no shavings, no sludge in final drive gear oil, : with clamping the rear brake and feeling movement.. its sill the final drive?

also.. i can only make the wheel move from the side of exhaust.. which explains why i couldn't feel it in the past.. because i have only check the 3/9, 6/12 from the other side.. when i say little movement , i mean just a hair.. but i also here a clicking sound.. & if i brought this bike to a bmw dealer, i have no doubt they would not feel it..

i have to tell you, this is my 3rd FD.. with 2 failures before this one.. 1 mechanic rebuilt the 1st one, only to have it fail; happened to have a 2nd failure where 1st mechanic "fixed".. so he did it again .. so.. with new tires in my immediate future.. I'm now thinking of getting rid of bike.

should i keep riding, get the new tires and live with it? not sure what to do at this point.. thats why i change with FD oil every 3k.. to see if there are any shavings in it..

 

[pglaves]

so even with no metal , no shavings, no sludge in final drive gear oil, : with clamping the rear brake and feeling movement.. its sill the final drive?

also.. i can only make the wheel move from the side of exhaust.. which explains why i couldn't feel it in the past.. because i have only check the 3/9, 6/12 from the other side.. when i say little movement , i mean just a hair.. but i also here a clicking sound.. & if i brought this bike to a bmw dealer, i have no doubt they would not feel it..

i have to tell you, this is my 3rd FD.. with 2 failures before this one.. 1 mechanic rebuilt the 1st one, only to have it fail; happened to have a 2nd failure where 1st mechanic "fixed".. so he did it again .. so.. with new tires in my immediate future.. I'm now thinking of getting rid of bike.

should i keep riding, get the new tires and live with it? not sure what to do at this point.. thats why i change with FD oil every 3k.. to see if there are any shavings in it..

No. If you feel movement with the brake clamped on the movement is not in the final drive. It is in the paralever bearings or long shot, the swingarm bearings.

 

[PAS]

This is what it looks like when the rear pivot pin bearings go bad. My 2003 R1150RT with 16,800 miles. Wheel and brake caliper removed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Mik7osfTM&feature=youtu.be

 

[RICH7196]

Thanks Paul, should I keep riding or replace paralever bearings ASAP?

 

[cycleman2]

Have a look at the paralever bearings if the rest of rear end checks out. Not hard to check and easy to replace. It could also be that they need to be preloaded on the left side ( as you sit on the bike). As the bearing wears the preload goes away and the whole rear end can start to move. Likely what is going on with yours. If the bearings check out then you can lube & retorque.

These bearings never show up on any BMW maintenance list but it appears that they should be. Those that check them every 25 K miles or so have found that they will last a long time if taken apart, relubed and put back in. Part of the problem is that the paralever bearings only rotate a small amount so the load tends to sit in one area of the bearing. These are very small tapered bearings.

Other options out there instead of bearings, but what I've read, a bit of a mixed bag, so I've stayed with the bearings. I would fix it asap as it won't heal itself and only causes more issues.

 

[RICH7196]

This is what it looks like when the rear pivot pin bearings go bad. My 2003 R1150RT with 16,800 miles. Wheel and brake caliper removed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Mik7osfTM&feature=youtu.be

Wow! That's not what mine is doing , but holy cow.. That's insane

 

[PAS]

Wow! That's not what mine is doing , but holy cow.. That's insane

When I took them apart the plastic cage that holds the bearings in place was broken. I replaced with OEM again.

 

[RICH7196]

i had 2 certified BMW mechanics check rear movement.. they did not feel anything.. i however do,, its really really hard to feel it.. only at 6/12.. and moves with rear brake engaged.. they said keep riding and don't worry.

thoughts? should i leave alone until it gets worse.. or.. have them change out bearings?

 

[pglaves]

i had 2 certified BMW mechanics check rear movement.. they did not feel anything.. i however do,, its really really hard to feel it.. only at 6/12.. and moves with rear brake engaged.. they said keep riding and don't worry.

thoughts? should i leave alone until it gets worse.. or.. have them change out bearings?

Since it is really hard to feel I wouldn't worry about it unless it gets worse.

 

[RICH7196]

thanks again.

 

[m_stock10506]

Take a look at the "Final Drive Minder". If you want to leave it alone for now but you want a way to watch it more closely, this is for you.

See here:
http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=725749

It takes the place of the fill-plug on your final drive. Has a very strong magnet on the end of a probe that dips into the final drive oil. You can check the minder after each ride (if you are OCD). The magnetic tip will capture the normal pasty dust on it, but if your big bearing is starting to fail it will also come out with all of those slivers and particles attached. This should give you comfort when it's clean/normal and it should give you advance warning to get it repaired when it shows signs of a failing bearing.

I have no stake in this, just using one for 5 years - 70K miles (R1100RT).

You should be able to contact Terry here: realshelby@hotmail.com

 

[pglaves]

Take a look at the "Final Drive Minder". If you want to leave it alone for now but you want a way to watch it more closely, this is for you.

See here:
http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=725749

It takes the place of the fill-plug on your final drive. Has a very strong magnet on the end of a probe that dips into the final drive oil. You can check the minder after each ride (if you are OCD). The magnetic tip will capture the normal pasty dust on it, but if your big bearing is starting to fail it will also come out with all of those slivers and particles attached. This should give you comfort when it's clean/normal and it should give you advance warning to get it repaired when it shows signs of a failing bearing.

I have no stake in this, just using one for 5 years - 70K miles (R1100RT).

You should be able to contact Terry here: realshelby@hotmail.com

No argument except the play he has detected is not in the final drive - it is in the paralever pivot bearings. If it was in the drive itself I would advise immediate repair - but it isn't.

 

[pglaves]

Take a look at the "Final Drive Minder". If you want to leave it alone for now but you want a way to watch it more closely, this is for you.

See here:
http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=725749

It takes the place of the fill-plug on your final drive. Has a very strong magnet on the end of a probe that dips into the final drive oil. You can check the minder after each ride (if you are OCD). The magnetic tip will capture the normal pasty dust on it, but if your big bearing is starting to fail it will also come out with all of those slivers and particles attached. This should give you comfort when it's clean/normal and it should give you advance warning to get it repaired when it shows signs of a failing bearing.

I have no stake in this, just using one for 5 years - 70K miles (R1100RT).

You should be able to contact Terry here: realshelby@hotmail.com

No argument except the play he has detected is not in the final drive - it is in the paralever pivot bearings..