Rear Wheel Bearing?

[AustinPhoenix]

Hey all,

I had a tube put in my rear wheel by a local dealership, and one of the techs grabbed me from the show room to "have me look at something."

When I walked up on the tech working on my wheel...that should have told me enough...what needs to be worked on?! Anyways...he had some pliers and was trying to remove a ring from the center of the wheel. It was rocking back and forth. I think it's the oil seal ring?? An older tech said he needed to remove it to balance the wheel...it didn't sound right to me. He said my bearings are bad and I should order some new ones but since the bike is so old, they wouldn't be able to do the work. Duh!

I didn't notice it being wobbly or loose when I removed it from my bike or loaded it into my car. Idiots probably screwed it up somehow. ..

Now looking at my rear wheel, I've noticed there's kind of a sleeve for the axle that has fallen down a bit inside the wheel. Has anybody taken the rear wheel apart? What should I look for as far as any damage is concerned?

[AustinPhoenix]

oh yeah

The ring is on the left side if you're sitting on the bike (the side that connects to the final drive hub).

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Austin,

Check out this recent thread about the rear wheel bearing for info about what is needed to replace it, the spacer inbetween the bearings, etc.!


Also, see
THIS TECH TIP on replacing the rear wheel bearings that Gary Granger posted years ago!!
T.C.

[NemisusDM]

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...threadid=17928

[planedick]

Learned lesson?

NEVER take your bike to a stealer that has techs younger than your bike. It is EXTREMELY rare that a shop anywhere has anyone there that knows anything about these rockets and you will almost always get screwed.

[John]

That is why I alway tell peope to find an independent bike shop, one that has some older mechanics. Chances are they will have a mech that has not only heard of an XS11, but may have actually worked on a few of them. I'm not going to, nor do I mean to, rap dealership mechs, but many of them are too young to have ever worked on these bikes, and aren't aware of some of the intracasies of older bikes. They know so much more than I do about fuel injection, engine control computers, ABS, and anything else on modern bikes, and I won't take that away from them. It's just that the shops see these old bikes as not worthy of quality work, or they need so much work, that the work would be prohibitivly expensive at dealership labor rates. $70-80 per hour? A few years ago, I brought a friend's Xs11 back to life, and I had over 50 manhours in the bike. I kept a log of my time spent on each task. My labor rate was $30 an hour. That's $1500 just in labor, not to mention the special tools and parts used, like tires, battery, M/C and caliper kits, carb parts, and the like. The bike wasn't worth $1500, and I, (having a heart) couldn't charge him that kind of money for repairs to a bike that wasn't worth that much, so I cut the labor charge in half, and kept all the special tools that I had to purchase to do the job. The owner only rode it a few times after that, and now it sits under a tarp in his carport...the same way it was when I got it. Shame...all that money spent, and it sits deteriorating, again. It hasn't been started in over a year.
I don't know if I would fix it for him again, knowing that it would just sit again. It seems like all that effort just went down the drain. I know I got paid for the work, so why should I care what he does with it? Because that was MY sweat and busted knuckles on that bike, and to think that all that time and effort was wasted...and would be wasted again. I take pride in my work, and was quite proud of what I was able to do with this bike, only to see it ignored for years.

[AustinPhoenix]

John, I know...

I'm 25. My bike is older than I am, and I'm older than most of the techs there. I love all things that are vintage.

I brought the bike back to life with my bare hands...and sometimes fingertips tapping on a keyboard while being on this site. I love this site.

The ONLY thing I didn't do on my own was the tire because I already tried, pinched the tube, and just wanted to get a new tube put in. For $15, that wasn't a bad deal...at least to me. There were two older techs that instantly knew what an XS was. Asked me if it was a Special or Standard. One rode a V-max, the other rode an old BMW. I thought one of them would do it...but they passed the job off to Junior. He was tugging and pulling at a peice saying, "I can almost get it out." when the older guys said, "Uh, don't do that."

Sigh...

Trust me John...lesson learned. Lesson learned.

[AustinPhoenix]

Good news

My local Yamaha dealership just sold me the last left wheel bearing they had. $40.

So there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[Shuriken]

Originally posted by John
A few years ago, I brought a friend's Xs11 back to life, and I had over 50 manhours in the bike. I kept a log of my time spent on each task. My labor rate was $30 an hour. That's $1500 just in labor, not to mention the special tools and parts used, like tires, battery, M/C and caliper kits, carb parts, and the like. The bike wasn't worth $1500, and I, (having a heart) couldn't charge him that kind of money for repairs to a bike that wasn't worth that much, so I cut the labor charge in half, and kept all the special tools that I had to purchase to do the job. The owner only rode it a few times after that, and now it sits under a tarp in his carport...the same way it was when I got it. Shame...all that money spent, and it sits deteriorating, again. It hasn't been started in over a year.
I don't know if I would fix it for him again, knowing that it would just sit again. It seems like all that effort just went down the drain. I know I got paid for the work, so why should I care what he does with it? Because that was MY sweat and busted knuckles on that bike, and to think that all that time and effort was wasted...and would be wasted again. I take pride in my work, and was quite proud of what I was able to do with this bike, only to see it ignored for years.

I feel your pain.

My friend drops his 4-wheeler off complaining about carb problems. I go through the carb for him, readjust idle, etc.... quad runs great. I ride it and it has great power. Just needs to warm up a bit before riding. He comes and gets it and takes it to the dunes. Decides he isn't satisfied with it and adjusts idle speed so high that the pilots aren't really even in play.....

Another friend of mine parked his 82 Honda in 1998 because it stopped firing on all 4. I come to town 10 years later and spend hours on his bike fixing it up for him. Carbs, electrics, etc. Ride it to his house on his birthday and then he parks it all winter, runs the battery dead, etc....

Yet another friend of mine gets a Honda Sabre 750. Great bike. But too much bike for him. He crashes it, wakes up in the hospital. Bike is jacked. Many years later he decides he wants to ride again. I gave him a parts list, which he ordered. I put his bike back together. Go through the carbs (really sucks getting these on and off on Honda V4s). Bike runs fantastic. Ride it back to his garage, where it sits, unridden, a year later.

I haven't asked for any money from my "friends." I always repay my friends if they do something for me. I guess I'm hoping they will have the same attitude sometime, but it isn't happening.

I guess the old saying still applies - "never lend money to a friend."

[NemisusDM]

Hey Guys,

I just ordered the last dozen NA 5904's so if you need one just let me know and I will send it to you at cost when they get in. It'll be about 10 days till I get them.
They are about $37.00 each but, I will know better when the bill arrives.

PM me if you need one and I will hold one for you.

[webbcraft2150]

I don't know which dealer you went to but Bill Kasson Yamaha on South Congress actually stocks parts and everyone I have dealt with there knows what a XS11 is. My top choice for ANY work I would let someone else do is Zabors on Burnet Rd. He ONLY works on bikes and does not sell them. He knows the quirks of the XS11 and really seems to appreciate old iron. He kicked butt on everyone else in town when it came to buying tires to. Last time I was at his shop, he had everything from a XL350 to a 'Busa parked out front.

[AustinPhoenix]

It wasn't Kassons!

Bill is awesome! It was a Honda dealership next to my house in Kyle. Nice guys. I just needed an inspection and the tire put on. They said it wouldn't be a problem if the tire was off the bike.

No matter which Kasson picks up the phone, they always know about the XS11s. I always recommend them. Good prices. Good people. Good bikes.