Rear Wheel Rubbing

[Jonnyupstairs]

I was about to take my bike(1981 XS1100LH) out for a ride the other day and when I was backing it out I heard a squeaking sound. It turns out that my rear wheel is rubbing on my driveshaft. It touches about 3/4's of it and appears like it has just starting doing it.

A bit of History.
I bought the bike spring of last year, and rode it all summer without any issue. This spring when I brought it out it ran great for about a month, and then I noticed this. I haven't changed the wheel at all, Pressure is normal, tire size is correct. I am not sure what changed since.

I did pull the rear wheel off to see anything odd, which i couldn't. So i put it back on, and it is still rubbing. Could it just be a bearing going? The bike has 37k on it. I have rounded up extra bearings and seals and am thinking I should replace them.

Can anyone tell me how much clearance they have between the driveshaft and the widest part of the tire?

thx

[mro]

Got a manual?

Check that the swing arm is centered.


mro

[mro]

Just went out and took a look at a couple specials, 81 and a 79.
Both have about 1/4 inch clearance.


mro
BTW, welcome to XS land...got any pic's of your MNS?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Johnny,

What brand and size is the rear tire??

The 130/90-16 is the recommended size, but some folks try to get a little more meat in there and put a 140/90 in. IF it has raised white letters, they often rub with that larger size!!!

Hey MRO....sniff, sniff....oooohh brain fart! :P The wheel is going to move with the swingarm assembly, so it really wouldn't matter whether it's centered or not in the frame! UNLESS you're hinting at some irregular wear or drag with it being off center???

I've worn the letters right off of mine, looks like a Harley White Wall now!!!

Check the date stamp on the tire, if it's still only 3-4 years old, and has good tread, then you might want to do the washer shim trick to the rim hub assembly which could space the rim a few mm's to the right away from the swingarm!?
T.C.

[Jonnyupstairs]

Thanks for the welcome

I will check the swing arm when i get home tonight, but i do know that the wheel is the standard 130/90-16 size.

The thing that concerns me now is that measurement that MRO got. I don't think my bike ever had anywhere close to 1/4 inch clearance. Now i'm thinking maybe i am missing a spacer, or have a wrong spacer. I will take some pictures laster tonight. I did read on the forum something about a spacer being a different size for a Standard and a Special, maybe that has something to do with it.

[TopCatGr58]

The spacer is on the right side, the rim hub is a snug fit against the FINAL DRIVE unit on the left, so no affect from the spacer involved in how far it sits to the left!

What brand is the tire, different brands have different profiles even in the same size!?

Yeah, it could be the bearings. You say you lined up a set, did you find the EXTRA WIDE one needed for the left side of the rim, essentially unobtainium...there was a recent post about a new source for them.

Might not be the left one, but the right one which would allow a little more flex that could allow the wheel to turn and rub!?
T.C.

[XSPastor]

TopCat, Is this the bearing he might need?
Ebay item # 120279491764

[Jonnyupstairs]

Ok, I took some pictures tonight and will add them to the bottom of this post. First off the rear tire is a Maxxis Classic 130/90-16. Other then that.. here are the pics, in one i circled the area of the driveshaft where the wheel was rubbing.

[acof911]

Jonnyupstairs,
It seems kind of odd that the tire is only hitting the swingarm thru part of the rotation. I would be looking closely for a tire or rim that might be out of round - are you sure the tire hasn't given up the ghost or (longshot, I know...) isn't seated properly on the rim?
I assume you had the bike up on the centerstand and spun the wheel assy. by hand looking for problems. Did the tire/rim run completely true? It can sometimes be difficult to notice unless you clamp something close to the rim/tire to use as an indicator while spinning the wheel and looking for any problems.

My 2 cents, best of luck to you.

[XSPastor]

I agree with acof. If there's no play in the bearings, then the only two things that could cause this are a bent wheel or defective tire. From the look of the swingarm, this has been happening a while. It may not be as recent a development as you think.

[XSPastor]

Maybe you could take a width measurement of the tire at it the point it is rubbing and we can compare it to ours? Maybe that particular tire has fat sidewalls.

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by XSPastor
TopCat, Is this the bearing he might need?
Ebay item # 120279491764

Hey Pastor,

IT sure looks like the one, but you can check the Tech tips for the wheel bearing change, and verify that it's the same part #, but it sure looks like the double wide one!!
T.C.

[Rasputin]

I do believe it is the same bearing that "NemisusDM" has for sale in the parts for sale forum. Heck I think he may be the seller on ebay for that matter. But as I am about to do the 850 final drive conversion on mine I decided to go ahead and purchase one just to be on the safe side. If I end up not needing it I know sooner or later someone will be needing one.

[DJinNH]

Can't ya just let some air out of the tire?

PLEASE DON'T LET AIR OUT...JUST KIDDING!

Don

[trbig]

I was wondering about the brand of tire. I went to a "Former member's" house a while back. He had installed a Maxxis 130/90/16 and found that it rubbed on his bike's drive shaft cover when no other tires would. Maybe it was rubbing a bit all along, but you just now found it squeeking??

It sounds to me like they maybe make their tire dimensions a bit different than others??


Tod