Back wheel movement ???????

[Mackinac76]

I read this thread with interest yesterday because for the last several thousand miles (52,000 total) my rear wheel had had a very small of movement at both the 3-9 and 12-6 positions. Keep in mind that while the amount of movement was very small, several posts stated that it should be zero. In an earlier post by JimVonBaden, he suggested checking the paralever bearings

With dreaded final drive failure a possibility, I headed off this morning to my BMW dealership for a look. About 20 minutes into the examination, the mechanic declared the final drive to be fine and a slight adjustment in the paralever bearings removed all motion in the rear wheel.

Thanks for the great insight!

[Moto Bikemad]

I think i will get it looked into, later rather than sooner, as the summer here is " shite "
so far and I have no plans to leave the County on any runs.
Next time I am passing the mechanics i will call in.

Some times we are too quick to tear things down and replace in our panic to get our bikes just perfect,
in-case we miss a great ride out.

We all need a spare bike or two in the garage for that day.

[Emoto]

How does one adjust the paralever bearings?

[tagesk]

Originally Posted by Emoto

How does one adjust the paralever bearings?

Without hurting the feeling of BMW fanboys, I think it is safe to say that the type of bearings BMW has chosen for this application is not optimal. The effect is that the bearing wear in a non-uniform manner.
If you take the bearing out, turn the race, re-grease and install, you can adjust them to have no play (again).

If you just tighten the preload, it is likely the hearing wil get stuck. Then the race will rotate on teh pin instead. The pin must then be replaced. It is expensive.

In fact, an annual reinstall with cleaning and greasing will, with all likelyhood, make the bearing last the lifetime of the bike.

[TaSK]

[Peka]

If your final drive oil looks like this:



and all this metal is on the drain plug:



it's a good sign your big bearing is toast.

It also had movement and had just started making noise.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by tagesk

Without hurting the feeling of BMW fanboys, I think it is safe to say that the type of bearings BMW has chosen for this application is not optimal. The effect is that the bearing wear in a non-uniform manner.
If you take the bearing out, turn the race, re-grease and install, you can adjust them to have no play (again).

If you just tighten the preload, it is likely the hearing wil get stuck. Then the race will rotate on teh pin instead. The pin must then be replaced. It is expensive.

In fact, an annual reinstall with cleaning and greasing will, with all likelyhood, make the bearing last the lifetime of the bike.

[TaSK]

Very true, on the 1100/1150.

The R1200 bearings are on one side sealed, and not on the other. They too can wear, and are not adjustable. They do not seem to wear like the 1100/1150 bearings do though, so not as big an issue.

Jim