rear hub flange bearing

[roadwanderer2]

well, it was a picture perfect day for a ride today, so i jumped on my 83 aspy and headed for my local ice cream shop for my daily dose of a baby vanilla ice cream cone. on the way home, i started hearing a "squeaking" sound coming from the back of the bike, so i stopped and got off to check to see if anything was loose thinking it might be one of my shocks or my trunk vibrating. everything looked ok so i continued my ride home. when i got a block away from my house, i started hearing this LOUD squealing, scraping and crunching sound. i got the bike back into the garage and put it up on the center stand and started it back up. i put it in gear and then heard this GOD awful noise coming from somewhere in the back of the bike. thinking that it might be in the final drive or the wheel, i took the wheel and the final drive off the bike, and found the problem. the hub bearing on the flange behind the final drive was disintegrating to the point that the outer bearing cage was sticking out of the hub. the final drive is ok, but the axel is scored so bad that i might have to replace it. i'll tell ya, if its not one thing its another. after spending all this money to get this bike ready for my trip to Florida on it, im glad this happened here and not a few hundreds miles from home. so for now the bike is off the road (again) until i fix this.

my question is this....my local auto junk yard still has that 80 or 82 Goldwing, and it has the complete final drive and rear wheel and tire. im wondering if it would be worth while to get the final drive, axel, hub and wheel and put it on my bike and all i would have to do is swap out the rear tire, or should i just buy new bearings and a rear axle and put them in by using the "how-to" article on "how to replace rear wheel bearings", this way i know they are the correct ones for the wheel without having any other fitment problems.

i read the article on replacing rear wheel bearings, and it seems pretty straight forward and shouldn't be too much of a problem.

below is a pic of what the hub bearing looked like and the axel when i pulled the rear wheel off the bike.

stuart.

[roadwanderer2]

well, after working most of the night trying to get the old bearing out of the flange side of the wheel hub, i came to the realization that its seized into the hub, and if i want it out, it will have to be cut out. there's no way i can remove it, so im going to have to replace the whole wheel . this is something that i wasn't prepared for. even if i bought new bearings there's no way i can get the old ones out to put the new ones in. im just glad this happened close to home and i wasn't out on the road 3 or 4 hundred miles away somewhere needing to have the bike towed home or to a bike shop or worse case, the wheel could have started to wobble around loosing control of the bike and i might have gone down onto the pavement out on the interstate at 60 or 70mph and gotten seriously hurt or worse and totaled the bike. so if anyone out there has a rear wheel that will fit and 83 aspencade please let me know. the wheel doesn't have to have the tire, rotor or the spline flange, just as long as the bearings are good, that's all im concerned about.

stuart.

[WingAdmin]

It doesn't look like the bearing has spun inside the hub, and the axle doesn't look scored so badly that it's going to move around inside the bearing. I would take the wheel to a local machine shop. With a decent bearing puller/press, they will be able to get that seized bearing out of there, for far less than it costs to find a new wheel.

[roadwanderer2]

hey wingadmin.

i found another wheel from an 83 aspencade this morning with new bearings already in it along with another axle bolt and im having it shipped up from Florida via FedEx express and should have it here by Saturday. the outer race of the bearing was laying inside the hub when i took it apart, and you cant see it, but the axle bolt has a 5" score line going down the length of it from me having to use my air hammer trying to get it out of the swing arm and hub. i tried using a long 1/2" drive extension and a 10lb sledge hammer and it wouldn't budge. trust me, its shot and not worth trying to fix it. it probably would have cost around $150 bucks to have this one fixed after having to take it at a machine shop to get the bearings out, then purchase new bearings, then to the bike shop to have them put in, so this way its all done already and all i have to do is put my new tire and rotor on it and put it back onto the bike.

i just got a phone call from a bike salvage yard telling me the rear wheel would cost me $125.00 so i feel pretty good that i only paid $110.00 for the wheel AND the axle bolt with shipping.

stuart.

[wingman12]

I looks to me from your somewhat foggy picture of your final drive that the spline teeth are pretty well worn out and that will give you slop play on acc and dec, final drives and the final drive spline can be found on ebay if in fact they are not in good shape, be sure you use molly 60 or equivalent when putting back together.

[roadwanderer2]

I looks to me from your somewhat foggy picture of your final drive that the spline teeth are pretty well worn out and that will give you slop play on acc and dec, final drives and the final drive spline can be found on ebay if in fact they are not in good shape, be sure you use molly 60 or equivalent when putting back together.

actually the splines on the final drive and the flange are still in good shape, im cleaning them down and repacking them with molly 77 paste before i reassemble everything. trust me, before i reinstall anything, it will be gone over with a fine tooth comb. hopefully this will be the last "setbacks" with this bike before i leave on my road trip down to the Florida keys next month. I've rebuilt and or replaced almost everything on this bike except for the main internal workings of the motor and transmission in the last 2 years. last year i had to replace the rear tire and the battery when i got down to my destination in Florida. this year i hope to have a problem free trip with all the work I've done on this bike in the last 3 months.

stuart.

[wingman12]

I know how you feel, a friend of mine bought herself a 82 1100I site unseen and took the PO son in law word that this bike was in exceptionally good shape. It was the except opposite, I had to replace every belt, water pump, carbs had to be completely replaced, front and rear bearings, tires, front and rear calipers had the pistons froze in them, tires were 14 years old, rear brakes still had the numbers on the pads because the master cylinder was so full of old mud there were no rear brakes, this bike was a real barrel of fun. but now I would take it cross country with no hesitation. Good luck on your trip with no issues at all on your bike. I am glad the splines are in good shape, they looked like mine before I had to change them out.

[roadwanderer2]

well, i traded an 81 GL500i silverwing interstate for this GL1100 i have. i knew some about it before i traded for it. the PO was an a**hole. he was one of those, "if it fits or i can "rig" it, i'll make it work" kind of guy. even the guys at the bike shop knew about him. as soon as i mentioned his name, they said "yeah, we know him, what a jackass" lol.

from front to back on this bike, here's what I've replaced or repaired.

NEW OEM front rotors and pads, 2 sets of tires f. and r., front fork springs with new tops and air lines, front wheel bearings, got the front fender light working again, front brake light switch twice and rewired, new tall +4" wrap around windshield, electric motorized windshield wiper and home made windshield washer, many oil and filter changes, fuel filter, air filter, new LCD dash, new dash bulbs, new ignition switch, all new locks with keys, new stereo and speakers, sunpro voltage meter, new light toggle switches, NEW OEM seat, 2 sets of rear shocks, both side covers, timing belts and tensioners, stator, clutch and cable, rear bumper light rack/trailer hitch, rear brake pads, oversized trunk, trunk bumper, now another rear wheel with new bearings and axle bolt, 4 sets of spark plugs and caps with new boots, chrome spark plug covers, cigarette lighter, drivers floorboards with heel-toe shifter, shifter shaft seal, valve adjustment, and im sure im forgetting a few things lol. oh yeah, total repaint and restriped.

below is a few pics of what my bike looks like now

anybody wanna buy an almost rebuilt 83 GL1100 aspencade with 104K on it? runs good......now lol.

stuart.

[wingman12]

looks great, yes if seems that you did a lot of getting back to spec and added quite a few personal upgrades, you have more invested in parts that you could sell the bike for, I guess it is now a keeper. 104k is barely broken in. you are in the riders seat now.

[roadwanderer2]

thanks for the compliment, it was a "labor of love" so to speak to get it back into its top notch running condition and im still making improvements and upgrades to her. i know i'll never get back what i put into her, but if and when i do decide to sell her, my asking price is gonna be upwards in the high 2,000 dollar range, or maybe i can find someone that wants to trade down in size from a 1500 to an 1100 for mine. that i would be willing to do in a heartbeat, and yes, i did forget a couple of things......a handlebar mounted beverage holder, a handlebar mounted cell phone holder, and a handlebar mounted 12v power outlet . right now, if im out on the road, i can let go of the handlebars and this bike will track straight and true for about a mile or so and still power up to over 110mph. it has great "off the line" power and will go from 0-60 in about 4 seconds if im going full throttle and power shifting up thru the gears. not too shabby for a 32 year old bike.

stuart.

[Wilcoy02]

I am in the same boat. Done a lot of redoing the whole bike in the last year. Finely replaced the rear tire and shocks. I forgot to put the big spacer in the wheel. Rode it about 5 miles and ran great. I just could not think of going on my trip with such a big piece left over. Had to tear the back wheel off to get the spacer in the correct place.

I hope you have a ton of fun on your trip and that all your wrenching is over.

[roadwanderer2]

'mornin wilcoy:

oh man, i know what its like having to take all that apart especially when its just to put something on that you forgot to put on the first time around. I've done that a few times already and was so mad at myself for making a mistake like that. the wrenching isn't over yet, i have to wait for the new wheel to arrive so i CAN put it back together. right now, the bike is sitting up in the air on my bike jack. don't forget, i had this wheel off only a week ago to put on my new back tire, but this time i cheated a little. i left the rear bumper light bar/hitch on the bike. the only things i unbolted were the shocks from the lower bolts and the 3 nuts that hold the final drive on and the rear caliper. everything else i left intact so it made taking the wheel off a little quicker this time. my jack allows me to raise the bike up almost 3 feet off the ground so removing the rear wheel just slides out from under the rear of the bike. today im gonna take my new tire off the old wheel, strip the wheel down and take it to the recycling yard. maybe i can get a few bucks back from it beings as its all aluminum.

stuart.

[spiralout]

from front to back on this bike, here's what I've replaced or repaired.
oversized trunk,

below is a few pics of what my bike looks like now


stuart.

Off topic, but I've never noticed those arm rests on your trunk. Is that from a 1200?

[roadwanderer2]

from front to back on this bike, here's what I've replaced or repaired.
oversized trunk,

below is a few pics of what my bike looks like now


stuart.

Off topic, but I've never noticed those arm rests on your trunk. Is that from a 1200?

lol, no, that trunk is actually off of an 86 Kawasaki zg 1200 voyager vii that i found in a local auto wrecking yard and bought it for $50 bucks with the top rack, back rest and arm pads still attached to it and i fitted it to my GL luggage rack. i wanted a larger trunk to put more groceries into it for when i go food shopping and i can fit 4-12 packs of sodas in it plus other items if i pack it right. oh, by the way, i got $7.50 for my old wheel at the scrap yard yesterday. it wasn't much, but hey, its better than nothing.

stuart.

[spiralout]

Very cool. I would have never noticed it wasn't from a GL!

[roadwanderer2]

Very cool. I would have never noticed it wasn't from a GL!

well, it took some figuring out because the locking parts for the trunk was also still attached, so i had to remove them, place the trunk down on the luggage rack and drill 4 holes thru the bottom of it and thru the bike's luggage rack so i could bolt the trunk down onto it. also, the trunk locks didn't have a key, so i had to go onto eBay and find new locks with a key so i could be able to lock the trunk when i needed to. the locks from my original Honda trunk wouldn't fit, so i had to buy locks that would fit a Kawasaki trunk. the trunk also had the word "voyager vii" on it, so i removed it and again on eBay found the word "aspencade" and used double sided tape and put it onto the trunk, found that trunk bumper at another bike salvage yard and bought it for $15 dollars, went to Lowe's and bought 4 rubber insulated chrome holders, (the kind you use to strap coax cables on the side of your house and put one on each side and 2 in the front to hold the bumper in place.

"persistence is the mother of invention", and i can be VERY persistent on making things work as it shows in all i have accomplished with this bike.

stuart.