1983 GL1100 - Loose rear wheel bearing - will this damage the gears in the rear end?

[PhotoDoctor]

1983 GL1100 - Loose rear wheel bearing - will this damage the gears in the rear end?


The bike rides fine even though the bearing is loose in the wheel - I have many bikes so this is not urgent.

The rear wheel bearing on the right hand side is loose in the wheel. I bought another 1983 mag wheel where the bearing is tight so I don't need advice on how to repair at this time. (Am thinking of swapping when it's time for a new rear tire)

Any experience from others who have had this issue on either the 1983 GL1100 or the 1984 GL1200's as to weather or not this might damage the gears in the rear drive.

I'm considering on waiting to do the swap until I wear out the rear tire which looks like it easily has another 5 to 7K miles remaining. (I have 7 bikes currently and do all my own work so could save myself a couple of hours time if I wait - but not at the cost of having to replace the pumpkin gears too)

Thanks in Advance

[bruce swaybill]

I also had a loose bearing on the final drive side.

The fretting of the aluminum wheel will continue over time until the wheel finally fails to hold the bike up. You don’t want that. If you know of this problem now, don’t delay in replacing it.

As the looseness increases it will cause uneven wear on the the spine teeth to the final drive and the matching wheel hub adapter because the wheel is not held perpendicular to the axle. That’s more expense you don’t need.

I replaced my wheel a little too late so I saw a little excessive spline wear but not to the point of replacement. I’ll look closely next time I change tires at the “new” wheel and bearings plus the drive splines.

Bruce S.

[PhotoDoctor]

Thanks for the input. I found a wheel with a good tight bearing for $ 50.00 and bought a low mileage rear drive on ebay for $ 35.00 which included shipping. (That ebay vendor was great and the price was very good)

I'll put a new tire on "the new to me wheel" and swap it all at the same time.

[LAB3]

Will it cause a problem? Could be, hard to say but for the time and effort involved in changing out the better tire, why risk it?