Question about bearings

[my98xplorer]

As some of you know my friends 79 GS850 had a shaft lock up a while back and he went down. We havent taken the bike apart yet to see if thats actually what happened, but he was talking to someone who said it could be tthat the bearings locked up. I have an 83 GS1100 and dont want that to happen to me, so i was wondering if this sounds feasable? Could the bearings have locked up? If so what can i do to prevent this from happening to me?

Also, if any of you have exhaust canisters from a sport bike (busa R1 R6), please post some pics. I have 2 cans from a Busa i would like to put on mine but i wanna see how it looks first.

Thanks, Brian

[DMPLATT]

Not probable at all. You have 3 small bearings in the rear axle. With the torque of the motor and shaft, I doubt it could lock up the rear end. This is just my opinion. However, if the Bearings blew apart, I still doubt it would lock up the rear. Make for an interesting ride, yet I don't think it would or could lock up the rear.

[bwringer]

There are also the the bearings in the secondary gearbox and transmission. As with the wheel bearings, I don't see how these could suddenly sieze hard enough to lock up against engine torque. You would definitely have some VERY strange behavior and some VERY loud noises well in advance of a catastrophic event. You'd be more likely to see an occasional loss of drive power, since a spun bearing would allow the gear shafts to move out of mesh and skip. It would make a racket big time.

The original engine in my GS850 seized (#4 crank/rod bearing. Long story. Ignorant ^%$#!! P.O. Don't use silicone sealer.), but it made a heckuva lot of noise and fuss before it finally locked up tight (I made it to North Carolina and back). I just pulled in the clutch and coasted to a stop, but a similar seizure or broken part in the transmission could lock up the back wheel.

[focus frenzy]

Not probable at all. You have 3 small bearings in the rear axle. With the torque of the motor and shaft, I doubt it could lock up the rear end. This is just my opinion. However, if the Bearings blew apart, I still doubt it would lock up the rear. Make for an interesting ride, yet I don't think it would or could lock up the rear.

on a 1000/1100G there is only two bearings in the rear wheel.
there are five bearings in the final drive. (one being VERY big)

and there are four bearings in the secondary gear box.

the large bearing in the final drive supports and takes the load put on the ring gear, it is possible that the wheel could lock up if this bearing failed.
or even more possible for one of the pinion bearings failing to lock up the rear wheel as the pinion has a mechanical advantage.
if water got into the final drive and was not flushed out it could cause rust and pitting of the bearings and eventual failure.

water is heaver than gear oil and will settle to the bottom of the gear housing so it is important to change the secondary and final drive oil on a regular basis. (I do it each spring)

when changing the oil you need to inspect the oil for any contaminates (water, metal flakes) a very small amount of very fine metal dust is normal and is from normal wear and tear of the ring and pinion gears.
chips or flakes of chrome or metal are not normal and disassembly will be needed.

you can use a good clean container to drain into and if you find no oil or contaminates the oil can be re-used, but you would only be saving a couple bucks worth of gear oil once a year.

come on Brian, tear into that 850 inquiring minds want to know what caused the failure!!

[argonsagas]

Bearings tend to give loud and long warnings before they finally seize. Since the wheel apparently locked-up suddenly and I see no mention of any negative expectations, bearing seizure seems a VERY remote possibility.


I would expect to find that the universal joint came apart, and once the two shaft ends were free from their constant configuration, they moved in unusual directions, and finally became jammed . That would definitely happen quickly, and would lock the rear wheel immediately. BTDT

These do come up on e-bay from time to time, and you may find a replacement there

[my98xplorer]

Well luckily we were able to get a new shaft drive off Ebay, pretty cheap actually. We may try and tear it apart tonight but im not sure. Any helpful hints on how to do this? Ive taken the shocks off, and unbolted the bar (i think the shaft is inside of that?) that goes into the drive unit (the part on the wheel) All i need now i think is to be able to pull the rear wheel backwards so i can pull the drive unit out of the bar. Any suggestions would be very helpful!

Thanks guy!!

[SqDancerLynn1]

Are you replacing the drive shaft or the rear differential. The drive shaft can be removed after taking the swingarm loose. Remove the 4 bolts that connect the drive shaft to the engine. Remove the two large nuts 1 1/4" & the adj studs. The swing arm will drop down & you can get the driveshaft out. It is a slip fit into the differential & will pull right out

[my98xplorer]

ok we took the swingarm down and disconnected the shaft from the tranny. We havent been able to take the swingarm back enough to seperate the shaft from the rear drive thing yet but with the shaft disconnected from the tranny, the rear wheel spins and is not locked. Im not starting to think that the tranny may be bad. Does that sound about right? If so, anyone need parts from a 79 GS850?

[SqDancerLynn1]

At the point you have it I would take the beveled gears out (secondary gears) & check them You can do that with the engine still in the bike, but It will take some proding to get them out. Remove the gear from the left side of the engine under the shifter cover. You can then also check the drive shaft flange gear without having to remove it

[Anonymous]

I thought about this and here's what I know on the subject. The inner halves of the axle bearings are a slip fit. I've had them sieze on a dirtbike and all they did was wear down on the axle since it wasn't pressed in.

Steve