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A Crunching noise when riding my GS750 (1977)

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    A Crunching noise when riding my GS750 (1977)

    11 months ago I purchased my GS750 and it was in generally good condition for its age (27yo) but In the past week it developed a weird crunching noise when riding, It was sort of like tapping on plastic with a screwdriver.

    Upon deeper investigations today the noise seemed to be coming from the rear wheel, so I checked the obvious, chain tension, brake pads etc, and nothing was detected.

    I took the rear wheel off to check deeper inside and I noticed that the outer seal of the sproket mounting drum (drive hub) was noticably perished. I checked the bearing directly below this seal by hand and it was extremely crunchy when moved.

    Upon removal of the seal to get to the bearing, the bearing fell to bits before I got it all the way out and there was some rusty matter present along with other crunched up metal from the bearing.

    So it seems that I have found my "noise".

    My diagnosis: The outside seal failed due to perishing which allowed water to penetrate into the bearing, and whilst the bearing still had grease, the grease was sort of drying out thus allowing the water to penetrate into the bearing.


    Now FYI:
    The Suzuki workshop manual refers to these bearings as:
    right wheel bearing,
    left wheel bearing,
    sproket mounting drum bearing (and seal)

    Ok now, In my case the left and right wheel bearings both feel fine, but for the sake of a few extra bucks, and whilst its out anyway I have decided to "go all the way" and will do them also!

    My close inspection of the cush drive rubbers shows that they are fine, not hard and brittle, and not soft and mushy.

    And the annoying part is that it seems this has been silently happening for some time, I checked everything else whilst the wheel was off, and I also discovered that the rear sproket has some noticable chips in the outer edges so I also decided to replace BOTH sprokets and chain.

    The part numbers of the above items are as follows:
    Right wheel bearing (disc side):
    NSK 6204DU (it has a dust seal incorporated into it)

    Left wheel bearing (sits in below the drive hub):
    KOYO 6204Z (It is a standard sealed bearing and you could replace it with the NSK 6204DU)

    I have ordered the drive hub bearing from my local Suzuki dealer because there was no numbers visible anywhere on it and when I get it I will post the manufacturer and part number.

    The outside seal (on the hub) was also ordered from suzuki dealer as my bearing supplier can't locate one with the correct meaesurements.
    Its measurements are 33mm ID, 62mm OD, and 7mm thick and the closest the bearing shoppe had was a 32mm x 62mm x 7mm so it would have most likely been too tight on the axle shaft.

    I will post the seal and drive hub bearing part numbers early next week after I get them.

    What I learnt from this is: When I buy something old and get it home I will ALWAYS check all the wheel (and fork etc) bearings and repack them!

    Hope this helps you avoid this potentially life threatening problem!

    Regards,
    Andrew
    Sunny Downtown Nanango
    QLD
    Aus

    #2
    Good catch, and not fatal.


    Let us know how it goes and any "tips and tricks" to re install.
    Keith
    -------------------------------------------
    1980 GS1000S, blue and white
    2015Triumph Trophy SE

    Ever notice you never see a motorcycle parked in front of a psychiatrist office?

    Comment


      #3
      Just poped mine out the outter bearing on the Sprocket hub has a number NSK 6305 While the seal has BJN C4 33 62 7 hope that helps.

      Comment


        #4
        Something to consider when using a power washer. They can wash the grease out of sealed wheel bearings.

        Comment


          #5
          I inspect and or replace my wheel bearings every couple years.
          better safe than road kill!
          I knew of a guy with a nice GS1100 who was on his way home when he had a sudden failure (bearings never fail suddenly!) of a rear wheel bearing and he crossed over the center line and layed it down in the ditch.
          fortunatly for him there was no oncoming traffic, and it was a easy low sider, a couple minor grass burns was all he got.
          but if a cement truck had been coming........
          bearings are cheep, funeral bills are not!
          it is good you are replacing the other bearings, I hope it includes the front bearings as well.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by KGB
            Good catch, and not fatal.


            Let us know how it goes and any "tips and tricks" to re install.
            NO worries Keith. Well Im back to tell you all the tale of my new bearings installation!

            Well, ive been very busy, and my knee has been playing up really bad this last week, so I have only just got around to it now (its almost 2am)

            I just cleaned everything up really well with a kero/petrol mix, stuck the bearings in the freezer to shrink them for 2-3 hours, and then sat the wheel and hub in the sun to expand them.

            The bearings went in reasonably easy, they still needed a bit of a tap into place (had a 1 and 3/4 dressed pine (timber) drift that I had on hand just in case)

            easy easy easy!~

            my outer (drive hub) bearing is an open one, and the 2 wheel bearings are both sealed (inner and outer) so I greased the drive hub bearing with some premium EP2 wheel bearing grease.

            Will see in the morning (Oops thismorn now, tis 2am)

            Comment

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