Spring check-up,Do It!

[mznyc]

Took the Scura out for her first spring ride.Felt a little weird,so pulled over and been hit with the dreaded shrapnel italia.Circlip on the left rear wheel bearing was sticking out,bent and broken,with a lot of play in her.Happy that I got home safe.Better lucky than smart!

Where should I get highest quality bearings and clip?I did a search,but eyeballs were spinning from all the numbers and sources.Assume most bearing sources wont have clip,so would like to get from the same place.Also would prefer not MG part as the bike only has about 14k so confidence isn't high with theirs'!

Thanks,,

Michael

[Tom M]

I got the rear wheel bearings from McMaster-Carr. Part number 6661K105. They are SKF 6204-2RSH/C3 GJM (made in Argentina). $10.85 ea. I'm sure you can find C clips there too, along with any other harware you might need. They also have a grease gun fitting that will reach the front U joint if you need one. Part number is 109K47. Shipping is cheap and nearly instant as far as I can tell

 

If you haven't bled the clutch in a while it's a lot easier when the rear wheel is out.

[Guest ratchethack]

Good eye, Michael.

 

Not a bad time to do a fork and/or rear shock SPRING CHECKUP too -- get those SPRING RATES properly matched to the load, and get those all-important laden and unladen sags set in your ideal target range.

 

IMHO it's by far and away the best bang f'er the buck cost/effort you'll ever put into y'er Guzzi.

 

[mznyc]

Thanks guys.

The circlip seems to be fine and intact.There was a twisted piece of thin metal all chewed up sticking out of the bearing.I mistakingly thought it was a retaining clip,but appears to be part of the bearing unit.The clip on the outside of the wheel is the only one in the assembly?Correct?

Tom I got the links and will be ordering bearings and nipple from them.Right and left are the same?

Now if I could only find that circlip tool I haven't used in years!

Thanks,

Michael

[Tom M]

Thanks guys.

The circlip seems to be fine and intact.There was a twisted piece of thin metal all chewed up sticking out of the bearing.I mistakingly thought it was a retaining clip,but appears to be part of the bearing unit.The clip on the outside of the wheel is the only one in the assembly?Correct?

Tom I got the links and will be ordering bearings and nipple from them.Right and left are the same?

Now if I could only find that circlip tool I haven't used in years!

Thanks,

Michael

 

It sounds like the bearing shield was mangled. I don't think my bearings had a shield, just a rubber seal? Anyway, I used the same bearings on both sides. IIRC my bike had 6204-2RSH/C3 on the drive side and a 6204-2RSH (no C3) on the other side. The only difference is the C3 has slightly more internal clearance.

 

I also ordered some .006 thick shims in case my center spacer wasn't long enough. I have extras. Let me know if you want a couple.

[mznyc]

IIRC my bike had 6204-2RSH/C3 on the drive side and a 6204-2RSH (no C3) on the other side. The only difference is the C3 has slightly more internal clearance.

 

Hi Tom,I'm confused as to what your saying here.What is IIRC?I ordered 2 of the bearing parts #6661K105.Do i need anything else?

Thanks

[Tom M]

IIRC my bike had 6204-2RSH/C3 on the drive side and a 6204-2RSH (no C3) on the other side. The only difference is the C3 has slightly more internal clearance.

 

Hi Tom,I'm confused as to what your saying here.What is IIRC?I ordered 2 of the bearing parts #6661K105.Do i need anything else?

Thanks

 

IIRC = If I recall correctly. My bike had 2 slightly different bearings in the rear wheel. I replaced them with the same bearing just like you are doing.

[mznyc]

Great ,thanks!

[mznyc]

To illustrate the point!

[stogieBill]

Hey MZ,

 

The remains of your bearing look awfully dry. Was it ever lubed, or did the grease burn off during failure?

 

How many miles are on your Scura?

 

Glad you caught it before it caught you.

[belfastguzzi]

Are the rest of the bike's bearings as dry as this!

[tmcafe]

That's scary. Wonder if Luigi forgot to grease other parts, or didn't put enough because he'd just run out of it.

[gstallons]

If the bearing failure was from lack of lubrication, it was the fault of the vendor not MG. The bearing is a sealed unit and is greased at assembly of the bearing not installation of the part.

[Dan M]

If the bearing failure was from lack of lubrication, it was the fault of the vendor not MG. The bearing is a sealed unit and is greased at assembly of the bearing not installation of the part.

 

 

Pretty typical for them to look like that after failure. Sealed bearings have a relatively small abount of grease to begin with. Once it failed the lube that was there burned off. It was probably going for awhile but the motor noise covered it up. Once the balls started to fall out he noticed the shakey handling.

That piece of metal was part of the bearing like Tom said. Not the seal but the cage that holds the balls in place.

[mznyc]

I have to hold Guzzi responsible to make sure that they are fully greased and capable to retain grease for reasonable amount of time.Like the Scura Exploding Clutch,it is ultimately their name on the bike when it leaves the factory. I would have thought that at 14k miles they wouldn't have been shot. But I did miss the 12K inspection required by MG,MY BAD! All my Hondas are nice n lubed at 50k plus.I had planned on doing a chassis strip down over the winter but never got around to it.Figured I could get a few rides in before looking at shaft/bearings,et all.

Hope we all learn a thing or two from my good luck.