Wanting confirmation... Rear wheel ticking...

JaR3d85

JaR3d85

.040 Over
Joined
Feb 12, 2026
Messages
52
Ride
2014 triumph Rocket 3 Roadster, 2008 Yamaha FZ1
Just want to confirm that I'm correct in assuming my rear wheel clicking when rolling is most likely the wheel bearings, happens backwards and forwards it takes a second for it to click rolling backwards after rolling forward assuming bearings are taking a second to catch again goimg the opposite direction, I loosened the axle and the sound stops tighten up it comes back, I also jack it up and spin and hear no clicking. Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
If you have a bad bearing, try moving the wheel side to side while jacked up off the floor. If you get any movement outer bearing(s) is/are shot. If no movement then the inner bearing may be toast. In the diagram below items #3, #7, and #18 are ball bearings in the rear wheel. Another possibility is the noise is coming from the final drive unit or universal joint.

1784412905409.png
 
atomsplitter said:
If you have a bad bearing, try moving the wheel side to side while jacked up off the floor. If you get any movement outer bearing(s) is/are shot. If no movement then the inner bearing may be toast. In the diagram below items #3, #7, and #18 are ball bearings in the rear wheel. Another possibility is the noise is coming from the final drive unit or universal joint.
Click to expand...
Great advice. After that you could pull the wheel and rotate bearings with your fingers. Bad will usually be locked with your limited force, hard to turn, or rough. There's a lot of conversation about how tight to actually torque that axle (below spec), as the bearings tend to go out and its thought to be from getting too compressed.

As @atomsplitter said, it could also be the final drive. I had two go bad on my 2011 Roadster, which is unusual, and I hope not your problem. Look for slop in the bearing there and/or other obvious signs of failure. In my case there was gear oil in the swing arm that leaked through from the FD.

Let us know what you find out....
 
Journeyman said:
Great advice. After that you could pull the wheel and rotate bearings with your fingers. Bad will usually be locked with your limited force, hard to turn, or rough. There's a lot of conversation about how tight to actually torque that axle (below spec), as the bearings tend to go out and its thought to be from getting too compressed.

As @atomsplitter said, it could also be the final drive. I had two go bad on my 2011 Roadster, which is unusual, and I hope not your problem. Look for slop in the bearing there and/or other obvious signs of failure. In my case there was gear oil in the swing arm that leaked through from the FD.

Let us know what you find out....
Click to expand...
Absolutely, I have new wheel bearings on the way, the guy who had the bike before me had overfilled the break reservoirs, the oil and the final drive... When I last had the wheel off about 1k miles ago there was gear oil on the axle and some leaking from the opening on the bottom the the final drive, since draining and refilling there has not been any oil coming from the hold at the bottom, but I do notice when the wheel was off one of the sealed bearings one of the shields had a little damage, so I'm thinking hopefully the gear oil that has been in there dissolved the lubrication that's supposed to be inside the seal bearing? So far this make the most sense, when I roll it with my hand on the final drive the ticking doesn't feel as present on the final drive side and when it's jacked up it doesn't tick at all when I spin the wheel and the sound also goes away when I loosen the axle and roll it
 
The two inner bearings are compressed against a spacer tube, Item #2, in the above drawing. That tube along with the outer spacers, items #13 and #18 rest against the inner race of bearings #3 and #7, so all the compressive forces are against the inner race. If that spacer is shortened by over torquing the axle nut then pressure can be applied to the seal surface. Be sure to measure that inner spacer to verify it's still with spec:
Length: ~123 mm
Inner Diameter (ID): 20 mm (to match the axle)
Outer Diameter (OD): ~28 mm
 
atomsplitter said:
The two inner bearings are compressed against a spacer tube, Item #2, in the above drawing. That tube along with the outer spacers, items #13 and #18 rest against the inner race of bearings #3 and #7, so all the compressive forces are against the inner race. If that spacer is shortened by over torquing the axle nut then pressure can be applied to the seal surface. Be sure to measure that inner spacer to verify it's still with spec:
Length: ~123 mm
Inner Diameter (ID): 20 mm (to match the axle)
Outer Diameter (OD): ~28 mm
Click to expand...
Dang, you guys are gonna give me nightmares. I haul butt on my motorcycle. Before it starts making noise is can I feel the diff with my hand and check if it’s super hot? Like a trailer hub going bad. Should I back off the axle by 4 or 5 pounds?
 
Nashvegas said:
Dang, you guys are gonna give me nightmares. I haul butt on my motorcycle. Before it starts making noise is can I feel the diff with my hand and check if it’s super hot? Like a trailer hub going bad. Should I back off the axle by 4 or 5 pounds?
Click to expand...
NOOO! You have a single sided swingarm and JaR3d85 has a Gen 1 Roadster, totally different setup.
 

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