Hello! New to the forum - looking for R3 advice

[RideMyRocket]

Update on this fiasco. Although was told the parts from Triumph would take 8 to 10 days to arrive, it was actually 6 weeks. As expected they blamed it on Covid ya dee ya da. Nonetheless the job is now complete, clicking is gone and when backing up with the ole legs seems to take less effort which makes me wonder how much friction that bad bearing was actually putting on the rotation?

Thanks to all for chiming in offering their opinions and assistance, great community. Cheers and safe riding to all.

 

[CCjon]

Update on this fiasco. Although was told the parts from Triumph would take 8 to 10 days to arrive, it was actually 6 weeks. As expected they blamed it on Covid ya dee ya da. Nonetheless the job is now complete, clicking is gone and when backing up with the ole legs seems to take less effort which makes me wonder how much friction that bad bearing was actually putting on the rotation?

Thanks to all for chiming in offering their opinions and assistance, great community. Cheers and safe riding to all.

Which OEM parts were replaced? Just the bearings?

 

[KDog Bone]

I am glad you are up and running. See you in the roads!

 

[RideMyRocket]

Which OEM parts were replaced? Just the bearings?

Just the bearings.

 

[Gregger]

Curious if you torqued the axle to spec this time? Interesting about the cush drive rubbers (I'll check those next time) and will try the Natchi C3 bearings. Be sure to let us know how it goes.

Yes, I did torque the axle to 81 ft/lbs as per factory spec. So far everything is good but time will tell.

 

[RideMyRocket]

Yes, I did torque the axle to 81 ft/lbs as per factory spec. So far everything is good but time will tell.

I asked the mechanic what he torqued the axle to, like a quiz on the spot to see if he followed published protocol and he said 81 lbs. I said cool, what are your thoughts on going less than that to alleviate the pressure and he said no way, the spacers are designed to alleviate that and still allow the bearings to function properly for their recommend life time.

 

[Gregger]

He's right. The spacers are designed to prevent overtorquing the bearings. Once bottomed out, you can't really put more torque on them because all the inner races are locked. BUT there is one spacer by the cush drive that will allow some movement before it bottoms out. I think it will move around 15 to 20 thou in order to compress the cush drive rubber before all the spacers are locked in place. By compressing the cush drive and bottoming out that spacer, you place a side load on the outside bearing by the rotor, that tends to feel like it is really tight when removed. I replaced mine with a top quality C3 Natchi which I hope will take the load. I know a number of the other fellows have ditched the OEM and All Balls wheel bearings replacing them with top quality premium brands with tighter tolerances.

 

[RideMyRocket]

He's right. The spacers are designed to prevent overtorquing the bearings. Once bottomed out, you can't really put more torque on them because all the inner races are locked. BUT there is one spacer by the cush drive that will allow some movement before it bottoms out. I think it will move around 15 to 20 thou in order to compress the cush drive rubber before all the spacers are locked in place. By compressing the cush drive and bottoming out that spacer, you place a side load on the outside bearing by the rotor, that tends to feel like it is really tight when removed. I replaced mine with a top quality C3 Natchi which I hope will take the load. I know a number of the other fellows have ditched the OEM and All Balls wheel bearings replacing them with top quality premium brands with tighter tolerances.

Great information! This forum for me has been very informative and a great sense of community. PS, had an awesome ride today along the north shores of Lake Erie by myself.

 

[Journeyman]

He's right. The spacers are designed to prevent overtorquing the bearings. Once bottomed out, you can't really put more torque on them because all the inner races are locked. BUT there is one spacer by the cush drive that will allow some movement before it bottoms out. I think it will move around 15 to 20 thou in order to compress the cush drive rubber before all the spacers are locked in place. By compressing the cush drive and bottoming out that spacer, you place a side load on the outside bearing by the rotor, that tends to feel like it is really tight when removed. I replaced mine with a top quality C3 Natchi which I hope will take the load. I know a number of the other fellows have ditched the OEM and All Balls wheel bearings replacing them with top quality premium brands with tighter tolerances.

@Gregger how have those Natchi C3 bearings worked out for you? Mine are frozen and I need to order right away. How do you know which ones to get and where do you order- from the company or a reseller? I need the ones by the rear caliper. If you have the item # I would be very grateful.

 

[Gregger]

@Gregger how have those Natchi C3 bearings worked out for you? Mine are frozen and I need to order right away. How do you know which ones to get and where do you order- from the company or a reseller? I need the ones by the rear caliper. If you have the item # I would be very grateful.

I ordered mine from vxb.com. I used the part numbers provided by @Claviger and @Joesmoe in this post WHEEL BEARINGS - THE DOPE which work fine. You only need 1 each of the 3 bearings listed. 6000 kilometers with no issues. I also torqued the axle to 81 ft/lbs and ensured my cush drive rubber was lubed with dielectric grease to help eliminate some strange noises I thought were coming from it due to compression taking place on it when torqueing the axle. I also loctited any bearings that showed signs of spinning in the wheel rim (probably due to not torqueing the axle to spec). I used Loctite 638 for press fit applications.

I've copied Clavigers invoice he used since it was previously posted. The part numbers are good on vxb.com