Rear Wheel Bearing Sleeves (Snowflake)

[decorn33]

I recently purchased a rear wheel with a mounted tire from a '79 R65 on ebay as a spare for my '84.  The tire on my mounted wheel was pretty worn out and the new (old) replacement seemed like the perfect solution. Put the replacement on, then get a new tire for the original and keep that for next time.  

I pulled off the old wheel, slid the new wheel in and mounted it on the splines, slid in the axle, and went to tighten it up. To my dismay the shoulder on the axle pulled well into the wheel hub and the end almost pulled through the frame. I took everything apart again and examined the 2 wheels side by side.  Everything looked identical until I noticed that the original wheel had bearing sleeves that were flush with the casting on both sides. The  new wheel did not.  I put my fingers in each side and could feel sleeves internal to the hub, but not visible.

So, can anyone tell me if the '79 model had a different axle than later years? The bearing sleeves on the original wheels do not appear to come out, so I am doubting that the '79 wheel had them and lost them.

[Bob_Roller]

I checked RealOEM for part numbers and there is a difference in part numbers between the first generation bikes, up to 08/80 production date and the second generation bikes starting with the production date of 09/80 .

I have no idea what the differences are, all of my R65's, are second generation .

[Mike V]

What do you mean by "bearing sleeves"?  Are we talking about outer bearing races, top-hats or axle spacer on the snowflake?  Do you have top hats installed on the new snowflake?

[decorn33]

When I say bearing sleeve, I am referring to the sleeve or race that rides directly on the axle. The shoulder on the left end of the axle snugs right up to it. On my '84 wheel you can see the sleeve - its part of the hub. On the '79 wheel you can't see the sleeve, but you can feel it inside the hub - as if they changed the machining to change the position of the shoulder on the axle. I saw another post saying that they may have done just that in 8/80.

[decorn33]

Chalk it up to the learning curve. The '79 snowflake needs the '79 axle. problem solved.