Rear wheel bearings / final drive

[GeneP]

This is part of getting a long stored bike back on the road.  Tires are on the way, I'm hoping to get parts on hand before I pull the rear wheel. I want to clean and re-pack wheel bearings - there is just one seal for that?
And what other work on final drive, what seals do I want to replace while I have that out?  Are there things I'm better not pulling apart?  First time at this one, advice welcome.

[Bob_Roller]

Hi Gene !!
I see you are located in Aridzona .
No idea where though .
If you're in the Tucson area, Ironhorse Motorcycles have been quite helpful  for my search for airhead parts .
Phoenix area none of the dealers are very airhead knowledgeable, so you need to know what you're looking for, they won't be of much help .
You need two bearing seals for the rear wheel, also there are a few parts in between the wheel bearings a spacer and shims to get the proper preload on the bearings .
While you've got things apart, may be wise to replace the two o-rings on the rear brake camshaft, if those start leaking, which they will eventually, it will damage the brake shoes .

[wilcom]

The BMW Airhead club's AZ representative has a shop there and he has been helpful,  might give him a try too.

Quality Cycle Service
Dave Alquist   193 N. Dome Ln.
Tonto Basin, AZ. 85553-1201
(480) 338-7605
bmw_dave@hotmail.com   I specialize in the air-cooled twins and singles 55-95, but include all BMW models in my experience. I offer machine shop and welding services, painting, new and used genuine BMW parts, and complete restoration of all models, as well as tune-up, tires, and general service.

[Bob_Roller]

I used Dave's shop when he was local to me, 10 minutes away .
He moved his shop to a more rural area east of Phoenix about 5 years ago .
It's a 92 mile drive to his new shop .

[dogshome]

The big seal around the spline can weep. It's simple to swap and is a standard metric size. The brake shaft o rings are also standard metric and easy to change. Let me know if you want sizes posting up.

[GeneP]

Thanks for replies.  I'm near Flagstaff.  That shop is about 130 miles and "more rural" is understated - not many places in Arizona more out of the way than that. Of course, I'm remembering when that was dirt road from Roosevelt to Beeline. It would be a great ride from here now.

The brake o-rings is the kind of tip I am looking for. Things that are accessible with the wheel out.  I hope the basic job of pulling bearings to clean and grease and reassembling everything as it was won't affect the pre-load.  Am I dreaming?

Is now the time to get in to final drive and swinging arm or am I just creating problems?

[GeneP]

Spline seal - again, in long storage, something did weep and left oil on the rim/tire/floor.  By standard metric sizes, do you mean they could be hardware store items and not motorcycle shop specialties?

[Burt]

Not so much hardware stores but if you have access to a bearing shop and explain what you are after, then usually they will have access to them if not in stock.  They are the experts and should have those D seals on the final drive.  Usually located in light industry areas. 

Here in Oz, I have purchased the bearings and seals that you speak of.  From memory BMW OEM bearings are generally FAG brand and there were a couple that were only available from BMW.  Be aware of the generic Asian brands as there are some that are slightly different in specifications.  Saying that your (I think) 30203 wheel bearings and steering head ones are generic.  (Possibly an A on the end of that 30203).

Alternatively being metric sizes they could be available at places that stock Japanese car parts. 

I will see if I can dig out an old list of BMW bearings. 

[georgesgiralt]

Hello,
Oil from the final drive can come from the wheel slip ring seal as above mentioned, and ... from the little one buried in the case behind the big crown.
I would change both and the castellated seal sitting on the swing arm side of the final drive.
Frankly it is not difficult provided you have a hot gun to heat the housing in order to have the small ball bearing fall out from the case in order to gain access to the seal behind it.
Changing the input seal and it's castellated seal is a job for one having a mean to unscrew the castellated nut ... So a proper drive for the nut and something to unscrew the big nut on the input splines...
It took me a good afternoon the biggest part being removing the old paper seal on the cover... A mess and a loooooog job.
Once done, you'll have a perfectly sealed final drive you can depend on.
Just my 2¢

[GeneP]

Yeah, 'perfectly sealed final drive', that sounds like something I want.  I just went ahead and ordered bearing seals, final drive gasket and seal set, bunch of other stuff.    I'll just have things on hand and maybe not use them all, it's hard to understand one seal from another when I have not torn the thing apart to see what I'm dealing with. Time to get dirty, thanks for the tips.