I just changed wheels & bearing on my '09 FLTR. Everything went smoothly, but I found it odd that the bearings did not seat at the bottom of the wheel recess. They are kept separated by a spacer tube, but there is no stop which positions this bearing-spacer-bearing sandwich. After getting it together & out for a test ride, I heard this metal-on-metal squeal/chirp when I was on or off the throttle. Turned-out that the compensator pulley was rubbing the back of the wheel hub because the bearing was in just a tiny bit too far. I popped the wheel out, tapped the bearing-spacer-bearing to the left slightly. This put a small gap between the compensator pulley and the hub. Problem solved.

I don't think I've EVER run across a bearing set-up where the position of bearings wasn't defined by a stop or spacers or shims or something. And there's nothing in the service manual about the importance of positioning either. Dumb-*** set-up!

 

It may be in the fine print but my manual says to install the bearing on the brake disk side first. The other side bearing inner sleeve should then hit the inner spacer first and the outer race should not bottom but can be very close if you do some fancy measuring and custom shimming. However it must not hit the outer wheel counter bore. If it did this when you torqued the axle bolt it would preloaded the bearings and they would shortly fail. The axle nut clamps through the outer spacers through the inner races through the inner spacer. Its how it has to be. You mention new wheels. They may have made the counter bores too deep to make sure it would work with all inner spacers. You really should not be tapping unless you are using a sleeve to tap the outer race. Hitting the inner race to press or move the outer race in the counter bore is a sure method for early bearing failure. I press the bearing in the correct side and then depth mick from the other counter bore side to the inner bearing shoulder. Then I make sure my inner spacer is about .005 -.008 longer. Best I can remember since it been a while, The hub is 5.000" , the bearings are .7500" and the finial width is 6.508" The space is 5.008. Newer bikes are wider

 

I wonder if the 2010's are the same set up?

 

Thanks GRF - this is good. I went back looked thru the manual again. I found 2 things I hadn't seem before. You're right, it did mention installing the brake disc side first. It also mentioned seating that bearing fully against the "spacer washer". There was no spacer washer (front or rear wheel) when I disassembled the wheels - I'm certain of it. Just the spacer sleeve. It's hard to believe that it was missing from the factory on BOTH wheels, but it's also hard to believe I overlooked during BOTH disassemblies. This might explain the side-to-side latitude & have with the bearings. The other thing I noticed in the manual was mention of the importance of "bearing orientation". I have a 2nd set of bearings & just looked and there are NO markings on the bearings & both sides are identical. I have to confess I'm more than a little concerned about my installation & I may want to use this 2nd set to to a re-install (after picking-up this seemingly missing "spacer washer".

Finally & just to be clear, my new wheels are OEM wheels thru one of the chroming outfits. The bearing bore was not coated with appreciable chrome & looked factory-new. As such, I would expect them to fit/assemble just like my original wheels. All "tapping" was to the outer races - never the inner.

 

Are you confusing the washers that Harley is referring too when they talk about there installation tooling they use? Mine does not have any spacer other then the inner sleeve. Bearing orientation can vary by bike and bearing maker. I bet the second set have the same seals on both sides and are designed for thrust in both directions. My checking and measuring are just my back ground in the machine shop world. Not the Harley mechanic world. If your bearings were like my second picture orientation would be important. I think the bearing are like 1 and full seals like 3. When the seal is metal, its a shield and allows the passage of oil but not chips like in a transmission.

 

You're right - my bearings are just like 1 & 3 in the pics you showed. No, I'm not confusing the spacers with the tool washers. Here are 2 pics out of my '09 service manual. Figure 2-45 (from wheel bearing installation section) clearly shows a "spacer washer" (item #4) between the bearing and the sleeve on the brake rotor side. This section says to "slide the spacer washer until seated on counterbore in hub" and then "bearing is fully seated when it makes firm contact with the spacer washer". Yet Fig 2-5 (from the wheel removal & disassembly section) does NOT show this spacer washer. As I said, there was no spacer washer between the bearing & the sleeve. The manual is not consistent.

So where I am right now, the bearings are essentially sitting in the counterbore - neither touching the bottom. The pressure created by the axle shaft/nut is through outer spacers, thru the inner bearing races and thru the center sleeve. The compensator sprocket is no longer rubbing (squeaking) and everything SEEMS fine. Not sure where to go from here....maybe just keep a close eye on things & listen/watch for trouble. Of course, "trouble" will undoubtedly come on a long trip & far from home!

I REALLY appreciate all your help/input on this.

 

See what you mean. Lot of stuff added with ABS and the comp pulley. I had seen your first attachment on Bikebandit fish on the ABS set up. Odd how they have front wheel left side and rear wheel right side. Questions on design come into my head. Is the ABS encoder the actual bearing OD? The front right rotor and rear rotor are listed primary. Does that mean something? Also when you were talking compensator pulley on you first post was not sure what you were talking about. Now I know. You still have a compensator on the engine, is the rear comp pulley added to help take some load off the engine one? Let us know what you come up with. In my head it would appear if you had pressed the bearing on the disk side in on the rear first it would have been correct since that would have pushed your left side out further toward the comp pulley. Once the bearings are installed they are not going to move around in normal driving. The side forces are absorbed by the tire.

 

If I remember correctly, the bearing spacer (washer) is used on bikes that do not have ABS. The ABS bearing is thicker so no washer needed. It has been awhile since I messed with the bearings, but one of the bearings should seat down in the bottom of the bore against a shoulder and the other "floats" against the tube spacer.

 

I have an 09 with ABS... When I installed my Agitators, I didn't install a spacer washer. It doesn't belong in there. I have assembled quite a few wheels, mostly on V-rods. Our cush-drive wheel set-up is identical to their set-up. On the rear, you do press the brake side first. It should bottom out in the bore. Install the sleeve, then install the other bearing until it is just touching the sleeve.

Chris

 

I don't have ABS, but I had no spacer washer either. As I said, I'm not sure how close the brake disc side bearing is from the bottom of the counterbore. It might be on it, or it might be close. All I know is that everything is working fine (for now), the compensator sprocket is slight;y spaced off the wheel (very similar to my wife's '09 FLHX). I wasn't aware of the end-side compensator. I assumed the sprocket compensator was to absorb some jolt from the engine & enable a smoother drive connection between the tranny & rear wheel.