I was riding today and noticed a noise from the rear off my bike. It's an 03 Heritage. Every time I stopped for a few minutes and took off again it didn't do it at first. It sounds like something rubbing in a certain spot and speeds up with acceleration. I jacked the bike up and spun the rear wheel and it has a right to left wobble. Would this be a bearing issue or does the spoke wheel need to be trued. With just the right/left wobble, I'd think it needs to be trued but the noise has me second guessing what the issue would be. Thanks for any help with this.

 

where's the play in the wheel at? if it's at new hub where the axle enters, it's the bearings. if the hub stays still and the rim moves it's the spokes,which is common. find out before you ride that ting anymore. your life depends on it !

 

Jack the rear of your bike up, so the wheel clears the ground, then you can turn the wheel over to see if there is anything obvious rubbing. Might be the tyre just kissing the belt guard, something simple like that. Let us know what you find.

 

Thanks hardheaded. I'm going to do that in a minute. grbrown, I checked that yesterday and didn't see anything rubbing. I'll post back in a little while to let everyone know.

 

Ok guys. I finally got out and checked it out. I jacked the bike up and you can clearly see the tire moving side to side some. It was a little harder to check it at the hub but you can see the belt moving side to side. Would this mean it's the bearings as the pulley is attached to the hub? If so, I can better understand the noise I was hearing. Maybe the rotor and pads scrubbing. I couldn't hear it when I tested it though. Before I take the rear wheel off, I'd definitely like to be sure what the problem is. Any thoughts?

 

If the pulley is wobbling, its the bearing or the wrong spacer. When the wheel is installed and the axle torqued, the spacer sets the preload on the bearings, most likely you have lost a bearing.

Good luck, let us know what you find.

 

Sounds as if your diagnosis is correct. The bearings are an industry stock item and will be available at any bearing supplier, you don't have to get them from a dealer, if you replace them yourself. Just take one with you as the numbers on it will identify it accurately.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I was probably going to take them to my indy to change. I have changed some before but on a sport bike and never spoked wheels. Just don't want to take a chance of me messing them up. My local HD shop said between $63 and $85 to change if I brought in the wheel. Not sure why there's a $22 gap there.

 

Guys back with where I am now. I took the wheel and the axle by my Indy. He checked both as well as if it's true. All good, bearings, axle and true. I reinstalled everything but there's still a right/left wobble. With the axle through the wheel sitting on stands, it spins true and straight. Does anyone know what else could cause this? Thanks again.

 

Not sure if this may cause the issue but could the pulley be warped and causing the wheel to do this? I've been trying to trace this in my head and it seems there's only a few things that could be the culprit. Wheel not true (checked), bearings (checked), axle (checked), maybe spacers, pulleys, or maybe the pivot/swingarm bearings. Thanks again for any input. This thing is driving me crazy.