BMW motorcycle wheel bearings from 1. Duane Ausherman BMW motorcyclesby Duane Ausherman. This page is about how front and rear wheel bearings work in the BMW motorcycle models R2. R2. 7, R5. 0, R6. R6. 9, R5. 02, R6. R5. 0S, R6. 9S, R5. Search titles only has image posted today bundle duplicates include nearby areas. US, R6. 0US, R6. US, R5. R6. 05, R7. R5. 06, R6. R7. 
R9. R9. 0S, R6. R7. 57, R8. R1. R1. 00. S, R1. RS. In 1. 98. 5 BMW stopped using tapered bearings in the wheels. While this info is mostly about the 2 and 5 wheels, the principles apply to the later wheels too. The non drum front wheels dont have a stack that comes out one side. Each bearing goes in from each side. It still must be preloaded correctly. In about 1. BMW started installing a steel sleeve in the hub and that stopped the race from spinning. Click here for info on rear wheel splines. Search titles only has image posted today bundle duplicates include nearby areas albany, GA aby auburn, AL aub. Other VehicleVendor Parts. Iso 9001 Management Review Meeting Presentation Format there. That Can Be Substituted For BMW Parts Disclaimer The comments, opinions and procedures expressed in the Part Substitutes page and other. MAX BMW Motorcycles offers an extensive BMW Motorcycle Parts fiche. OEM BMW Motorcycle Parts and Accessores can be ordered online for fast delivery. View our detailed. Museum quality original paint 1974 R90S with 2,200 original miles. Original tires, handgrips, VARTA battery dead, that could be recored if desired for originality. In 1921, BMW began manufacture of its M2B15 flattwin engine. Designed by Max Friz for use as a portable industrial engine, the M2B15 was largely used by motorcycle. Bearing basics for BMW motorcycle wheels. The post war mid 1. BMW was designed to withstand the forces of a sidecar, the same as a car. To properly support a car or truck wheel, the bearings must withstand great side loads. Unlike a car, a solo motorcycle only needs to support forces through the vertical axis of the motorcycle. A BMW, in solo operation, has at least 1. The system costs a bit more and requires some special maintenance. The system can easily outlast any other moving part on the motorcycle. BMW has the best wheel bearing system of any motorcycle. See the engineering calculations at the bottom of this page. The wheel hub has a bearing on each side to hold it up and allow it to rotate. These bearings are tapered and have rollers, not balls. The two tapered bearings are opposed to each other. That means the tapered parts are angled or pointed in towards each other. Tapered bearings need some small preload, or pressure, to obtain maximum life. Cars have some type of externally adjustable nut to set them. I cant recall ever seeing a BMW wheel bearing fail from wearing out. The most common failure of the bearings is caused by foreign material contaminating the lubricant. It is usually water andor soap from high pressure coin car washes. One can reduce the chance of failures by keeping the direct spray of hot soapy water off of bearings in the wheels, steering and swing arms. Rusty bearings are usually the result of high pressure washing. The real issue of wheel bearing preload. If you read the Timken numbers, found at the end, you will find that we use some very good bearings. The calculated life is 2. The Timken website has a curve showing the preload vs. Thanks to Chris for sending me this much improved graph. I think he took pity on my very poor hand drawn one. The horizontal line shows the left end with some looseness and the right end with preload. The vertical line is neutral preload or no play at all and no looseness. Going up the vertical line is the miles, or life of the bearings. Anything on the left side is going to have a loose wheel and we know that will give poor handling. With this bearing set up, the wheel would be loose and the bike would handle poorly, however, the bearings would still last 2 billion miles. The wheel would be held solidly and not be the source of any poor handling. The bearings would last slightly longer. The point of maximum bearing life, with some preload and they, are good for 2. Halfway down the failure curve, but still lasting a billion miles. WAY down the curve of bearing life, but still probably 1. Just how far do you plan to ride it All of this is to show that one really has to mess up to make the bearings fail. The adjustment is nearly unrelated to practical life. Basically, keep the bearings clean by lubing often and they will last. So what is the big deal Why is so much fuss made about this issue The big issue is one that is only related to the bearing preload. BMW did not know of this or deal with it in any way during most of the years of the use of tapered roller bearings in the wheels. A higher bearing preload will cause it to produce heat. The excessive heat will cause the aluminum hub to expand. Once it expands enough, the bearings wont be held in place. The aluminum hub will expand faster than the steel bearings. They will rotate with the axle and the outer race will spin in the hub. In time, any amount of foreign material in the grease will slowly grind away at the softer hub material. Soon, the hub wont even hold the bearing when cold. It will get loose and allow the wheel to move around. Usually, it is first noticed during any wheel bearing maintenance or a rider notices funny handling. A quick check and the wheel is found to be loose. Further, inspection shows a spun bearing. BMW installed ALL of the 5 and later tapered wheel bearings with way too much preload. The shake the wheel test described below showed that many times in the showroom. I never found a single 5, or later, with proper preload in either the front or rear wheel. The front wheel is in clean air less turbulence and the only source of heat is the brakes. The brakes will heat up the inner portion of the hub first. That means the inner bearing which is the hard one to get to. I have seen the inner bearings spin on only a few wheels of the 5 and later. It is harder to fix with glue. How does one get it past the first hub wheel bearing mount while hot We just replaced the hub or complete wheel. The rear wheel is in a completely different environment. It has far less air and what air gets in has been slightly heated by the engine and transmission. It is surrounded by the final drive and it gets really hot. On a day of 7. F. F. in the oil alone. The rear wheel is easily heated up during normal operation. Wheel bearings that are too tight too much preload in the first place are prone to spinning in the hub. The reason to be concerned with bearing preload is to save the hub, not the bearings. We want to operate on the graphs vertical line or slightly to the right, but not far. Why risk the hub to get another piddly 1. A war story. One of our regular customers came in one afternoon with a complaint of The bike feels funny. We quickly found the loose rear wheel. The mechanic was almost unable to get the axle nut off of the axle. He had to use a cheater and estimated that it was over 7. That was the alarm bell that we looked at. I showed the owner that his rear wheel hub was shot due to someone over tightening the axle nut. We knew better and I asked him what he had done, or did himself. He confessed that he had a flat tire and took it to the local BMW dealer my competitor to get it repaired. We were 2. Those mechanics there were all BSA and Kawasaki mechanics. They only knew chain drive and one must really tighten the axle nut to secure the chain tension. We didnt have a new wheel in stock, so we ordered a new one for him. The bill came to almost 3. A few months later he comes back with the same The bike feels funny complaint. We found exactly the same result. Californian bravado, German cool Untitleds BMW R1. Unless youre immersed in every corner of the custom world, you probably associate Untitled Motorcycles with one bike the amazing Hyper Scrambler Ducati, built in San Francisco. Our article triggered a media frenzy that culminated in an appearance on Jay Lenos Garage. But the mark of a good shop is the ability to turn a worn out older bike into a thing of beauty. And thats what designer Hugo Eccles has done with Kalifornia, Untitleds latest build. Based on a 1. 98. BMW R1. 00, its a fabulous mix of Californian bravado and German cool. The engine, stripped and vapor blasted to its natural aluminum, now breathes through a pair of DellOrto PHM 3. R9. 0Swith custom stainless steel manifolds and one of a kind aluminum airbox tubes. The stock plastic airbox cover and starter cover have both been replaced with the earlier metal versions. The BMW nameplate, normally black, is painted in the same cream as the fuel tank. UMC have kept the stock headers, insulated them with grey exhaust wrap, and slotted on custom stainless steel silencers by Cone Engineering. The mismatched front and rear wheels are intentional, a style borrowed from the cycling world. Ive always liked the tension of having a cast wheel paired with a spoked wheel, says Eccles. In fact, neither of the wheels is original. The factory cast snowflake wheels were ditched early in the project and the original 1. BMW 2 rib hub. Both front and rear run the same 4. Michelin Sirac tires, imported from UMC London specifically for the project. Its really useful having workshops both in the USA and UK for sourcing difficultto find parts. The BMWs gauges and controls have been completely overhauled and replaced with a custom headlight, housing an analogue Motogadget speedometer and modified Posh switchgear. Hidden internal wiring is routed through the low rise Renthal handlebars. A modern Nissin master cylinder controls the twin Brembo calipers and EBC deep dish rotors on the spoked front wheel. A stainless steel battery box, a UMC item available for purchase, relocates the gel battery under the gearbox. Its a simple system that doesnt require any cutting or welding, and uses the existing engine bolts. The BMWs battery is linked to an upgraded En. Dura. Last charging system for modern reliability. The bike was completely rewired from head to toe with an m Unit and m Lock keyless ignition system from Motogadget, activated by a tiny RFID capsule sewn into the owners glove. The most distinctive element is the paint and finish, though. I wanted to retain a connection to the original motorcycle, using BMW Motorsport stripes but with a twist. So the classic M colors have been reinterpreted in a deep metallic flake. Its BMW meets Evel Knievel, jokes Eccles. The metallic blue and red stripes run parallel with the forks, and visually separate the front and the rear of the bike. Ahead of the stripes, the motorcycle is raw metal, stripped, brushed, and clear coated to preserve the finish. Behind the stripes, the original fuel tank has been painted in a luscious solid cream. Early in the design process, my client produced a photograph of a beautiful Porsche 3. Ivory with a tan interior, Eccles says. That image became a key inspiration for the Kalifornias color scheme. Sourcing the Porsche color proved an unexpected challenge over the years Porsche has created different versions of Ivory that vary from a warm white to a pale grey. I eventually found a Porsche in the correct original color, and matched the paint by hand, explains Eccles. The cream color scheme is complemented by a cross stitched tan leather seat, which matches the Tommaselli natural rubber grips up front. The entire rear subframe and seat are bolt on items from UMC. Untitled has developed several parts for airhead BMWs that can be purchased and installed over a weekend. Tiny, almost invisible, Motogadget m Blaze turn signals are integrated onto the frame, and a low profile LED taillight has been frenched into the rear mudguard. Airheads have become somewhat ubiquitous so its increasingly difficult to do something interesting, says Eccles. But I think this build strikes a balance. Its a daily rider so it cant have crazily low clip ons, a cardboard thin seat, or impractical zero rake. Its about subtle details that work together, rather than a single one liner statement. Untitled Motorcycles Facebook Instagram Images by Sean Speedy Donahue. BUILD SHEETFrame, Suspension, Wheels. Original main frame, de tabbed, powdercoated. Original swingarm, de tabbed, powdercoated. Reconditioned Koni shocks, powdercoated springs. Custom UMC designed subframe, powdercoated. Custom cross stitched tan leather seat by Acker Leather Works. Original 1. 9 front wheel replaced with 1. R6. 5LS 1. 8 cast Y style rear wheel. Michelin Sirac 4. EBC deep dish brake rotors. Original forks, stripped, custom white reflectors, rubber gaiters. Upgraded fork internals, custom nylon spacers. Modified BMW 2 rib front hub. Original Brembo calipers, stripped, vapor blasted, rebuilt, reconditioned. Original foot peg mounts, modified to fit 5 rubber rests. R6. 5LS rear drive hub, stripped, vapor blasted. Custom hub mounted license plate bracket with integrated LED plate light. Brown side stand, welded to frame. Modified center stand, shortened, powdercoated. Electrics, Lighting. Custom Dynamics LED taillight, frenched into the rear fender. Motogadget m Unit control module and m Lock RFID keyless ignition. UMC custom headlight with integrated Motogadget speedometer. West. Co gel battery installed in stainless steel UMC battery box. Custom wiring loom. Twin dual tone 1. B horns, hidden under the fuel tank. Motogadget m Blaze LED turn signals front and rear. Controls. Motogadget Motoscope Classic speedometer integrated into custom headlight. Nissin 1. 3mm brake master cylinder with 1 into 2 braided stainless steel lines. Custom direct mount reservoir. Nissin clutch lever with braided stainless steel cable. Custom Momo throttle with braided stainless steel cable. Classic BSA style aluminum throttle cable splitter. Tommaselli natural rubber grips. Renthal 2. 2mm 78 ultra low handlebars, modified Posh switches, internal wiring. CRG bar end mirrors. Custom cast aluminium top bracket. Engine Exhaust. Upgraded En. Duro. Last charging system. Classic metal airbox cover, drilled. Metal starter cover with painted BMW nameplate. Original 4. 0mm Bing carburetors replaced with 3. DellOrto PHMs. Manual choke levers. Clear fuel line by Helix Racing. Upgraded pistons, pushrods, stainless pushrod tubes. Wrapped modified headers. Stainless steel Cone exhausts with custom brackets. Engine stripped and vapor blasted. Round valve covers. Magnum Shielding braided stainless steel spark leads. Custom stainless steel inlet manifolds. Custom aluminum airbox tubes. Bodywork. Original steel petrol tank, stripped, brushed, clear coated, painted by Motojrefinish. Custom fabricated UMC roundels. New Karcoma fuel taps. Custom steel headlight housing, brushed and clear coated. Seat upholstered in tan brown leather by Acker Leather Works. Brushed steel front fender, welded to fender bracket, clear coated. Custom rear fender, powdercoated in satin black. Bell Bullitt helmet, yellow shield, painted by Motojrefinish. THANKS TOTurk at Turks Shop. Nate Diepenbroek Fabrications. Jay at Motojrefinish Paint. Dave at Superior Boxer. Dan at Acker Leather Works. Sean Speedy Donahue.