Is there supposed to be lateral movement of the back wheel?

[slimyxylofone]

I've been wondering about my ZXRs back wheel recently. I can move it sideways quite a bit when it's stationary (maybe a cm or so?) - is this normal? I expect the wheel should have a little bit of play, but this worries me.

The back does feel a bit shakey sometimes while cornering.

Any help is really appreciated.

[WRT]

Ya what???

No wonder the back feels shakey . . . sounds like you need new wheel bearings there buddy. Get it checked asap, that isnt very safe.

[imdying]

Ummm, I suspect not.

[bobsmith]

Uhhhh what he said..... I don't pretend to know a lot about motorbikes, but you definately don't want much/(if any) lateral freeplay of wheels (as you describe them) in any vehicle....

[WRT]

Ummm, I suspect not.

What? You suspect its not normal, or that its not naffed wheel bearings?

[Motu]

That's pretty good for an XS650,about as good as they got - but for any other bike...that's a no....

[WRT]

Maybe its just got "passive steering" in the back?

[Wasp]

bwahaha, the welly crew always claim that my rear slides - i just l;aughed it off till i felt it myself then thought about it for awhile and now alas tis time for a new rear anyway...

[Lou Girardin]

Could be swing arm bearings too.

[merv]

Yep Lou's onto it. If the swingarm moves too then that's your problem, otherwise can only be wheel bearings or a spacer missing or something.

[imdying]

What? You suspect its not normal, or that its not naffed wheel bearings?Heh, posted at the same time. I'd be looking at wheel bearings first, they're cheapest and easiest :D

[Swoop]

Where's the smilie for "shit scared"!!!!
*cringe*

[eliot-ness]

Test wheel bearings by holding tyre top and bottom and trying to rock it. If there's movement the bearings are stuffed.
Check spacers by holding wheel front and back and pushing/ pulling. Should be no side play. If there is a spacer may be missing
Check swing arm bushes by pulling/ pushing sideways on swing arm. Side play should be minimal, about a millimetre.
Check that wheel nuts are tight and spindle doesn't slide when you move the wheel
Definitely should not be a centimetre play anywhere. That much could be enough to throw off the chain with drastic and maybe painful results.

[terbang]

More than likely swingarm but if it is wheel bearings then dont ride anymore as it is very bad. When the wheel is moving side to side, where is the pivot or centre of the movement.? The hub or the swingarm pivot..? You should be able to see it.

[ferretface]

I had exactly the same query a few weeks back - but not 1cm play! - more like a few mill. Anyway - got the bearings changed and it corners like it always should have done! well worth getting it sorted.

[Madness]

Mmmmmmm,

A centimeter of lateral movement in a back wheel, mid winter in Dunedin.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.:bye:

[slimyxylofone]

Test wheel bearings by holding tyre top and bottom and trying to rock it. If there's movement the bearings are stuffed.
Check spacers by holding wheel front and back and pushing/ pulling. Should be no side play. If there is a spacer may be missing
Check swing arm bushes by pulling/ pushing sideways on swing arm. Side play should be minimal, about a millimetre.
Check that wheel nuts are tight and spindle doesn't slide when you move the wheel
Definitely should not be a centimetre play anywhere. That much could be enough to throw off the chain with drastic and maybe painful results.

I'm not overly mechanical, but trying to learn.

When I hold the wheel at the front and back and try to move the wheel at right angles it appears to pivot at the connection between the centre of the wheel and the swing arm.

I can't really tell whether it's a missing spacer as the it's hard to tell whether there's front to back movement - I don't think so though.

No movement at all in the swingarms.

Maybe the cm estimation is a bit large, but there's a few mills movement at least.

Thanks everyone for the help.

How much are new wheel bearings? I should have it on warrenty from the shop I bought it from though.


The swingarms don't seem

[Milky]

Bearings are pretty cheap - depends where you get them from though. If you can get to a company like saeco/motion industries and then do the work yourself, it might set you back 40 or 50 dollars... A bike shop will charge a fair bit more, but in the scheme of things, it isn't much when you consider the results of having no bearings.

[marty]

swing arms are sometimes slightly offset to allow for chain travel. if you bought the bike recently from a shop TRAILER IT TO THE BIKE SHOP IMMEDIATELY. 1cm of play is NOT NORMAL and could end up with the back wheel falling off, the swing arm falling off, the wheel or arm cocking over and jamming - in any case it's gonna hurt. do not ride the bike any more until it's fixed.

[R6_kid]

1cm play sounds exactly like you're missing a spacer on the ZXR250... not sure if you can get one from a wrecker, but take comfort in knowing (after reading this) that they both sides are identical, so if worse comes to worse you can probably get one made up.

[slimyxylofone]

Well thank you everyone for your excellent help. I took (rode :gob: ) the bike to the shop today, and Rick from Motorcycle Replacements in Dunners agreed that the bearings were well and truly fucked. Even though they were working on other bikes at the time, the guys took care of it striaght away. Top guys, highly reccomended!

They fixed it straight away, replaced the bearings and discovered it was missing a spacer as well. Took it for a ride after and feels very good, far more stable while cornering.

Thanks to everyone for helping me out. This has arverted a potentially dangerous situation - This is why I really love KB.

[Madness]

Excellent news!

Good on the bike shop for sorting it out pronto. :first: