Metal Rubbing Noise After Wheel Balance

[The Mindless Philosopher]

I recently had my front wheel balanced and bearings replaced. Ever since then I've noticed a weird metal rubbing noise coming from the front wheel, more like a groan. It happens when I am just rolling out of or into a stop, around 5 MPH, give or take.

There's no discoloration or warping on the front discs. No unusual gouges or deep grooves. No braking issues, and no pull to the left or right. No burning metal odor smoke or sparks, just a weird groaning metal noise.

I think maybe they over-torqued the front axle a little? They applied 55 lbs-ft. Was it supposed to be 50? I can't remember. 2001 BH with inverted fork and 3/4" front axle.

[The Mindless Philosopher]

Will jack it up after everything cools off then spin the wheel by hand. See what happens.

[CanuckHoss]

Something is amuck....interesting to se the result.

[The Mindless Philosopher]

The bearings were replaced at a local Harley dealership a few weeks ago. They have less than 500 miles on them.

My hydraulic floor jack is too small to raise the trike high enough to get the front tire off the ground, so spinning it is out of the question for now.

I found a thread on the other V8 bikers forum where it was suggested tire cupping could be the culprit. I definitely have uneven wear from when the previous set of wheel balancer weights fell off. I've noticed the worst groan when I turn the handlebars to the left or right, and always when at a crawl. Don't notice any unusual noises at any other time.

I'm beginning to think lumpy front tire....

[CanuckHoss]

Ride it 10 miles and check the axle / bearing for heat maybe??

I know the sound you could be talking about if it is indeed the tire.

I don't uses weights on my bikes or trikes..beads to balance and then the tire is balanced all the time to end of life. I did not state this to have an argument about the beads versus weights... just stating what I like.

[The Mindless Philosopher]

I haven't thought about beads.

Will take a ride tomorrow to check for heat on the axle.

I plan on putting about 400 or so miles behind me on Sunday, so I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid over something that is just the way it's going to be no matter what.

Thanks for the pointers.

[CanuckHoss]

We used to use Dyna Beads but changed to Counteract Beads. I just put them in a trike front tire to stop an out of balance I had at 75 mph on my yellow 57 with 4,000 miles.....did the trick

http://www.counteractbalancing.com/?gcl ... otorcycle/

[The Mindless Philosopher]

Interesting calculator on that site. Sounds like it's worth a try.

[CanuckHoss]

Watch the video on the left...I never watched it before now..lol..leave that all up to my son

http://www.counteractbalancing.com/prod ... torcycles/

[The Mindless Philosopher]

Looks simpler than I expected. I need to find a tire valve remover. Can't be too hard to locate one.

[The Mindless Philosopher]

Thanks again!

[CanuckHoss]

No problem..have a great night!!

[Imzz4]

If "they" replaced the wheel bearings, then a new noise arrived, they did something wrong. Did they hammer the bearings in, or inadvertently replace the spacer with a shorter one ? Did they press them in, make sure they were fully seated ? Did they assemble anything in a "bind" ?
I'd get the jack you're gonna need anyhow , and take the wheel off and look at everything...my 2 cents. keep us posted.

[The Mindless Philosopher]

Don't know. It was at a Harley dealership. I don't know if the H-D folks have standard shop practices across the board and if so, what they might be. They have a great reputation here, so I didn't give it a second thought. Now, however....

[GordonBH]

IMZZ's spot on. In the old adage "if it started since you did something - that's where to start looking".

The front bearings have to be snug up to the spacer or lateral forces will damage the bearings with some guys getting only 50 miles before failure of new HD bearings.

I expect the HD guys had an issue getting the old ones out due to the spacer giving no purchase to drive out the first bearing. Wheel off and check bearing shoulder depths and spacer snugness/condition.

Definitely get a jack and do some spinning cold and hot - I use a long screwdriver with the end pushed into my ear like a stethoscope to locate unusual sound sources.
Keep us posted.

[The Mindless Philosopher]

I'll get to it sooner or later. Slowed down by the heat and humidity. Just not willing to melt for now. Will roast eventually....

[The Mindless Philosopher]

A little bump to the thread with a little bit of (mostly useless) info:

I am awaiting replacement hinges for the body. Once it is reconnected to the frame I will sling a jack underneath so I can rotate the front tire by hand to see what's going on. The weather is plenty nice for it. For now, I don't want to risk the body sliding and breaking something underneath if I try to raise the front end too high. Probably a slim chance of that, but better safe than sorry, since the fork extends a pretty good bit before the tire leaves the floor. It's not going anywhere anyway.

Meanwhile...

I have ordered the prescribed ceramic bead wheel balancing kit from Dyna. It will likely arrive before my replacement hinges are ready. I can at least yank the valve from the stem and push the beads into the tire without risking any problems with the body. No real need to raise the frame much, just keep it at its current level with a jack stand.

[Ulyssesj]

IMZZ's spot on. In the old adage "if it started since you did something - that's where to start looking".

The front bearings have to be snug up to the spacer or lateral forces will damage the bearings with some guys getting only 50 miles before failure of new HD bearings.

I expect the HD guys had an issue getting the old ones out due to the spacer giving no purchase to drive out the first bearing. Wheel off and check bearing shoulder depths and spacer snugness/condition.

Definitely get a jack and do some spinning cold and hot - I use a long screwdriver with the end pushed into my ear like a stethoscope to locate unusual sound sources.
Keep us posted.

If it went to a Harley shop they most likely did not drive them out. That works for home mechanics and tinkerers. When your trying to make money anf not ruin expensive wheels you use proper tools. In this case it would be a wheel bearing puller. It pulls the bearing without marring brake discs or rims. Same tool presses them in all by hand. I doubt its tire cupping, you’d feel it and it would buzz/vibrate at low speed. Boss hoss rims are notorious for having really tight clearances that actually compress the bearings so badly that sometimes new bearings feel rough after install. A little heat and gentle hands are the key to a successful bearing install. It’d be a tough row to hoe pounding those bad boys back in.
Let us know.

Ulyssesj

[The Mindless Philosopher]

I'll post updates as progress is made.