Rear Wheel Wobble - Swing Arm Bearing???

Finally got to take my 650 out for it's maiden voyage since I bought it last October, felt great! The only problem with the bike is that I noticed a bit of rear wheel wobble, especially when applying the rear brakes. I looked at the rear end (i.e. shocks, wheel, and swing arm and it seems there is a bit of play on the brake side of the swing arm. I'm guessing this is the cause of the wobble?

Is it hard to replace these bearings? Any special tools needed?

Also, are these the correct bearings?

www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1550

If so, they are showing out of stock at the moment, would these be much more expensive at the dealer?

Thanks

I cannot say of those are the right bearings.
All you need is a vise, a drift and a good hammer to change them.
It should only take 5 minutes once the swing arm is on the bench.

HerrDeacon, check the application. Some 650's used "bushings" until switching over to "needle bearings". Not sure what year the switch was made..

Yes, those are the correct bearings for your bike.

And both SR models offered in '78 (D1 and D1A) used these bearings.


Not to steer (no pun intended) you away from buying from Z1 Ent, but since they are currently out of stock on those bearings, if you can locate a bearing supply shop near you they should have them.
A few years back I bought some for my 650 from a bearing specialty shop near me, and they only set me back $24 for all 4.
The bearings you'll want to ask for are HK2216, and as shown on Z1 Ent they measure 22X28X16mm.

Most likely you'll need to heat the old ones up and use a BFH and a metal drift, because after 30 years they're likely stuck so solidly in there like mine were that they'll destroy an average bearing puller. :pinch:

Thanks guys, really appreciate the help. There is a local bearing place so I'll hit them up this week to see if they have them.

I just took the rear wheel off but I don't have a socket big enough to take off the swing arm nut. Anyone know what size socket I'll need for this so I can pick one up? Is it 22mm?

Thanks again.

RetroRiceRocketRider said: "Most likely you'll need to heat the old ones up and use a BFH and a metal drift,.."

What works for me is to use a propane torch to heat the outer diameter of the swing arm (surrounding the bearing) with a ice cube applied to the inside of the bearing. That increases clearance by several thousandths and simplifies removal.

HerrDeacon wrote:

I just took the rear wheel off but I don't have a socket big enough to take off the swing arm nut. Anyone know what size socket I'll need for this so I can pick one up? Is it 22mm?

24 mm.

I don't have a 650 so don't know the size.
Use an adjustable wrench.
PepBoys has the big sockets very cheap.

Could be the bearings / bushings, but i also read that the Z1s had a tendency to wobble when accelerating or slowing down on a turn.
here is a link to the info, off of Z-power but through Google...(about 12 paragraphs from the bottom--its a HUGE article.)

209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:s-bx7-i9cA...n&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us

I just took the swing arm off and the problem is definetly the bearings. You should have seen them, what a mess. All four or them are destroyed. I'm suprised the ride wasn't worse. There was only about six pieces of metal that resembled bearings. Not a bit of grease to be seen either.

The problem now is that the bearing housings are still in the arm, and I'm not sure how I'm going to get them out. They are fused to the arm with rust. I have them soaking in PBBlaster now. This is not going to be fun.

I'm going to try the local bearing dealer tomorrow and hopefully I can get the bearings from them.

Thanks again for everyones input.

I was able to source the bearings from a local dealer, so that was good. Also, was able to get the old bearings out.

However, the sleeve ends are a bit worn so I think I'm still going to have some play even with the new bearings. I'm going to use it for the time being but was wondering if these are easy to come by? Would dealer carry this item?

Just wanted to provide an update to this post, as I don't like to leave a post open and unresolved

I picked up the bearings from a local bearing dealer using the code provided by RetroRiceRocketRider (they shipped them in over night for me). Thanks RRRR.

Before attempting to put them in I put them in the freezer for a few hours, then just prior to installation I heated up the ends of the swing arm with a torch. The bearings went in pretty smoothly with this method. I then greased them up and put everything back together. One tip the bearing salesman told me was to make sure I put them in with the stamped number side of the bearing facing out. The reason being that this side is stronger than the other and so there is less chance of damaging the bearing when pressing them in.

Took the bike out for a spin and what a great feeling. No wobble at all. Prior to this the rear wheel would wobble when braking, letting off the gas or cornering. All of these problems are now gone. One less problem to worry about.

Thanks again for everyones help with this problem.