Have Rear Wheel Off, What Other Maintenance Should I do?

Hi,

My 1991 ST1100, with 56K miles, had cord showing on rear tire after a trip to Snowshoe, WV a few weeks ago, so I removed the wheel to replace the tire. I am waiting for some Moly M-77 Paste to arrive to reassemble everything, but am wondering if there is anything else I need to do while the wheel is off. I purchased the bike 3 years ago with 48K miles, and do not know what maintenance has been done, as far as replacing wheel bearings, but the rear pads have plenty of pad left. Do wheel bearings require new grease? I noticed the shop manual specifies moly grease be applied to final drive flange and damper rubber, and bearing seal. I guess the bearing seal grease is when replacing bearings, right?

This is the first time I have removed the rear wheel on this bike. I noticed some slight play between the final drive flange and the rear wheel damper rubber. Is this normal?

Unknown the age of wheel bearings. I don't notice a problem, and have an All Balls rear wheel bearing kit. When should these bearings be replaced?

I appreciate any help/suggestions.

I replaced the wheel dampers. IIRC there are 5 and they cost $7 apiece. Mechanic said the old ones looked good but I replaced them anyway.

If there is play between the drive flange and the rubber dampers, then it would be time to replace the rubbers and the aluminum inserts as well. The dampers should be very snug fit when new. The aluminum inserts can wear on the wheel side and not align properly causing accelerated wear on the rubbers. The wheel bearings should be replaced when they feel notchy or dirty when checking with your fingers. They should spin with a very smooth motion. I replaced mine at 90K miles and they still really did not need it.

There are three O-rings in the final drive of the ST 1100. One of them is visually obvious when the wheel is removed, one less obvious, and the last one almost qualifies as being hidden.

I suggest you replace the O-rings if you have the wheel off - they are not that expensive, and if the O-rings are worn or missing, water and debris can get into the final drive and cause expensive damage.

Below are some pictures to help you find the three O-rings.

Michael

First O-Ring (easy to find)




Second O-ring (look a bit closer to find it)




Third O-ring (frequently missed when servicing rear wheel)

CYYJ said:

There are three O-rings in the final drive of the ST 1100. One of them is visually obvious when the wheel is removed, one less obvious, and the last one almost qualifies as being hidden.

Click to expand...

Very nice pictures and explanation of the O-ring locations! Thanks for posting this for all to learn!

You could do this without the rear wheel out but it'll be easier with it removed. The seat release cable can come adrift from its retaining clip/bracket. This clip is under the cross member where the seat latch operates. I was unlucky enough for the cable to fall out of its holder and couldn't release the seat. About three hours later and with Seat still in place I could access the cable from the underside and release the seat. Phew.....
My fix was to drill a hole about 1 inch diameter about 2 inches behind the cross member to allow access to the area from underneath. To keep it tidy and dry put an automotive rubber grommet in there to neatly fill the hole. I would advise getting the grommet first so you know the hole is the right size, i.e. about 10% less than the grommet.
The cable popped back into the clip OK and is a bit of a mystery as to why it fell out. You can't trust the Japanese.
If it does happen again I can push the cable back in or release the seat manually. You really don't want to strip a Pan down with Seat still on.

P.S. Thanks for the o'ring info, I'm sure mine have never been replaced.

Little stuff you can do easier with the wheel removed.....lube the rubber shock bushing, the shifter linkage and pivot locations for both stands. Clean everything you can reach.

I bought five sets of the o-rings at this linky

My three O-rings always look really good. It's always a decision whether to replace them or not since they look more or less new. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.. Yes, that 5 pack of O-rings is the way to go.

Nice mention of that seat latch.

One other thing I do whenever the rear wheel is out:
Clean the threads of the exhaust clamp bolts (and the one holding the collector box at the frame) with a small wire brush, then apply copper spray (quite a load) on the bolts, clamps, in- & outside, and the exhaust joints.
Yep, bit smelly on first warm up, but helps to keep corrosion at bay and avoids snapping the bolts off during works required later on.

And +1 on shock bushings and shifter linkage.

ST1100Y said:

Clean the threads of the exhaust clamp bolts (and the one holding the collector box at the frame) with a small wire brush, then apply copper spray (quite a load) on the bolts, clamps, in- & outside, and the exhaust joints.

Click to expand...

Yep, another good tip that is not often mentioned.

Bleed the brakes after you get the rear wheel mounted... Change the rear drive gear oil. Change the air filter...
After all the bike could use the TLC...

BTW, you can buy high content moly grease at any good auto parts store. Ask for CV joint grease - it comes in a little packet and it's cheaper, too . Looks like Auto Zone has it for $2 a packet. I bought a Moog brand a while back for about $4 .