Article [13] ST1300 - Rear Flange Bearing Replacement

Thx Tip. I thought as much, but wanted to ask before assuming so. A needle Bering typically is good for higher loading, but has risk of overheating or more quickly wearing than a ball bearing. Needles can perform, but need to be manuf to higher stds than ball bearings (IMO, for this application).

Re: ST1300 Rear Flange Bearing Replacement

Here's how I did it with a tyre bead breaker,a socket & extender, some wood offcuts and my trusty B&D Workmate

I have posted this on another Flange drive thread, but most people will come here first, I think.

can't go wrong with the CBR bearings---Quality is worth the price

Just pulled the flang bearings from my 03 ST1300. I bought this bike two years ago with 26000 miles on it. I've now got 56K and the bearings feel like silk and look almost new. The grease is extremely clean looking.
I really done think they need changing. Any opinions?

They feel smooth Jim? If yes, I'd agree you should leave them alone.

JimSTer said:

I really done think they need changing. Any opinions?

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not broke, don't fix it...

I just replaced all my bearings and they still felt OK after 115,000 miles. The flange bearings still were complete with grease inside of them. I am not sure what all you guys are doing to your bearings. I went the CBR bearing kit and also replaced the steering stem bearings also.

Gus1300 said:

Just replaced my rear tire (PR2 from Avon Storm II) and flange bearings yesterday (to CBR single bearing). Thanks to Mellow for this article; I'm embarassed that my bike isn't anywhere near as pristine as his in the photos...but it gets me where I want to go nonetheless. Here are a few pictures of what you DON'T want to see when you look at the bearings! I had been experiencing a 'settle' when going around corners, not sure if it was tire related or bearing related, but planned to check both when I did the tire swap. The wheel bearings were good to go, smooth as silk. The drive flange bearing was not.

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I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet (sorry if this is an echo) but when you see grease on the flange like photo number 2, it's a very clear sign that you need an new o-ring to hold that moly grease in place as it is visibly escaping past that o-ring and causing a dry metal on metal contact with predicable acceleration in wear of two very expensive (and hard to replace) parts.

I believe the stock o-ring is 3.5 mm, but could even be replaced by one a bit thicker (4.0mm maybe). Just my $0.02 worth.

Great thread BTW

Oh, and clean up that old grease so you can see if/when it starts to leak out again, or if it doesn't, that is your o-ring is doing it's job

Something else to look for; If your o-ring has a groove in it like this one, it's tired and time to replace
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=144634&d=1381762022

New bearings today. Old ones were toast.

It is time to change my flange bearings as well. Where is the best place to get good quality bearings? The Dealer wants $70.00 for one bearing!!!! Ron Ayers wants $10.00 for each one. Is the quality from Ron Ayers good or not??? I e-mailed CBR bearings for price on the "Driven Flange Bearings" last night and still no reply. Where should I go to get good bearings??? Thanks

ST Guy; said:

Where should I go to get good bearings??? Thanks

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You should have a bearing house close by you. Good brand names in bearings are SKF, F.A.G., NTN etc.
Call one that you have locally and see if they have them on the shelf.
I personally bought a sleeve of 10 of them from China, removed all the crappy grease they put in them and repacked them with a synthetic Mobil grease.
8,000 miles on them so far and no abnormal noises. Will check them on my next tire change.

You need 2 6905RS bearings... many local shops will carry them. If you want the bearings bought and bagged by Honda, and in turn resold to you, get part number 91052-KZ4-J21 from any online parts seller.

My opinion... if you can't verify the brand name as one of the known good manufacturers, skip buying it as it is likely made in China (Bearings from China can be substandard). Some 10-packs of 6905rs bearings from Amazon, for example, don't have a manufacturers mark on them.

Thanks for the info Guys

ST Guy said:

It is time to change my flange bearings as well. Where is the best place to get good quality bearings? The Dealer wants $70.00 for one bearing!!!! Ron Ayers wants $10.00 for each one. Is the quality from Ron Ayers good or not??? I e-mailed CBR bearings for price on the "Driven Flange Bearings" last night and still no reply. Where should I go to get good bearings??? Thanks

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I went with the CBR bearings, I placed a phone call to them and placed my order.

ST Guy said:

The Dealer wants $70.00 for one bearing!!!! Ron Ayers wants $10.00 for each one. Is the quality from Ron Ayers good or not?

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Your dealer must have looked up the rwong part #. I just bought the 2 flange bearings at $15 each, in official Honda packaging with official Honda part#
EDIT: ... bought at Honda of Houston (thought I should mention I bought them at a dealership).

caldercay said:

Your dealer must have looked up the rwong part #. I just bought the 2 flange bearings at $15 each, in official Honda packaging with official Honda part#

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ST Guy does have a 2004 ... you know it requires faster bearings.

Below is the 2014 pricing for the correct bearing from Honda.

BEARING (6905RS) 91052-KZ4-J21 $9.48

http://www.hondabikes.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=4436228&category=Motorcycles&make=Honda&year=2005&fveh=192320

Anyone got a part # for that roller bearing substitute for us Canucks? BTW my cost for SKF 6905RS is $57.25 ea.

O.K. .. for the benefit of the thread I can now answer my own question thanks to a very prompt email reply from Charlie at CBR. Load carrying capacity of the (Japanese-IKO) roller bearing is twice that of the combined 6905's. The roller bearing and the inner race sell for $44.00 (Part# RNA 4905 UU and LRTZ 253018). The complete rear wheel bearing kit includes the roller bearing, 2 outer wheel bearings, dust seal and two o-rings for $89.00. Shipping to Ontario is $19.50 USPS priority flat rate. So I get the entire kit cheaper from across the continent internationally than for the 2 German bearings locally.

Not to hijack this thread, but this is the closest area to my problem. I took my wheel off to replace the tire myself. Before now the shop does it. I cleaned the pumpkin and these pieces came out. I can't figure out what it is--or was--from any schematic I could find.

What is this part?