RD400 front wheel

triple1972 · March 18, 2020, 02:20:51 AM

Hi. I just replaced front wheel bearings and wheel does not spin freely. I am putting it together from a parts bike so not putting things back together the way they came apart. I do think I have all the parts needed. The drag could be a bearing or seal not seated completely but I think it's in the speedo clutch retainer pieces. All illustrations show the round retainer going on first then tabbed part after. Do you have to somehow get the tabbed retainer under the other retainer? Hope I gave enough info for help. Thank You.

Dvsrd · March 18, 2020, 05:12:08 AM

Did you install the spacer, that sits between the inner rings? If so, is it the correct length? (Is normally 0.05 to 0.10 mm longer than the distance between the bearing seats in the hub.
Were the bearing seats squeaky clean before installing the new bearings?
If all these things are as they should, then it must be seal drag, speedo drive or something entirely different.

Organicjedi · March 18, 2020, 01:24:35 PM

I found that the front wheel doesn't spin freely like a bike wheel. I think the drag from the speedo drive slows it down.

triple1972 · March 18, 2020, 08:09:33 PM

maybe take off speedo drive and spin again before looking further. re check seal seating too! Thanks

27 Cycles · March 18, 2020, 09:05:30 PM

The last time this happened to me it was the seals. I was running new "all balls" sealed bearings so I threw the outer seals in the trash. Spun forever with a quick flick!!

SUPERTUNE · March 19, 2020, 12:44:57 AM

Grind out the seals with a sanding roll so you have no drag. You can throw them away, or not run them at all as I always do on racebikes.
C

triple1972 · March 19, 2020, 02:38:30 AM

The bearings are "All Balls". I will look into all advice given by you guys. Maybe sand seals or throw them away. I did All Balls steering head bearings and in general there products are not that great imo. I thought I had put the 2 speedo clutch pieces in wrong. Yamaha and Clymer has clutch retainer going on before clutch meter. Didn't seem right. Thanks guys.

SUPERTUNE · March 19, 2020, 10:10:01 AM

Quote from: triple1972 on March 19, 2020, 02:38:30 AM
The bearings are "All Balls". I will look into all advice given by you guys. Maybe sand seals or throw them away. I did All Balls steering head bearings and in general there products are not that great imo. I thought I had put the 2 speedo clutch pieces in wrong. Yamaha and Clymer has clutch retainer going on before clutch meter. Didn't seem right. Thanks guys.

I just buy made in japan wheel bearings off ebay...
Steering head bearings are not high speed so the All Balls work ok.
What is a clutch meter?
Chuck

triple1972 · March 20, 2020, 02:06:45 AM

Just look up a front wheel diagram on Partzilla or any site. The clutch meter runs the speedo drive and it has a retainer. I haven't done a front wheel bearing replacement before and I wasn't putting a proper setup back together as taken apart so I relied on diagrams to put back together with correct parts. Chuck you probably could do it while sleeping.

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RD400 front wheel