New Rear Tire - now a bearing whine

[jp2magna]

I pulled the back wheel off and took it to a shop to have a new tire mounted (Metzler ME880 170/80x15).

When I started to put the wheel back on, the wheel cover that the drive sprocket is mounted to came off (it is not bolted down).

This revealed about 5 rubber wedges that promptly fell out.

I had to look at the Service Manual (Section 13-5) to find that they are called "Rear Wheel Dampers," but it did not say anything about how to get these five boogers back in. There was a mention about the bearings and how to replace them from the Common Service Manual.

A quick flip through the Common Service Manual only showed me how to service a shaft drive! What the...? Hey! Anyway...

When I tried to slide the cover plate back together with the dampers back in place, each damper had to be compressed a little to get the cover to fit in place. I wasn't able to compress all 5 at one time, but I could use a little screwdriver to compress each wedge in succession and get the cover plate to nudge down a little as I went around the wheel several times.

For the final bit, I wasn't able to fit the screwdriver under the cover plate anymore, and there was too much friction for the aluminum plate to slide over the rubber dampers. So, I squirted a little WD-40 onto the sides where the dampers were making contact with the cover plate, and wiggled the plate down into position.

I finally got that sucker back together, then (more carefully, this time) positioned my wheel back under the bike, slid the rear axle (i.e. great big bolt) back through the wheel, and got everything bolted back in place.

Now, when I go down the road, I get a little rubbing noise as the wheel goes around a certain spot.

Are one of the bearings out? These should last a while, shouldn't they (I'm at 16k miles)?

Do I need to just add more grease?

Could I have put the dampers back together incorrectly?

[Charles S Otwell]

When I had mine off I took the rubber dampners out just out of curiosity. I just lay mine back in and put it back together with out any effort. I think if you look at the marks the rubber pads made inside the housing you can tell which way they go. At least that's how I could tell. Hope this helps good luck.

[DC Smith]

I agree with Charles.  When I replaced my rear tire, the dampers went back in with no effort or prying.  Me thinks you did not get them in properly.

[jp2magna]

I agree with Charles.  When I replaced my rear tire, the dampers went back in with no effort or prying.  Me thinks you did not get them in properly.

Hmm... There weren't any marks inside the case when I looked in mine. I put them back in so that they'd look like pie wedges (i.e. Small part towards the center), but I could not tell if my "pie" was right-side-up or upside-down.

If that's where the whine noise comes from, I can disregard it. Right? Nothing is going to break. The bearing would not go out because of something like that, would it?

[DC Smith]

Don't know if this would cause damage, but I think I would want to correct it.  The dampers are there to soften the constant back and forth motion on the rear (for acceleration/deceleration).  If yours are in that tight I would think they are not functioning properly.

[Charles S Otwell]

I do remember that one way they were too tight ,thats when I looked to see if there were markings , there is a right side up for the wedges. If you can't see anything on yours I'll be glad to pull mine and tell you which way they go , I think if you turn them over you'll be able to tell anyway. again goodluck.

[jp2magna]

I do remember that one way they were too tight ,thats when I looked to see if there were markings , there is a right side up for the wedges. If you can't see anything on yours I'll be glad to pull mine and tell you which way they go , I think if you turn them over you'll be able to tell anyway. again goodluck.

I'll give that a whirl, but I may have to wait until this weekend to get back with you on the results if I can't get to it in the evenings after work.

Thanks for the tip!

[John Luttrell]

I agree, the rubber pads should almost drop into place when installed properly.

http://i2.tinypic.com/630zd3n.jpg

[Greg Cothern]

As stated, they simply drop in and the package slides in effortlessly.

[jp2magna]

As stated, they simply drop in and the package slides in effortlessly.

Well, drats. I took a 50/50 shot and lost then. I'll flip them the other way.

It would have been nice if the factory Service Manual had said anything about them.

[Gloveberg]

Did you align and tighten the chain properly in addition to the rear brake adjustment rod?

Also, do you have a copy of the Magna Service Manual or just the Honda Common Service Manual?

[jp2magna]

Did you align and tighten the chain properly in addition to the rear brake adjustment rod?

Also, do you have a copy of the Magna Service Manual or just the Honda Common Service Manual?

The chain is tightened to within 1-inch, and the site notches on each side are set identical.

The Magna Service Manual (MSM) only showed a picture of the dampers in an exploded view of the rear wheel assembly. It referenced the Common Service Manual (CSM), but the CSM only showed the shaft drive version.

[jp2magna]

FYI: It took a while, but the dampers have been corrected.

It turns out, the dampers do not go in one way or the other, but rather they are meant to straddle the fins inside the wheel.

If anyone here knew that, it would have saved me some headache and a mechanics bill!

As for the 170/70-15 Metzler ME880, it certainly drops the RPM at speed. It also requires me to give it a little more gas when taking off! There have been a couple of times so far where I took off without giving it enough gas, like I used to do with the 150/80-15 K555 Dunlop and the engine stalled on me.

I know: It has nothing to do with the tire brand. It is the tire height. I wanted to post the results on here for others. If you want to keep that fast take-off of your Magna, you'd better stick with the smaller 150/80 tire!

[Charles S Otwell]

>If anyone here knew that, it would have saved me some headache and a mechanics bill!<


I apologize for my lack of expertise causing you to have to hire a mechanic to fix your mistake. In my defense I did offer to take mine apart and look for you. This reply is not that of anyone else on this forum just mine .

[jp2magna]

Hmm... may have been poor choice of words. Maybe instead, it should have read, "If anyone on this board had all the information from me, they probably would have been able to have told me how to fix that."

I certainly did not mean to sound like I was accusing anyone. Not at all. Just posting results just in case someone else ever has the same problems.