Member Contributer TimTomCat Posted January 19, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 Anyone out there had or know of anyone having a bent rear axle on a VFR800? Just got off the phone to my mechanic! Bent rear axle. I'd been chasing this problem for a while through tyre dealers and Honda dealer twice. Take your hands off the bars momentarily at about 80Klms/hr and the bars would shake, not greatly noticeable while hands were on the bars though. I've had the bike since new and done 36000 klms, Honda dealer says they have never replaced a rear axle. When I asked the mechanic how could this happen he says I must have hit something big or something gone through the chain and sprockets, no such thing has ever happened. So if anyone has had the same problem please reply! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Uh, worn front tire or bad head bearings. Unless you've crashed the bike, I would really, REALLY hesitate to replace the rear axle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 19, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 Uh, worn front tire or bad head bearings. Unless you've crashed the bike, I would really, REALLY hesitate to replace the rear axle... Come on....just measure the runout, and if it's way out of spec then it's bent and needs replacing. By taking the rear wheel off and spinning it by hand you may even be able to feel it. Those axles are pretty tough, but not indestructible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 My guess is a bad tire or possibly rim, but nothing deeper than that, although worn steering head bearings can also shake like that, and with the Kilometers you have that is a possible cause. Be worth trying, steering bearing will be an improvement, and you can always keep the existing tires if they aren't the cause, and use them up later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 2002 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Uh, worn front tire or bad head bearings. Unless you've crashed the bike, I would really, REALLY hesitate to replace the rear axle... Say you hit a huge pot hole or ran something through the chain... You would have a tweaked rim, damaged sprocket, popped chain. If you have none of those, how are they proposing you have a bent axle? When you hear hoofbeats in Kansas, you look for cattle, not zebras. I think SEB is on the right track with steering head bearings. Maybe tires, or tire balance, are all the weights still there? Either rim tweaked? Possible (but improbable) shot bearing at the swingarm... any lateral movement, doubt it. Possible bearing issue at the front axle or rear axle. Frozen link in chain? All the above are very easy to diagnose quickly at home. I would rule each and every one out before I pulled the axle to put a dial indicator on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmythecop Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 wouldnt the wheel shear off the studs before that stbby axle would bend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer TimTomCat Posted January 19, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 Uh, worn front tire or bad head bearings. Unless you've crashed the bike, I would really, REALLY hesitate to replace the rear axle... Head bearings all ok. Replaced fork shims in the pursuit of this problem, they were worn, and have scalloped out one front tyre. Bike has never been crashed or hit anything. Axle was out of it today and out by 2.3mm on a dial guage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 How the F is that possible??? No crashes and it's that far out? That's ridiculous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Phantom Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 TimTomCat, Welcome to VFRD, neighbour - whereabouts on the Coast are you? You've just posted what might become one of the greatest ever VFR mysteries, to answer your question - in 10 years of online VFR website surfing I've certainly never heard of a bent axle on ANY single-sided-swingarm! As Seb said, how the %$@ is that possible... they are pretty beefy items. My money is on it being like that from Honda, but how you prove that is another story... Is your mechanic independent or Honda? If you do need to replace the axle let me know, a mate of mine in Brisbane has a knack for turning up mate's rates pricing (on just about any brand of bike). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Anyone out there had or know of anyone having a bent rear axle on a VFR800? NO! My 2000 had a hard enough impact to bend the SSSA :blink: if you can imagine that, but it didn't bend the axle. :huh: The only other though, have you ever let a Dealer work on your bike? :laugh: Good luck and keep us informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 How the F is that possible??? No crashes and it's that far out? That's ridiculous! 2.3mm? That's HUGE for an axle. :laugh: I have had mine out to clean and repack the rear hub bearings/replace cush rubbers and that axle is stubby and beefy. I can't imagine the force it would take to bend it. I'd love to see a youtube video of this axle chucked up in a lathe spinning at low speed with the dial indicator on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted January 19, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 Anyone out there had or know of anyone having a bent rear axle on a VFR800?Just got off the phone to my mechanic! Bent rear axle. I'd been chasing this problem for a while through tyre dealers and Honda dealer twice. Take your hands off the bars momentarily at about 80Klms/hr and the bars would shake, not greatly noticeable while hands were on the bars though. I've had the bike since new and done 36000 klms, Honda dealer says they have never replaced a rear axle. When I asked the mechanic how could this happen he says I must have hit something big or something gone through the chain and sprockets, no such thing has ever happened. So if anyone has had the same problem please reply! Never seem that problem before because you'll bend the aluminum wheel before you'll ever bend that stout steel axle... so before you ante up any money first ask to see the actual run out of the so called bent axle using a dail indicator... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted January 19, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 Take your hands off the bars momentarily at about 80Klms/hr and the bars would shake, not greatly noticeable while hands were on the bars though. You're experiencing front end trail wobble and it's normal... some bikes may wobble decelerating through the 45 mph range... keeping your hands on the bars cures the front end wobble... some bikes wobble more than others and it's no big deal with your hands on the bars in the critical speed range... your bike should be immune at speeds above 45 mph... The wobble is essentially a steering oscillation of the front forks that doesn't involve the rear frame is any significant way... Typical 4 Hz for heavy bikes and 9 Hz for lighter bikes... The frequency increases as the trail increases and as front weight decreases... it depends essentially on the side grip of the front tire... Manufactures work hand in hand with tire designers to produce a bike and tire combination that quills the nature frequency of the front to wobble... Haven't you noticed on some new model bikes they call for a specific tire??? As that tire wears down and needs replacing the owner can go with the known stock tire or venture into the unknown choosing a different manufactures tire... he may get lucky and find a tire with the ability to quill the natural frequency of the front wobble... or get unlucky a find a tire that aggravates the front wobble... some tires dampened the wobble better than others... In conclusion... focus on tires... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted January 19, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 How the F is that possible??? No crashes and it's that far out? That's ridiculous! 2.3mm? That's HUGE for an axle. :laugh: I'd love to see a youtube video of this axle chucked up in a lathe spinning at low speed with the dial indicator on it. I gotta see that one too! MD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I found my steering oscillation wobble to be at 5.273856237820474537 Hz and have corrected that by hanging some fuzzy dice from the right mirror at 1.3325 mm from the mount. Stability has been significantly increased! :laugh: Just messing with Larry. :blink: Back to the subject, If you have any movement at the axle shaft I would tend to look at a bearing issue before a bent axle issue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer 2FAST4U Posted January 19, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 i'm by no means an expert on these things, but i find it incredibly hard to believe your rear axle is bent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer TimTomCat Posted January 19, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 19, 2009 TimTomCat,Welcome to VFRD, neighbour - whereabouts on the Coast are you? You've just posted what might become one of the greatest ever VFR mysteries, to answer your question - in 10 years of online VFR website surfing I've certainly never heard of a bent axle on ANY single-sided-swingarm! As Seb said, how the %$@ is that possible... they are pretty beefy items. My money is on it being like that from Honda, but how you prove that is another story... Is your mechanic independent or Honda? If you do need to replace the axle let me know, a mate of mine in Brisbane has a knack for turning up mate's rates pricing (on just about any brand of bike). Hi The Phantom, I'm trying to reply to many replies here as well, I have had most of the same thoughts as the comments posted here, can't believe it! I'm at BLI BLI, closer to the Nambour end near Clayton's. My mechanic is independent and we may have figured the problem, he has been scratching his head too as there isn't any bearing damage or play. The axle is bent at the point where the wall is the thinnest (hollow axle for those that don't know), that is at the axle nut end in the swingarm. He said that it is possible that at 100kmh/hr a stone has gone through the chain and sprocket and would hardly be noticeable. At first he was reluctant to believe that the chain would not have been the weakest link (pardon the pun). This would probably be Honda's defense even if the axle was defective from the factory, and who is to say that it isn't so. Upon closer inspection of the axle he noted just how thin the wall of the axle is near the axle nut. So for all the people that think it isn't possible have a look at an axle and see what you think! All for now! Thanks everyone for your comments. Cheers, TimTomCat. P.S. I first noticed this with the bike on the centre stand, the axle nut itself was running out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 If the rear axle was bent , Id think you feel it in the rear of the bike(as in out of balance, not the front. The decel wobble? If your getting decel wobble on ppowers ,you have isues in the suspension or headset, those things will decel from 80mph no hands, smoothly. If using automated balancers , I guarantee they are over and missed weighted , i redo mine everytime, finally just tell the shops dont balance it, do it when i get home. But I agree , I'd want to see how they came to that conclusion. I've jumped the vfr on more than one occasion and it flys like a rock but nothing has bent. its only those guys that try to run 30 psi through potholes that bend rims LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted January 21, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 21, 2009 Hi The Phantom,I'm trying to reply to many replies here as well, I have had most of the same thoughts as the comments posted here, can't believe it! I'm at BLI BLI, closer to the Nambour end near Clayton's. My mechanic is independent and we may have figured the problem, he has been scratching his head too as there isn't any bearing damage or play. The axle is bent at the point where the wall is the thinnest (hollow axle for those that don't know), that is at the axle nut end in the swingarm. He said that it is possible that at 100kmh/hr a stone has gone through the chain and sprocket and would hardly be noticeable. At first he was reluctant to believe that the chain would not have been the weakest link (pardon the pun). This would probably be Honda's defense even if the axle was defective from the factory, and who is to say that it isn't so. Upon closer inspection of the axle he noted just how thin the wall of the axle is near the axle nut. So for all the people that think it isn't possible have a look at an axle and see what you think! All for now! Thanks everyone for your comments. Cheers, TimTomCat. P.S. I first noticed this with the bike on the centre stand, the axle nut itself was running out. Mercy... your rear sprocket is on a separte bearing and cush drive... so you can not bend the axle by stone jamming against the chain... Your axle wall is thin but it's no thinner than Honda's racing axle and that is good enought for 191RWHP the whole season... PM and I'll shoot you my phone number... maybe your mechanic would like stop scratching and start asking questions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoxmole Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Uh, worn front tire or bad head bearings. Unless you've crashed the bike, I would really, REALLY hesitate to replace the rear axle... How the F is that possible??? No crashes and it's that far out? That's ridiculous! Couldn't agree more! Didn't he say it was the REAR axle? Honestly, there's no "rear axle" to speak of on a VFR to bend. The rear wheel is mounted in the middle to a severely stout piece of swing arm. And to be out THAT far. Hell no. I'm going with the front tire thing because he said it was in the bars. Been there, felt that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Alien VFR Posted January 21, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 21, 2009 As I neared the mid-life point of my front Dunlop tire, which was the original tire on what was then a brand new bike, I had the same exact symptoms you describe. I dealt with it until it was time for new rubber. New tires, and I never felt that vibration again. If you look closely at the picture below, you can see that both my front and rear rims are bent from hitting a pothole while leaned over in an 80mph right hand sweeper. (Talk about pucker moment) Even with this damage, I have NO VIBRATION. I would start by replacing the tires. It's my best guess that that's your problem, and it's the easiest place to start looking for solutions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer SAFE-T Posted January 21, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 21, 2009 Didn't he say it was the REAR axle? Honestly, there's no "rear axle" to speak of on a VFR to bend. The rear wheel is mounted in the middle to a severely stout piece of swing arm. What he said... http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycl...o/m2795sch89011 The only 'axle' part is completely contained within the swingarm's eccentric and cush drive assembly, and not just regular steel either. And if it was bent where is the rear tire vibration ? This thing is rotating at high speed with 2.3mm of supposed runout and 16-20lbs of rim/tire on it. As others have remarked 2.3mm is a lot for a rotating part - you would think you might notice that. Time to get a second opinion from another mechanic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I would think the only way you could possibly bend one of these things would be a hard slide into a curb. :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer SAFE-T Posted January 21, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted January 21, 2009 Are there any scrapes on the swingarm where something like a rock may have jammed momentarily between the cush drive and the swingarm leaving a skid mark in the aluminum ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer TimTomCat Posted February 20, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted February 20, 2009 How the F is that possible??? No crashes and it's that far out? That's ridiculous! 2.3mm? That's HUGE for an axle. :beer: I have had mine out to clean and repack the rear hub bearings/replace cush rubbers and that axle is stubby and beefy. I can't imagine the force it would take to bend it. I'd love to see a youtube video of this axle chucked up in a lathe spinning at low speed with the dial indicator on it. Check out the following Quicktime movie if anyone is still interested! http://users.bigpond.net.au/transitqld/vfr_axle.mov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.