Help needed rear wheel play.

[no sub for cubes]

Hi guys first id like to say what a fantastic websight this is,after purchasing my first kx 500 ive read various bits of info on here and found it a wealth of information.A real kx comuntity feeling .Id like to pick anyones brains if poss,im currently rebuilding an 88 k500,just got the wheels back in replaced the rear wheel bearings only to find for some reason i still have side play in the rear wheel..I have basically 2 bikes to make one good un so have tried both wheels both axles,both sets of spacers,put the axle in the other way but still cant get rid of this side movement play.To my knowledge and following the book ive put it back together correctly(space in hub,bearings,circlip on disc side,oil seals,dust seals and the spacers biggest spacer on the sprocket side?)the one bearing is very easy to fit almost push it in by hand is that normal?
  Any help is much appreciated and thanks again guys for a great informative web sight.

[don46]

The sprocket side spacer should be 18mm, the brake side spacer should be 13mm. The spacer inside the hub is 120mm long, the bearings are standard 6004, 42x20x12, if you have all these components and the right rear brake caliper holder it should be tight or at least very minimal clearance. My 07 kx450 had a couple of mm clearance when the axle was loose. In 89 kawi went to a 22 mm spacer on both sides

[Johnniespeed]

The bearing should not just push in easy into the hub. I would look very closely at the hub to determine if the hub is wobbled out and causing the slop. It is possible that both hubs have the same worn spot.
 Keep us posted.
  John 

[Hillclimb#42]

Yeah, probably sprocket side wore-out. Should be press fit. My bikes have a little play before tightening down the axel nut. Are we talking about play when that's tight? With new bearrings. Was there wear on the axel where the bearrings ride? Wear a little tolerance here and there adds up sometimes.
 How do you remember so much Don?

[no sub for cubes]

Thanks for the advice guys its really appreciated,when the wheel axles done up tight there is more than id say acceptable freeplay,i cant see any excessive wear on the axle but with the wheel out and axle in the loose wheel through the bearings it does appear to have slight movement on the sprocket side,this could be down to wear in the hub as you guys suggested and by coincedence that both wheels have wear in the same place "BUGGER"!
Im a little baffled as well that the spacer on the sprocket side(the bigger one) doesn`t hold the dust seal flush over the hub :/ its free to move up and down the spacer which defeats its purpose,thanks again guys i appreciate all your help,great site and a wealth of info and advice

[Mick]

I had to replace the rear hub on my '89.  The sprocket side of the hub had become oval.  It didn't show noticable signs of wear marks, nothing you could see.  But sure as hell the bearing wasn't a press fit.  The Talon hub I replaced it with has two bearings on the drive side.

Oh and before I got the Talon hub I had a problem with the drive side bearing going bad every year.  The more power the bike made the sooner the bearing went out.

[don46]

Yeah, probably sprocket side wore-out. Should be press fit. My bikes have a little play before tightening down the axel nut. Are we talking about play when that's tight? With new bearrings. Was there wear on the axel where the bearrings ride? Wear a little tolerance here and there adds up sometimes.
 How do you remember so much Don?

I think I have pre-alzheimers, i remember what happened 20 years ago like yesterday, oh yeah thats right I can't remember what I did yesterday.

If you can find a newer style (97+) they have the 2 bearings on the sprocket side. If you had a good machinist you could maybe install a thin steel sleeve to tighten it up but that'd probably cost as much as a new hub, speaking of new hub there was a 86 hub on ebay last week brand new didn't pay much attention to it as I wasn't in the marketfor one. If I remember right the 88 disc takes 8 screws, 89 and newer use 6. I think you could use a talon hub for an 89 or newer, the hub will be nrrower but the spacers will be wider, pretty sure it would fit

You said you had side play, can you take a picture, could the wear be the axle itself, did the bearing go in reasonably hard?

[no sub for cubes]

The bearing on the drive side goes in really easy literally slides in by hand ive attached some pics and the pic with me holding the bearing is from me just lifting it out with my fingers..from reading my manual it does suggest the one bearing is an easy fit because you have no way of driving them out in the hub but from what you guys are informing me it should still be a tighter fit than it literally sliding in like it does.Im starting to belive from your guys info both the hubs in both wheels have excessive wear on the sprocket side unfortunate but seem viable.
Your right don its got 8 bolts on the disc,so if i got hold of a later wheel would it fit?im guessing i need the spacers cos their different to mine right?and the caliper mount?Still not sure about the dust seal, if you look at the pic its not pinned tight against the hub by the spacer like the one on the brake side is by the smaller space just seems like somethings a miss but nothing shown in the book that suggests different.
Anyways thanx again guys times something i have on my side, I couldnt of chose a better time for building a building a bike

[Friar-Tuck]

 Cubes,
  If the hub is warn you may also have some other issues at work here.
With the bike on a stand,  grab the rear wheel (front and back) and twist back and forth.
 From what you have described you should get movement (wheel bearings)
  Look at the spokes and check for movement there also.

  Now take both hands and push / pull together, and look for movement in your swingarm.  If the hub has been "Out" a while the swingarm will have been taking an extra bit of banging also.
 Forgive me if you have already done this stuff, "but the ankle bone connected to the shin bone" kind of thing.  I had this going on with my XR, It wasn't as bad as you describe at the hub,
however I ended up replacing the swingarm,linkage and shock bearings also.  Merry Christmas!
  Tuck\o/   

[no sub for cubes]

Merry xmas tuck   , i bought the bike (well 2 bikes)in bits and have just started to put it back together so ive replaced all bearing in the shock,linkage and swinging arm,that all feels nice and tight,just this wheel giving me probs so far,everybodys been very helpful taken time to advise,its looking like im gonna have to aquire another hub and get the wheel rebuilt or take a chance and buy a second hand wheel and hope the hubs not excessively worn as well..if i go down that road i need to establish what wheels will fit and what mods if any are required.
 

[Hillclimb#42]

 Before you throw it all in the trash, listen to what the Friar is saying. Really look at it, when together. Have someone else do the wiggling, and you can usually see the point moving. Not too scientific, but thats how I know what needs replaced also. It is more obvious where the weak point is, the more slop you have in it.
  I don't know what you have goin on with that seal. Is it possible then that you have newer wheel with original internals?

[no sub for cubes]

Its a valid point guys i have got a little play on the drive side in the hub,and the bearing literally does slide in by hand but being a complete novice and reading in the manual the one bearing is looser i took it as normal...until its all bolted up and the wheel movement is then more than a little bit,I will have another look though before i dismiss this theory,as for the dust seal it should be pushed up tight against the hub by the space i take it?again its poss some of the conponents are a miss match of yrs..
 Thanks for taking the time to  help guys

[HodaddyB]

I've got a worn out hub on my '87 too. I'm probably just going to buy a later model unit w/ the double (or perhaps triple) bearings. Not sure what the differences are, but early brake discs are hard to find too, so the later hardware will help w/ parts sourcing.

[KXcam22]

This may be a bandaid but I know that locktite makes various bearing seating compounds.  I was wondering how well one of those would work to take up the extra clearance. Cam.

[no sub for cubes]

that was my thought as well Hodaddy just starts getting expensive though having to buy a later wheel then  the spacers are  diff and the rear brake mount then another caliper etc,i did think i might take the wheel along to a bearing shop just to see if they could size it up with a slightly bigger bearing on the drive side which is the prob and maintain the same inner diameter for the spindle,worth a try i guess  ,i did have somebody suggest the same idea as you cam might look down that avenue if all else fails,at the moment ive just moved on with the build and will go back to it at a later date, im keen to fire the motor up and see what the things like