1940 chief wheel bearings

[jn1972]

I am redoing a 1940 chief , I had the rims respoked by buchanans ,I had the new tires mounted and balanced .when the front wheel is mounted in the fork there is still a slight wobble ,I am revisiting the wheel bearings, what should the Clearence be between the hollow axel and the roller bearings be ? I can wiggle mine side to side about 1/16 of an inch. Thanks jerry

[Yellow53Chief]

Hi,
Rollers can be as tight as 0.001" clearance. This would be a barely perceptible 'looseness' when dry. When greased, it is very difficult to feel. 1/16" sounds more like a spacer issue, but the bearings could be that loose. Once the wheel is assembled, one has to differentiate the roller bearings from the drum side ball bearings. There is also the issue of side-play even if the bearings are fit properly. If everything was fine before you did the work, something must have changed, and it probably wasn't the respoking or retiring. Maybe the reassembly order isn't quite right. If you are measuring the 1/16" at the tire, and it is something like a tipping back-and-forth, the problem is less severe. The drum side ball bearing is difficult to tell what is going on as the ball bearings are caged. Personally, I have had more drum ball bearings wear out compared to the roller bearings. Careful observation at the axle may tell which side has the problem. Just say the drum side ball bearing is giving the 1/16" tip measured at the tire. That isn't horrible, and it might wait until the end of the riding season for a repair.

[cdf6333]

My guess is that the tire is out of round by a little or not seated fully on the rim. Let the air out, bounce it around on the floor a few times and refill it. Go to about 30 lbs to really reseat the tire. Occasionally part of the tube is trapped under the tire bead, watch out for that.