You can say that you love and cherish your bike, but unless you understand all of its needs and take proper care of each and every one of its parts, I won’t believe a word of it. I’ve seen it happen many times – young people, driven by their strong desire to experience the intense and unique feeling of freedom riding a motorcycle offers, buy a bike and use it without maintaining it well and regularly. Some bikers don’t even know all the basic and important components their mechanical beast is made up of, which says a lot about them.
One of the most neglected motorcycle parts is definitely the wheel bearing. Many professional mechanics say that a significant number of their regular clients didn’t know about these components until they informed them that theirs needed to be replaced. Before I tell you why exactly these parts don’t deserve to be taken for granted, I’ll inform or remind you what their job is.
Motorcycle wheel bearings are simple parts that are usually made of stainless steel. As their name suggests, they are responsible for bearing a bike’s wheels. All right, all right, that’s obvious. Let’s go deeper. A high-quality motorbike wheel bearing does two extremely important jobs: first, it allows the wheel to rotate in a smooth, friction-free manner, and second, it supports the weight of the bike.
Checking, servicing and replacing these motorcycle components is necessary because a damaged or worn out motorbike wheel bearing will most likely cause trouble. Ill handling with weaves and wobbles (something that’s similar to a flat tyre) and ill health – if the wheel bearing collapses and the wheel cocks to one side to lock the chain up are the two most common problems caused by an old and damaged wheel bearing. Moreover, if the wheel bearing isn’t kept in acceptable condition, the wheel may literally fall off the vehicle, which I’m more than sure you know how dangerous can be, especially when riding the motorbike. All of this explains why these unnoticed-by-many-bikers components need to be inspected on a regular basis.
If you start hearing weird chirping, growling or rumbling sounds coming from your bike’s wheels, I advise you to take it to a professional mechanic or examine it yourself (if you are confident in your mechanic skills, of course). The unusual noise you are hearing may be a sign that your vehicle’s wheel bearings are failing, so don’t ignore what your motorcycle is trying to warn you about.