rear clicking noise

[camccardell]

As if my bike didn't hate me enough...
I took my bike out for a ride and I was hearing a clicking noise which sounded like it was coming from the rear wheel. I killed the bike and coasted and sure enough there is a loud clicking noise which is consistent with the rotation of the rear tire.

I rolled the bike back and forth and couldn't find a nail or a stone in the treads. Maybe its a bearing? Anything else I should be looking for?

Chris

 

[Chkwgn460]

Mine was a bearing. I replaced them and the seal and it went away. There are quite a few threads on here that talk about it. I went with all balls racing but was later told they are not the best quality.

 

[Jag]

Rear bearings need to be replaced!

 

[warp9.9]

Check wheel bearings first thats the cheap stuf pay attention to the brakes to make sure its not making the noise. And while your at and the rear wheel is off remove the rear differential and clean and grease the internal splines and the rear spline on the drive shaft.

 

[camccardell]

is it still safe to ride? or should I trailer it?

 

[barbagris]

is it still safe to ride? or should I trailer it?

How far? - a mile or two, slow speed - I'd ride it.
More than say 20miles and at any speed - I'd err on the side of caution.

 

[sonny]

Word of caution. Had a rear wheel bearing on a Harley juts collapsed. Lucky i did not dump the bike. No damage to rim but did end up trailer the bike back to the house. Slight clicking noise coming from rear prior to disaster.

 

[Chkwgn460]

I rode mine with the clicking for a little while with no problems, but definitely wouldn't wait to long.

 

[Claviger]

Rear wheel bearing failure is one of the easiest ways to have a wreck on a bike. If you do ride to a shop, ride is slowly and very gently. Wear gear

 

[camccardell]

well, after a lot of work, and some money, the bearings are replaced. They all felt fine though. I kept them and they all seem to spin freely. I need to get some grease for the drive shaft splines and the hub splines before I re-install the wheel. Any recommendations?