BMW Airhead Wheel Bearing Assembly - R60/5 Project

[@simonhall48]

Excellent clarity. Thank you. I have an R75/5 wheel bearing to replace and this will help enormously

[@wuja69]

Bardzo cenne widności zamieściłeś w filmie. Dziękuję i pozdrawiam z Polski.

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Thank you very much sir! I always try to share as many details as possible. I appreciate your support😃👍🏽 Regards Andreas

[@simonfletcher3982]

Another great episode Andreas. These are going to provide such great reference material for airhead owners - can’t thank you enough for producing them. What are your plans for the bike when you finish the project - will you be riding it? Look forward to seeing it in all its eventual glory, in any case. Just for info, I have been promoting the playlist on ADV rider, which has a very popular airheads forum. Thanks again!

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Thank you very much for your comment, Simon! I plan on riding this bike once complete and I wish top keep it in top shape. I‘ll tell you already now: This won‘t be my last BMW😉 Every bit of support helps me create more videos, so THANK YOU! I really hope this video series will assist many BMW airhead enthusiasts who are in need of service work. More content is on the way. Regards Andreas

[@rgmax6205]

Excellent tutorial and attention to detail. Makes me want to get an old airhead just to work on it. Don’t know how you keep both metric and imperial measurements straight. I only ever used imperial on old American iron. Keep up the great work!

[@WorkshopRebuild]

I'm glad you enjoyed this video! BMW airheads are known to be easy to service and they are definitely fun to ride. If you have the chance to pick one up, you probably won't regret it. I switch back on forth from metric to Imperial all the time, due to manufacturer specifications. Once you understand what conversions are equal, it's not that hard to forget. Even though imperial is superior to metric, I like to use both...maybe I'll share more on this in an upcoming video. Thanks a lot for your support. I will continue to upload more videos about this BMW and maybe introduce some new projects sooner than later. Regards Andreas

[@MasonicInc]

Thank you so much Andreas. I can’t tell you how helpful your videos are. I’m about to assemble my snowflake R100T ‘79 wheels and your continued attention to detail and explanation is invaluable. You should set up a patreon or something so we can support you. I’d buy that block from you as well plus that amazing engine stand you did as well anytime. 🙏

[@WorkshopRebuild]

That's fantastic to hear! I appreciate your support and enthusiasm for the content. Setting up a Patreon could be a great idea to offer more support for my viewers, with files, drawings, documents etc. I will consider this moving forward into 2024. Best of luck with assembling your snowflake R100T wheels, so you can be back on the road sometime soon! Regards Andreas

[@steveratner]

Andreas thanks so much for your fast reply. So glad i have it right. I’ve learned so much from you! Can’t wait to see your finished airhead. Thanks again!

[@WorkshopRebuild]

@steveratner I feel fulfilled when I can provide valuable information to my viewers, such as yourself! That's the essence I aim to convey in my videos. A few more sub-assemblies need to be completed, but all the necessary parts are in my shop to finish the R60/5. So, it shouldn't take much longer-just a bit more effort and time. I look forward to sharing the results with you soon! -Andreas

[@benjaminwest2281]

Dear MasonicInc, I hope you had great success on your bearing installation. I have the 1983 R65 with the snowflake wheels. The outer races remove from there respective sides, do to a shoulder inside the hub. My rear went well. My front has lateral run out. I suspect my bearings are not getting full contact in their outer races. Mabey a thinner wedding band. Take care, Benjamin

[@MasonicInc]

@@benjaminwest2281it went well, I’m finishing a complete electronic overhaul currently and reworking the bike. Sadly taking me longer than needed.

[@steveratner]

You really do an amazing job. The detail and explanation within your videos is exceptional. I’m confused regarding the bmw preload specs. they call for specs between 21 to 42 inch oz and you settled at 16 to 24 wouldn’t that be below spec? thanks for all this great work.

[@steveratner]

all good, i wasn't thinking. your reading of 24 is within bmw specs.

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Thank you very much for you comment, Steve! The preload specs from BMW are actually on the higher end like you mentioned in your first comment. After consulting with various BMW experts, they told me I should opt for the lower end of the preload spec. There's a lot of information about this in various forums and Facebook groups, and everyone recommends this. If you go any higher, let's say between 30-42, your bearings could fail prematurely. I tried my best to source the preload data for the bearing I had in this video, but I just didn't find any information. Hopefully with the information in this video you'll be able to repair your own BMW wheel bearings. Regards Andreas

[@steveratner]

Andreas I thought the use of the torque tool to help determine preload was brilliant. It’s really difficult for an inexperienced person to do it by feel so I decided to pick one up to help set my rear bearing pack. When setting the preload with the bearings dry it went perfectly. In fact I was able to achieve 20-24 oz inches with the tool which matched when I did it by the feel approach. So confident that I was doing it correctly I greased up the bearings but before I put it in the wheel I decided to test the bearing pack with the torque tool. It seems the grease made the axel harder to turn and the torque reading was higher 35-40 oz inches. Does that sound right and is that why the pack must be tested dry? Thank you.

[@WorkshopRebuild]

@@steveratner Hi Steve, I'm happy to hear that you've assembled your own bearing packs! The way you described it is spot on, during the assembly you want to keep your bearing packs "dry" or just slightly lubed with some oil in order to determine the bearing preload. After that you will grease your bearings packs and reinstall them into your hubs. The torque value will be increased due to the grease within the assembly, but it will not change the bearing preload setting. The grease will only act as a resistor in this case, causing the torque wrench to read a higher value. This is exactly why you want to test your bearing pack dry! Regards Andreas

[@leonsprajc3628]

Love your attention to details, keep up the good work! And also, im keen on buying old bmw from the same series and I think your restoration will come very handy in the future 😅😅

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Thank you very much, Leon! I‘m happy to hear that you‘re interested in BMW airheads. There are still many out there that are tucked away in a shed or a garage. It would be great to hear that picked one up in the near future! I really hope you will be able to use my videos for your own repairs😃 Don‘t worry, this won‘t be my last BMW airhead😉👍🏽 Thank you for your comment! Regards Andreas

[@Vtech-86]

What a great video mate! I will use this for my R75 /5 wheel bearings 👍🏻👍🏻

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Thanks for tuning in as always! I appreciate your support - Cheers

[@PistonetSavon]

Good Job !

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Thank you very much! I hope this video helps you with your own wheel bearings

[@simonchilli2088]

Yet another awesome tutorial video. Have you had any luck with the parts that weren't upto standard? Did they resend better quality or have you had to look elsewhere for them?

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Hi Simon, I have found a solution to the rocker arm parts and will be sharing an update here pretty soon! This means I will be able to start the engine rebuild in the following days. Thanks for your questions! It‘s always great to hear from you😃👍🏽👍🏽 Regards Andreas

[@simonchilli2088]

@@WorkshopRebuild As ever looking forward to it. We are forecast here in the UK to have a heatwave in October so if you're the same there you get some riding in on the bike.

[@simonchilli2088]

@@WorkshopRebuild Fun fact: the married couple in the book Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance were on a BMW R60!!

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Oh that will be perfect for some late season riding, with some warmer weather in October for you! Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to get this bike on the road this season as it has already cooled off quite a bit in the last two weeks. We usually have a nice summer, a few days of fall and then winter straight away! That means cold weather and a lot of snow, but I really don't mind. The bike will be ready come spring time.

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Another subscriber recommended me this book as well, but I have not picked up a copy yet (what a coincidence). I think I should give it a read!

[@MorningNapalm]

It would be great if you could put the video part not only in the thumbnail, but also in the title.

[@WorkshopRebuild]

The order in which the videos is very random, due to the parts available and what I have on hand. Some videos that show the disassembly or a certain sub-assembly are months apart from the assembly...for a viewer it would be great to see the disassembly and the assembly back-to-back, but that just hasn't been the case for this video series. In an upcoming video series I'll improve on this, so it's easier to understand and watch. Thank you for understanding. Regards Andreas

[@pieterbrepoels6563]

Where did you find the torque meter

[@WorkshopRebuild]

Hi Pieter, this torque meter was purchased online 2nd hand. Are you in need of a similar torque meter? Regards Andreas

[@pieterbrepoels6563]

@@WorkshopRebuild yes it would be nice to set the preload correct like you did.

[@WorkshopRebuild]

I have an extra torque meter. Send me an email if you are interested. Regards Andreas