60000 miles on 07 Venture. Maintenance questions

[Midnight]

I would appreciate some opinions and advise. I have an 07 Venture with 60000 miles on it. I have had it since new and have done all the normal maintenance items. At least half of these miles have been pulling our trailer.

 

Have also done clutch/clutch spring upgrade. at about 40000 miles, shock and fuel pump under warranty a few years back.

 

There are two things I have yet to check, have on my list and are likely overdue despite having had no problems yet. They are steering head bearings and rear swing arm bearings.

 

This got me to wondering about wheel bearings as well. How long will they last? Should they be replaced at some point?

 

Are there other things I should be replacing or checking?

 

We have not been broken down on the side of the road yet and bike has performed extremely well. Plan on sending bike to Florida this winter and tour to Texas and then back home to to Ontario Canada in the spring. That will be another 5000 miles or so at least.

I want to make sure I've done as many checks as possible to ensure an uneventful trip. Thanks in advance for any advise or experience. JR

[Barrycuda]

I would appreciate some opinions and advise. I have an 07 Venture with 60000 miles on it. I have had it since new and have done all the normal maintenance items. At least half of these miles have been pulling our trailer.

 

Have also done clutch/clutch spring upgrade. at about 40000 miles, shock and fuel pump under warranty a few years back.

 

There are two things I have yet to check, have on my list and are likely overdue despite having had no problems yet. They are steering head bearings and rear swing arm bearings.

 

This got me to wondering about wheel bearings as well. How long will they last? Should they be replaced at some point?

 

Are there other things I should be replacing or checking?

 

We have not been broken down on the side of the road yet and bike has performed extremely well. Plan on sending bike to Florida this winter and tour to Texas and then back home to to Ontario Canada in the spring. That will be another 5000 miles or so at least.

I want to make sure I've done as many checks as possible to ensure an uneventful trip. Thanks in advance for any advise or experience. JR

 

I can't comment on the questions, but certainly someone will. As for your road trip, when you hit Florida, let me know. Depending on date and location, perhaps we can meet up...

[sarges46]

I know there is a method to checking these things in the tech write ups. I cannot link as my tablet will not let me.

 

I too have an 07 and I pull a camper. During this last trip I noticed the rear end seemed a little more "sloppy" than usual going around tight corners. This caused several butt clenches and I suspect my bearings need replacing. Its not my tires as they are new and I keep a pretty close eye on pressures.

 

Looks like I am going to learn something new on the blue beast very shortly!

[Seaking]

I would appreciate some opinions and advise. I have an 07 Venture with 60000 miles on it. I have had it since new and have done all the normal maintenance items. At least half of these miles have been pulling our trailer.

 

Have also done clutch/clutch spring upgrade. at about 40000 miles, shock and fuel pump under warranty a few years back.

 

There are two things I have yet to check, have on my list and are likely overdue despite having had no problems yet. They are steering head bearings and rear swing arm bearings.

 

This got me to wondering about wheel bearings as well. How long will they last? Should they be replaced at some point?

 

Are there other things I should be replacing or checking?

 

We have not been broken down on the side of the road yet and bike has performed extremely well. Plan on sending bike to Florida this winter and tour to Texas and then back home to to Ontario Canada in the spring. That will be another 5000 miles or so at least.

I want to make sure I've done as many checks as possible to ensure an uneventful trip. Thanks in advance for any advise or experience. JR

 

With over 200,000 kms on my 06 Midnight, there's a lot to check over in the course of time and distance.. Looks like you already went through some of them with the fuel pump and rear shock.. Both had to be replaced on mine under warranty, the shock twice..

 

Though it may seem like over-kill to most, I changed my wheel bearings every 2nd tire change, which is around 60-70,000 kms. I did the swing arm bearings at 130,000 kms when it showed sings of being loose. Though they are still good now, I'll be changing them this coming winter. Quick check of the swing arm bearings is having the bike up on a stable jack stand and working the swing arm side to side to see if there is any play with the wheel off. If any play at all, times to do up them bearings.

 

Neck bearings are easy to check, but you need a stable jack stand as you have to pull on the front wheel to see if there's any movement or knocking, and no sign of notching as you swing the handle bars back and forth, and check for bounce back against the stops. Don't bother repacking the bearings, installing new ones aren't that expensive and you'll know you have new ones installed. Its the same amount of work to pull the old ones out to repack, might as well put new ones in. There's also a write up here about doing the 'poor man's version' of neck bearing tightening to tide you over to a proper bearing change.

 

Have you had the valve clearances checked yet? If I'm not mistaken the book calls for them to be checked at every 26,600 miles? Fuel filter, air filters etc.. rear diff oil and shaft lube etc..

 

Sounds like a fun trip! Best of luck!

[djh3]

Sarges--Look at your rear shock. If the backend is wiggling and bottoming, I think more than likely its ka-put. You running any kind of pressure in it?

[sarges46]

Yep 40 lbs.

[Kirby]

My front wheel bearings felt tight the last tire change so I replaced them. Once I got the old bearings out they seemed just as good as the new ones. Bike has 73,000 miles on it.

[2WHEELSFORME]

Bearings don't just wear out and should not be replaced just so you feel better. Wheel bearings especially should last the life of the bike. Checking the feel, making sure they are lubricated and making sure they are set correctly is all that is needed in my opinion. 86k on my 05 with same neck and swing arm bearings. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Taking out an old good quality undamaged bearing and replacing with a lower quality bearing and possibly damaging the new one is not a wise decision.

[RedRider]

Bearings don't just wear out and should not be replaced just so you feel better. Wheel bearings especially should last the life of the bike. Checking the feel, making sure they are lubricated and making sure they are set correctly is all that is needed in my opinion. 86k on my 05 with same neck and swing arm bearings. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Taking out an old good quality undamaged bearing and replacing with a lower quality bearing and possibly damaging the new one is not a wise decision.

 

I beg to differ on the bearings. They are sized based on a load/speed duty cycle with fatigue being the failure. They are generally sized based on an L10 life (9 out of 10 will last to/beyond design life). Fatigue is caused by the loading/unloading of the metal races as the rollers/balls pass over. Double the load, fatigue life is reduced by 90%. Double the speed, design life is reduced by half. In other words, they very well may wear out. And when they do, it can be catastrophic.

 

I heartily agree with using only a quality bearing. US, Japan, or Europe manufacturers are all good products. Stay away from Chinese manufacturers as their quality standards are not up to the first world control.

 

My rear wheel bearings went out about 100k miles and took my rear brake with it. The old girl got me home though (didn't know problem was the rear wheel bearings or I wouldn't have kept riding it).

 

Changing them out every 50-75k miles is a good practice.

 

The steering neck bearings are a little different. Since they don't really rotate, they are unlikely to fatigue as defined in the sizing calculations. They will however, fret (or false brinell) if inadequate lube and/or contamination is present. This is essentially the rollers wearing away the race at the point of contact. You can feel notching in the bearing as you rotate the front steering. They are a PITA to change out and it is unlikely they will need it. A good lube and a reset of the preload and you should be good to go.

 

BTW, I was a bearing design and application engineer for Timken a few years ago (OK, many years go - but the physics haven't changed).

 

Also, unless you have the correct bearing drivers for installation, I would suggest taking the wheels to the dealer for installation. Improper installation can and will damage the bearings.

 

RR

[Ace]

I know there is a method to checking these things in the tech write ups. I cannot link as my tablet will not let me.

 

I too have an 07 and I pull a camper. During this last trip I noticed the rear end seemed a little more "sloppy" than usual going around tight corners. This caused several butt clenches and I suspect my bearings need replacing. Its not my tires as they are new and I keep a pretty close eye on pressures.

 

Looks like I am going to learn something new on the blue beast very shortly!

 

Had the same thing happen to my 06. When I checked the swingarm I had side to side play, the bearings were ok but the preload adjustment was too loose. If you pop the chrome cap on the right side for the swingarm, the preload adjustment for the swingarm bearings is made on that side. I cannot remember the torque spec as my manual is packed away in my trailer but it is a very low number. Loosen the jam nut, then tighten pin to specified torque, tighten jam nut. That'll straighten it out until you have time to pull everything apart.

[sldunker]

Just did my swing arm bearing at 63,000 miles on my 07 midnight. Everything felt good but brgs. were showing signs of pitting. There was almost no grease on brgs. I replaced them.

[Sylvester]

Bearings don't just wear out and should not be replaced just so you feel better. Wheel bearings especially should last the life of the bike. Checking the feel, making sure they are lubricated and making sure they are set correctly is all that is needed in my opinion. 86k on my 05 with same neck and swing arm bearings. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Taking out an old good quality undamaged bearing and replacing with a lower quality bearing and possibly damaging the new one is not a wise decision.

 

I have over 190,000 on my 02 RSMV with same front bearings. The rear was changed when I bought a rear wheel and tire on this sight six years ago. I polished the aluminum on the used wheel and replaced the bearings since I did not know how they were treated.