Update to my crash, belive I found the cause

[Grumpy]

Got the bike up on stands and started to dismantle the interstate.  I can move the rear swing arm an inch and a half side to side, definitely not how it is supposed to be. I can move it that much with my hand, and my hands are weak to say the least. I will not know what failed until I pull the the swing arm in a few weeks as to the cause, bearing etc. At least puts my mind at ease, I have been wondering for the last several months what failed. Now if I can get my other hand working I will be able to get some thing done.

[FloridaValkRyder]

Well dang Bill. You had originally thought it might be the swing arm, sounds like your right. Could the movement side to side have been caused by the accident? I'm glad your narrowing in on the cause. I know many of us have wondered what the heck happened. Glad to hear your healing well too. Keep us posted.

[Thunderbolt]

Thanks for the update.  The proof will probably be revealed when you get those bearings apart.  Wonder if you are going to find rust.
Glad you felt good enough to get something done.

[Grumpy]

Very slow doing any thing, took 2 days to remove what was left of the fairing and get the saddle bags off. Speaking of the bags, I got really lucky a few days ago, my neighbor came over to look at the wreck, I mentioned getting them repaired for the standard, made me an offer, if I spring for the paint he will repair and paint them for free. I knew he worked for the dodge dealer in Brandon, but not that he paints cars there. That was a stroke of luck, going to take him and his wife out for a steak dinner.

[Tundra]

  Good news Bill, glad your getting about.
I don't know how you do it, hands , feet, toes, knees banged up, broke, pinned and screwed. You are a miracle That's a deal on the repair/paint. THAT score beats Larue

[IamGCW]

Bill
When you and talked I also thought the swing arm was what kicked the events into action.  I am curious what the bearing in there look like. 

Some thought the front tire may have been the evil part, did you get a chance to spin it and see how it looks?

Good news on the saddle bags.

Gil

 

[Grumpy]

  Good new Bill, glad your getting about.
I don't know how you do it, hands , feet, toes, knees banged up, broke, pinned and screwed. You are a miracle That's a deal on the repair/paint. THAT score beats Larue

Very carefully, and slowly. I feel a lot better but still waiting on the right hand, hoping it heals, if not more surgery and another pin.

[Grumpy]

Bill
When you and talked I also thought the swing arm was what kicked the events into action.  I am curious what the bearing in there look like. 

Some thought the front tire may have been the evil part, did you get a chance to spin it and see how it looks?

Good news on the saddle bags.

Gil

 

Both tires are good, not even a scuff. Wheels checked true and round with a dial indicator.

[Daniel Meyer]

Bill
When you and talked I also thought the swing arm was what kicked the events into action.  I am curious what the bearing in there look like. 

Some thought the front tire may have been the evil part, did you get a chance to spin it and see how it looks?

Good news on the saddle bags.

Gil

 

Both tires are good, not even a scuff. Wheels checked true and round with a dial indicator.

Keep healing up, and please keep us informed. I've never seen a swing arm/bearing failure on a Valk, and it is valuable information to know what to look for as our ladies age.

[Flrider]

Bill, glad to hear you are getting back int he swing of things, just don't over do it.

Thanks for sharing your findings with all of us and I am glad you are catching a break with the bag situation.

[flsix]

Really interesting news there Bill.  As the others have said, it's going to be good to know what the original problem was so the rest of us can look out for it also.
Glad you're healing up enough to do some wrenching. Just don't get too carried away.

[Grumpy]

Bill
When you and talked I also thought the swing arm was what kicked the events into action.  I am curious what the bearing in there look like. 

Some thought the front tire may have been the evil part, did you get a chance to spin it and see how it looks?

Good news on the saddle bags.

Gil

 

Both tires are good, not even a scuff. Wheels checked true and round with a dial indicator.

Keep healing up, and please keep us informed. I've never seen a swing arm/bearing failure on a Valk, and it is valuable information to know what to look for as our ladies age.

I have been thinking, had an accident several years ago, heading to inzane in Bellaire, I got hit in the left side, caught the bag and the hitch, destroyed a trailer I was pulling.  Repairs were not that bad, but I wonder if the side hit may have caused some damage to the swing arm and just took several thousand miles for some thing to finally break.

[R J]

Bill
When you and talked I also thought the swing arm was what kicked the events into action.  I am curious what the bearing in there look like. 

Some thought the front tire may have been the evil part, did you get a chance to spin it and see how it looks?

Good news on the saddle bags.

Gil

 

Both tires are good, not even a scuff. Wheels checked true and round with a dial indicator.

Keep healing up, and please keep us informed. I've never seen a swing arm/bearing failure on a Valk, and it is valuable information to know what to look for as our ladies age.

I have been thinking, had an accident several years ago, heading to inzane in Bellaire, I got hit in the left side, caught the bag and the hitch, destroyed a trailer I was pulling.  Repairs were not that bad, but I wonder if the side hit may have caused some damage to the swing arm and just took several thousand miles for some thing to finally break.

I was just fixing to ask you if the bike had been in an accident.    Buddy of mine I used to ride with got hit at an intersection in San Jose, CA when we were on a states trip.     For some reason or another I was following him and I noticed the rear wheel wobbling in and out or from side to side.    Got him whoaed down and the bearing was shot.   This was on a Saturday night, which meant we'd be laid up till Wednesday.   Sunday and Monday the shops in Omaha no workie.   I called the wife, had her get ahold of the youngest son and had him bring the pickup & trailer to Nebraska.   Loaded up and hauled it to my place, we stuck it on the life and pulled it apart.    Knocked both bearings and races out and Monday morning we went bearing shopping.   About noon I called the Yamaha dealer at home and asked him if he'd come down and get us a couple of bearings.   He said no, but go to the Bearing shop and pick  up a couple of bearings with these #'s on them.    Got em, put them in and he ended up putting 100K on that bike before he sold it.

[Skinhead]

I have been thinking, had an accident several years ago, heading to inzane in Bellaire, I got hit in the left side, caught the bag and the hitch, destroyed a trailer I was pulling.  Repairs were not that bad, but I wonder if the side hit may have caused some damage to the swing arm and just took several thousand miles for some thing to finally break.

I would not be at all surprised it that was what caused it.  If you think about something long enough, it starts to make sense.

[Flask]

Bill,

I went thru my brother's bike when he first got it . Found a slight side to side movement in the swing arm.

Found the retaining nut to be loose - took all apart and replaced bearings - even though the existing bearings looked good.

I purchased the special socket tool for that retaining nut from Honda - If you do not have let me know and I will get it to ya.

This bike only had 32000 miles on it - I think the torque specs for the retaining nut was not met when originally installed.

[Thunderbolt]

That thought came to mind about the previous accident.  Probably something you wouldn't necessarily check if all looked well.  Although I seem to remember a post you made about the swing arm bearings, just don't know where that fit time wise in relation to the accident.

[Grumpy]

That thought came to mind about the previous accident.  Probably something you wouldn't necessarily check if all looked well.  Although I seem to remember a post you made about the swing arm bearings, just don't know where that fit time wise in relation to the accident.

That was before, i pulled and checked, and re greased them. There was no play in the arm then, now real obvious.

[twdurdentwd]

Will you be repairing the Phat Lady or parting her?

[Grumpy]

Will you be repairing the Phat Lady or parting her?

All ready stripped out, down to the bare frame. Have started on the standard, building it and adding parts from the Interstate, bags etc after repainting. Thank fully the chrome wheels were not damaged, so they will be on the standard. Going to take me a couple months to get it together, I still only have partial use of the right hand and the left wrist is still very weak.

[Skinhead]

Hey Bill, what did you finally find on that swingarm?  Or haven't you gotten 'round to it yet?

[Grumpy]

Hey Bill, what did you finally find on that swingarm?  Or haven't you gotten 'round to it yet?

Right side bearing totally disintegrated, I think it was caused by an accident had a couple years ago, pickup ran a red light and hit me in the rear side. I think that damaged the bearing, and after time and miles it failed.  The cage that held the roller bearings split and allowed all the bearings to bunch up on one side. Learned a lesson the hard way, after an accident, check every thing involved.

[Skinhead]

Hey Bill, what did you finally find on that swingarm?  Or haven't you gotten 'round to it yet?

Right side bearing totally disintegrated, I think it was caused by an accident had a couple years ago, pickup ran a red light and hit me in the rear side. I think that damaged the bearing, and after time and miles it failed.  The cage that hold the roller bearings split and allowed all the bearings to bunch up on one side. Learned a lesson the hard way, after an accident, check every thing involved.

That is a hard lesson!  You're referring to the hit you took on the way to IZ10 in MI  right?  I saw your bike there and the damage didn't look that bad, I never would have thought to check them either.

[Grumpy]

Hey Bill, what did you finally find on that swingarm?  Or haven't you gotten 'round to it yet?

Right side bearing totally disintegrated, I think it was caused by an accident had a couple years ago, pickup ran a red light and hit me in the rear side. I think that damaged the bearing, and after time and miles it failed.  The cage that hold the roller bearings split and allowed all the bearings to bunch up on one side. Learned a lesson the hard way, after an accident, check every thing involved.

That is a hard lesson!  You're referring to the hit you took on the way to IZ10 in MI  right?  I saw your bike there and the damage didn't look that bad, I never would have thought to check them either.

That is the one, hit hard enough the bike slid about 10 ft sideways before it went down.

[John Schmidt]

Wow, I was wondering if that was the cause after you commented about the swingarm being loose. We all learned a lesson from that, just sorry it had to be at your expense. The link below is another one regarding timing belts, taken from my engine. The belts were new, just installed wrong with at least an inch of slack in the left side causing it to jump timing. The message on the photo was added in an effort to get people that restore bikes to take a second look.

http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52037

[Valkahuna]

Hey Bill,

I thank you for sharing the news of the swingarm bearing failure. I as many others had wondered what happened to put you into that tank slapper. Yup, two wheeled things don't go down the road real well when both ends are trying to steer it. Glad you found it.

It sure was a hard lesson, but you are still able to talk about it, and that's good. Time will heal your wounds and make the pain lessen up some. Thanks again for the recap. Keep healing and working on what I am sure will be another great looking Fat Gurl.

[larue]

Thanks for the update on what caused your accident on jan 4th, sorry you had to go through this rough time but it could ve been much worse. Glad you are recovering better . stay strong and keep up the good work on that new Standard 

[Tundra]

Sorry you have to go through all this, glad you found the culprit. Using both hands again?

[Grumpy]

Sorry you have to go through all this, glad you found the culprit. Using both hands again?

only partially, left wrist is very weak, cannot put any strain on it for a while. Right still has 2 fingers taped together, the little finger bends side ways and 2 on that hand will not close. Hoping the therapy will alleviate most of that, just taking time.