My vote is it has no point, the bearing cannot walk out with a properly torqued swingarm bolt. Its just there to annoy you when installing wheel bearings.
Coolness list by 90cr500guy
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It has no use in our application, but Honda made the hub for multi purpose use, most likely on a japenese market bike it had some other part that threaded into the hub possably a magnet assembly for , speedo or traction control, or some othe rotating device. I thinks on our bikes it is just there as Honda did not want a unfinised look. No other brand does that on one side.
Ok I’ll bite on this one; if I win I want to donate the prize to buy beer for the next ride so you can all have one on me.
It’s a case of Honda being thorough with the engineering, because if you heat the hub up sufficiently so the new bearings will just drop in, you then need a retainer at one side to hold in the bearing and spacer tube while you turn the wheel over to drop in the other side.
Try it next time you do the job, heat that hub right up evenly and they will just fall in, or back out without the retainer.
I read that you say it doesn't provide a bore for the seal to sit in. Not true, without it, the seal is to small for the hub opening and only surrounds the axle shaft. It may still seal the bearing from dust, but without the collar, there is nothing to hold the seal in place when you try to mount the wheel into the swingarm, thus making it very hard to get the axle shaft in place before the seal shifts down and flops out. I know, because I shittied the hub threads on my wheel, and decided to run without the collar. I had a hell of a time keeping the seal still long enough to slip the axle shaft through. I had to use grease to keep it centered, while I carefully slid the axle through the swingarm. Why Honda doesn't make the hub the perfect size for the seal, I would guess it's what OU812 or Conrod said.
I agree, but in my experience, if you don't use it, the seal and spacer flop out when you try to mount the wheel. They should call it the seal and spacer holding do hicky.
Ported&Polished wrote:I agree, but in my experience, if you don't use it, the seal and spacer flop out when you try to mount the wheel. They should call it the seal and spacer holding do hicky.
As of today none of my rear wheels have this stupid little headache, all I do now is hold the spacer in place, hey it could be a new mod insted of spending hundreds on new hubs, just remove this retainer to shave unsprung weight
Last edited by britincali on August 9th, 2007, 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
Coolness list by 90cr500guy
Bob's = 50/50
Cepek = cool
Solidbro = cool
Brit = loser
Stoffer = 1 up from Brit
MFDB = cool
Danny = ok
to stop the outside of the bearing from spinning... That why the part of the hub that it threads into will break off if you ride around on seized bearings. That my best guess. I assume they don't put one on the sprocket side because they have 2 bearings there and the tention from the chain pulling presses the bearings against the hub and axle, but that doesn't happen on the brake side. Kinda a shot in the dark, but the best I could come up with.
'09 kx450f 4-Poke
Gen-4 trail bike --SOLD--
Gen-3 badass trail/mx bike --SOLD--
Gen-1 built dunes bike --SOLD--
'05 klx110 --SOLD--
'95 pw80
you know what I just thought of...
without any support on the outside of the bearing (except the inside of the hub) whats to stop a good whack from forcing the outside of thet brake side bearing from shifting out and then causing the wheel to bind. I've seem this happen on skateboard wheels. I hit the wheel hard trying to land a kickflip and the twisting motion combined with the downward forcepulled the outer ring in the bearing away from the wheel, then that wheel felt sticky until I used my truck tool to tap it back in. Ball bearings do not like horizontal force. the drive side is basically the static side since it is where the power comes from and it has 2 bearings.
I don't know, I do know the honda engineers know what they are doing, so there has to be a reason.
I did notice that when I replaced my bearings in my '86 wheel (which is the same bearing setup) the brake side seemed to tap out easier, maybe its a slightly looser fit so that you would tap that one out first, then you have more room to really bang the drive side 2 bearings out. and if that were the case, they might put that retainer there as insurance from the bearing spinning in the hub and wrecking it.
'09 kx450f 4-Poke
Gen-4 trail bike --SOLD--
Gen-3 badass trail/mx bike --SOLD--
Gen-1 built dunes bike --SOLD--
'05 klx110 --SOLD--
'95 pw80
Since the inner races are locked in place between the spacer tube and wheel spacers, it locks the outer races in place and prevents damaging side loading of the wheel bearings.
The bearings outer portion cannot go in father than the bore they sit in , the inner portion cannot compress against the spacer, of expand due to the swingarm spacers...
The threaded collar is completly un-needed from my perspective...
AlisoBob wrote:The bearings outer portion cannot go in father than the bore they sit in...
But what keeps the outer races from walking out (besides the ball bearings)?
Being hammered in stops them from falling out whenever you pull the wheel, I red locktite mine before I put 'em in. Even if they could walk why not peen the case a little for insurance, they peen the stupid ring thing so its not like they need a new tool.
IMO if it was needed it would be on both sides.
Coolness list by 90cr500guy
Bob's = 50/50
Cepek = cool
Solidbro = cool
Brit = loser
Stoffer = 1 up from Brit
MFDB = cool
Danny = ok