XJ900 Rear Wheel Obsolete Bearing - Work-a-Round (hopefully)

Long winded story (mostly finding an engineer who didn't sneer at me for such a small job)

My rear wheel on the XJ900 had a bad bearing, which also ate out the wheel hub a bit so it has been a bit wobbly to ride on.
I bought a 2nd hand wheel and tarted it up (paint), haven't fitted it yet, but it looks good... needs a tyre on it still.

Finding that bearing for an affordable price is not possible and I figured there must be a way around it. We can't just throw away our XJ900 because of a single custom Yamaha bearing surely!

Bearing: 93302-20306-00


Basically I eventually got a chap 'Precision Shims' in Australia to make me a spacer $33AUD out of tool steel and use an off the shelf bearing to be the actual bearing with a spacer on top, so to speak.

NSK 3203B-2RSRTNG $55AUD
or
NTN 63203LLUNTN $62AUD
To be fair I bought both these bearings in 2021... and I took the Yamaha (KOYO) bearing down to 2 different bearing places and they sold me these. In other words I put my trust in those guys.

17mmID x 24mmOD x 3.5mmWidth




Here are some pics of it fitted.
The idea was to use a false axle and put it in the wheel while fitting so the spacer was in alignment.
The axle would pop the false axle out of the final drive.
But... I don't think it is necessary as the spacer can't actually fall too far out of line anyway... even so I have made one if it is an issue.

I can't see any real reason that this won't be okay as the funky bearing just bridges the gap... but we shall see in the future I guess.

 

Good work!
I was aware the rear drive bearing was rare and expensive, this is an excellent solution.
Was just keeping my fingers crossed mine didn't crap out, but they're generally pretty long-lived.

 

Nice work and write-up!

Although.......I'm still curious as to why Yamaha would have specified such an odd bearing if such a simple solution was possible. Back in those days, manufacturers were much less likely to specify super-duper "propriety" custom parts (to replace standard off-the-shelf parts) as is all the rage nowadays.

P.S. the XS1100 / XJ1100 also use a cylindrical roller rear wheel bearing on the left side, just like the 900's....and then the R1/R6 models in the early 00's.

The rationale for using roller bearings instead of ball bearings is typically due to the the higher load-handling ability of rollers (both axial and/or radial loads) than ball bearings. Swingarms and steering stems (and the clutch pivot shaft in the clutch cover) also use roller bearings...all of which can have axial displacement (in-and-out rather than just round-and-round) loads.

But it's odd that Yamaha used them for a while on the rear wheels of some models but not any others...........they had a reason, that's for sure, but I don't know why.

 

As you say, greater load carrying capacity, but otoh my higher-mileage GS doesn't use them; final drive bearings are original and over 300K now.
Yamaha being cautious, I suppose.
Now that I've seen how to get around the shortage/price of the larger bearing, I'd be quite happy to use a shorter Koyo in its place, with a spacer. I've been using nothing but Koyo in my wheels for well over 30 years and never had one fail. They put up with surprising loads and keep on going.

 

great work . I do have a spare OE bearing but this is a great solution at a fraction of the cost . Keep us updated once your using it

 

A part number search came up with this from Amazon, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parts-Bearing-Compatible-Yamaha-XJ900F/dp/B0BNQW3GQP

 

I actually bought one those kits, from a German place.
I think the idea is you just replace the custom bearing with the 2 smaller bearings.
I'm sure it would work but then the drive hub would be jammed onto the outer race of the wheel bearing.

I guess it would negate the rubber dampening somewhat or completely... If my assumption was the concept of those 2 bearings.

Looks like the later models 900s use 2 bearings and a spacer, from the parts lists.

BTW Len does have them, but... A limited supply which is why (plus the awful exchange rate) I decided to go this route.

 

Never heard of KBS, looking them up it's a Chinese bearing company.
Might be ok, but I'd rather go with the option of using a Koyo and a spacer.

 

Getting closer!
Obviously riding it for 20 years will be the real clincher but still.
NEW TYRE!
Love the indenting on the tread... the cool kids what?!
On the other end, they aint cheap but damn the battleaxe is good.

 

Went on smoothly.
Tight!

This is the old wheel, you can see what I mean about chewed out. (that isn't the bearing that caused the wheel to be chewed out btw)

https://xj.diagnostic.net.au/images/rear_wheel_bad_bearing.mp4

 

For next time, I would take the old part to a good heavy-duty tool and die. My shop here can find anything, they measure it and then put those measurements into the computer and order one. Great job with the wheel looks good.