I just had tires put on my '87. Afterwards, the store guy came front and got me saying: "there's problems, you better come back". So I followed him back to the shop and there's the mechanic kind of looking down at his feet and shaking his head. They said I needed a chain, sprocket, and rear wheel bearings. I told them "next time" anddrove the bikehome. Naturally, I felt somewhat bummed at receiving this information. My first response was I'll just fix it myself, but now I'm thinking Ithat I had better get asecond opinion. I didn't think at the time to ask what exactly was wrong with these items. They seem ok to me. I plan to research the subject in the manuals and whatnot buthyaven't gotten around to it yet. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Wheel bearings are not hard to replace. You can get them cheep off of ebay. It would take you about an hour to remove the wheel from you bike, drive out the old bearings, tap in the new ones and put the wheel back on. As for doing the chain and sprockets, ask the dealer what they'd charge for doing the job. Probably between $200 and $300. For that money you could buy a chain cutter/press tool, purchase a set of sprockets and a chain and do it yourself. Figure on about a half day to do it. It really doesn't take that much time, but if it's your first time, there will be a learning curve and you'll go slowly so you know you're doing it right. I guarantee that no one will do as good a job on your chain and sprockets as you will (if you're anything like me and take pride in your work).

 

All these parts are normal replaceable parts that has to be replaced every now and then. You can do it yourself even if you are not too mechanically skilled.
For the chain there are usually a sticker with some marks on the back of the swingarn that tells you when the Honda factory thought it was suitable to change the chain. Don´t bee to strict about that. The sticker might have crawled out of place during the years of washing and polishing since the bike was new (as if it was in the right place from the beginning), and if the gearing is changed or for other reasons it will not tell the truth. Replace the chain if you notice that the sprockets are worn, the chain needs tensioning too often, the chain makes noise or if some garage guy tells you that it is time to change. Here is some reading...
http://homepage.eircom.net/~hondabros/CHAIN_MAINTENANCE.html
The bearings is not hard to change. Just remove the locking-ring and knock them out. A little tip: Put the new ones in the freezer to "shrink" them and mount them when freezing cold for less violence when putting them into the rim. Change the bearing in the rear sprocket holder aswell.
Remember never to apply force to the inner ring of the bering when putting them into place. That might damage the *****.... of the bearing.

 

If you have any mechanical skills...then that should not be a problem for you.
Chain and sprockets are no problem, why dont you post a picture of your rear sprocket then we maybe can take it from there....
The bearings on the rear wheel can be trickier to analyse if you dont have any tech skills.Try the easiest way first when thewheel still is mounted on the bike. If you have centrestand then it is to prefere so the wheel is of the ground. Grab with one hand on top of the wheel and the other hand under the lowest point on the wheel then wiggle it back and forth. There should not be any play at all(you should not be able to move the wheel sideways).
If you cant feel any play then the next step is when you have removed the wheel.Rotate the bearings by hand/fingersthen you feel if the bearings runs smoothly (you should feel if there is something wrong).
The service manual is a good help too.

Hope you understand my "Swenglish" !

 

Yes, thats right. Usually the bearings also get noisy when it is time to replace.

 

Even if you don’t change these kinds of parts yourselfyou or some othershould inspect them frequently to know thecondition. These parts arevital for safety and must be replaced in time.

 

At least the guy talked to you about it. You could haveriden off and at 120mph slipped the chain and locked a back wheel! Happened to a mate of mine took him 2 years of treatmentto fix his leg.
Depends on how hard you ride, but a very rough guide is you'll need to replace sprockets and chain every 40000 km or 25000 miles.
Wheel bearings are sealed and should last a lotlonger but are easy to inspect. They should have a smoothvertical plane movement without any horizontal lateral movement and with a slight bit of tension. If the bearing spins freely its stuffed.

 

I'm convinced, I'll do it myself. Thanx for the reply.

 

the only way to check a chain properly is to remove it from the bike, and measure a certain amount of links, this will tell u how much stretch it has and that is one way to tell how worn it is, or check for any free play between links, if there is freeplay the chain is well past its usby date,if yr a hard rider i would replace every 20k , also never replace a chain without the sprockets or vice versa as this causes fast wear to either

 

Hiya. Just a thought, before you start stripping the rear end out, take the drive sprocket cover off and turn the rear wheel. Look carefully at the sprocket teeth and see what wear is on them. If there is extreme wear then the teeth will be worn onto a cresent or quarter moon shape which therefore needs replacing. Do the same for the rear sprocket. Now looking at the chain, 1st of all check the play (16 - 20mm) if you turn the wheel slowly and try and pull the chain towards you from the bottom and if it tries to come off then its a good indication that the linkage is stretched. Now the wheel bearings, place the bike on its centerstand and have someone hold the bike firmly whilst you take hole of the rear wheel and try to shake it from side to side, the spin the wheel and listen to the bearings. Again trust your own instincts, as its you who have to ride it, but a few simple and easy checks will find any problems. If you still feel unsure then seek a second opinion and see what they say. You have not said what milage you have on the bike? and if poss, post some pics for us to have a look at. Good luck.