So I just pulled the wheels off the ol girl....going to the shop to get powdercoated. I had a few questions about the bearings. Has anyone used any SKF, BCA, or TIMKEN 6303(rear) or 6004(front) bearings? Will there be any issues with using these for the wheels? If I do replace the bearings, will I need to get new seals as well? If so, do I just need the rotor side for the rear, and one for each front bearing?

Also, has anyone removed the front rotor before and had to replace the 'damping shims' that go in between the rotor and the wheel? They appear to be some sort of fiber washer. Are they necessary to replace, or can they be substituted with another type of washer? They are $2.72/ea from Honda, making it about $40 for 12 fiber washers. Along the same lines, it appears the front rotor allen bolts are locktight, are they supposed to be? and is that necessary?

 

you can use any other manufacturer bearing so long as it is the correct size, just measure ID, OD, and width and cross reference with manufacturers product. cheaper than honda oem. you should use all four dust seals (2 rear, 2 front, one for each side of the wheel). if you think the dust seals are still in good condition, then i guess you can recycle them. otherwise i would get new ones.

you will need the rotor shims (washers) because it centers the rotor in the caliper. why it is done this way i do not know. f2 and above do not require it. if you really want to test out this theory, put the rotor on without the washers, put the wheel back on and tighten everything down and then spin the wheel. the rotor will drag and come to a stop pretty quickly. put the washers back on and spin the wheel again. it will make at least a few rotations before slowing to a stop. can they be substituted? i don't know because i have never thought about it. i don't even know how thick those things are? if you try, let us know.

unless you are sure that a rotor bolt will not come off or loosen itself while you are riding then i suppose you don't need to loctite them. but do you really want to take that chance?

 

hrm, have you had to replace the shims before? bastards are gonna cost me $40.

the main reason all this is weird is, the rear rotor does not have the shims, or the locktight. only the front did.

 

i did not replace my shims. i merely dug them out the of the trash after i realized a day later that i needed them. they looked okay, so i said f* it, i'll use'em again. i know they are $40 but just think how long the ones you have now have lasted, at least 17 years if they are original.
as i said before i do not know why this is. the rear does not require the shims, only the front. my 600rr front rim doesn't have them. but it does have the loctite on the bolts. i just think it is good practice. just one less thing to worry about falling off. you will have the bolts off anyway, just put a dab of loctite on and you're done. maybe honda rethought the rotor/rim design for later models and decided the shims weren't necessary. i don't know.
hell, you probably could use cardboard or maybe the copper crush washers used between brake line fittings and banjo bolts. just a suggestion.

 

yeah, i have been debating using replacements of some sort, just worried something will go awry. you know, murphys law in full effect. i would try to reuse mine, but they are pretty bad. thanks 313.

 

I just reused my shims and they work fine. It is locktight on the rotor bolts. Ichecked ontwo front wheels, one from my600, and one from a 1000f, and they both were the blue stuff I think... and I believe that is the medium grade lock tight.

 

i wish i could resuse my shims, but they are pretty torn up.

 

could you not find them anywhere cheaper?

 

buy some used mucked up rotors from a salvage yard that has them still intact.

 

I made rotor shims out of 24lbs copy paper.

Simply traced the old spacer and cutseveral out.

And I used red loctite on the rotor bolts.

24lbs copy paper is heaver than normal copy paper, but lighter than construction paper, simple and it only took an hour and cost about $1.00