California 1400 rear axle seal

[rrojaswahl]

On the left side of my Cali 1400 rear axle, the seal is coming off every once in a while, and both ABS and MGCT then become disabled - seal itself looks not damaged, i.e. appears intact. Does anybody have experience with that? Any ideas what the root cause could be (misaligned tire or wheel?)? The bike appears to run fine otherewise, only at very low speeds it seems a bit more wobbly than usual...  Many thanks for comments. Cheers. Roy

[guzzisteve]

Everything should be tight, not wobbly. Look at your wheel bearings if it is wobbly w/axle tight.

[OldMojo]

Not sure what you mean by "axle seal coming off" on the left side. There is no seal = as in a lip seal or anything like that. If it's coming off "every once in a while" are you putting it back on?

Post a photo perhaps?

[SLDMRossi]

Call Jim Hamlin at Hamlin Cycles in Bethel, Connecticut. I believe he's dealt with a number of these...

Steven Rossi
CT-RI MGNOC State Rep.

[rrojaswahl]

Thanks all for comments - here a picture that shows the left side of rear axle, with "seal" (i.e. rubber ring) being held in place temporarily by a "band-aid" fix I did, as I was touring when I discovered it and about 600 miles away from home....





Will definetely follow up on all suggestions so far - thank you!

Roy

[OldMojo]

Going by the parts diagram https://cadrecycle.com/guzzi-parts-fiche/ that appears to be "gasket ring" part #AP8125838. More of a dust cover than a seal, I'd say, because there's nothing to seal in except a bit of axle grease. It should be bedded into the hub.

I'd definitely check the tightness of the axle nut and the condition of that spacer behind the caliper bracket. If your ABS and traction control are affected, that would indicate some side play going on, which is obviously less than ideal. Drop the wheel. Something is wrong.

[rrojaswahl]

Thanks for the tip with the axle screw and the spacer. The axle screw seems tight, so that leaves that spacer. If that's indeed broken, what could be the root cause? Normal wear & tear???

My bike has by now almost 77K miles...

Or could it be some mistake made when the rear tire was changed, i.e. when they put the wheel back into the frame? Thanks again & cheers & ride safely!

[lucian]

[/coloOr could it be some mistake made when the rear tire was changed,r]

This , The spacer has three raised ribs on its outer circumference, a single one on one end. and two a few mm's apart on the opposite end. The double ringed end of the spacer goes in the seal. The seal basically runs between the two raised ribs on the spacer . Someone put the spacer in backwards is my guess, doing so leaves the seal able to slide out on the spacer . Definitely jack the rear and check your back tire for any movement or play in its rotation or side to side if you think it's wobbling .

[Tom]

+1. My money is on the something happened when the rear wheel was removed. 

[rrojaswahl]

Just to close the loop here - indeed the spacer was damaged - I still wonder why and how - @ 78 K miles, is that normal wear & tear? In any case, my dealer fixed it, and bike appears stable so far. I appreciate all the help & comments and wish you all safe and happy rides in 2023! cheers.

[moto-uno]

 Glad to hear you got it corrected , just want to say I kinda liked your temporary repair . Peter

[rrojaswahl]

Just an update: Rode my bike for about 4000 miles until, after the first repair, again the same thing happened: ABS and MGTC went out during a long highway ride, and the bike wobbled again. Also, at about the same time I noticed that my rear (tubeless) tire frequently lost pressure and had to be pumped up almost daily.
So this time we ordered and installed a whole new rear wheel... Our assumption here is that the old rear wheel had somewhat taken a beating over time (ten years and ~ 82K miles) and was not hundred percent round anymore, which then might have led to the damage of the spacer.

That of course still leaves me wondering: Does it happen often that wheels have to be replaced, is that part of normal wear & tear? At least I haven't heard about such thing so far, to be honest... Or, could, say, a poorly balanced rear wheel (after tire change) about the culprit here??

Again, any experience you folks have on this forum would be a welcome read for me. Greetings and ride safely!

Roy

[pehayes]

Glad to hear you got it corrected , just want to say I kinda liked your temporary repair . Peter

+1 on the bodge repair.  That deserves a "Red Suspenders" trophy for sure.

Hey, Roy, how about putting your location in the membership area or in your signature line.  Might be someone with more experience right around the corner.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Moparnut72]

+1 on the bodge repair.  That deserves a "Red Suspenders" trophy for sure.

Hey, Roy, how about putting your location in the membership area or in your signature line.  Might be someone with more experience right around the corner.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

Everyone should list their locations. Even if it is only "I rode here today." It would be nice to know where "here" is let alone someone who could use a little help. Help would probably be offered more if we knew where it was needed.
kk

[OldMojo]

Short of road hazards and the like, I've never heard of a wheel becoming unusable in that fashion. Bearings, yes.

What does come to mind is that these bikes came from the factory with a notorious lack of grease on the drive splines, often requiring rough lateral treatment to get the wheel off when the time came for the first tire change.

Perhaps the eventually fatal blow was dealt then?

[rrojaswahl]

Many thanks for all the thoughtful comments - and good points all about. 

Did about 2500 miles on a recent tour - new wheel and axle are holding up well so far... Keeping fingers x-ssd.

Cheers, Roy, Saddle River, NJ