I had a similar situation, same year bike, as I recall the brgs were hard to find because they are a Honda only size, no std offerings would fit. As long as the dimensions are an exact match to the Oem parts you should be ok, a good vernier is your friend!
Have a look at cmsnl. They seem to show every bearing in the rear hub still available.
Correct me, but I think the bearing in question is #29.
As airwalk pointed out, measure them against the Honda oem's. You should be fine if they match. If possible, would be nice to know if the ABEC ratings match those of the Honda's. That's a rabbit hole to deep to keep this post readable. Have a look at the link.
I suppose using double bearings instead of a double-row bearing could result in slightly more friction losses from the extra seals, but you could remove the two facing seals to address that... I wouldn't bother! My bearings page has very outdated pricing, but is still relevant for part numbers and bearing dimensions: https://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/BBearings.htm
It was created for my 3rd gen, but should also be applicable to a 4th gen.
So, after measurement, everything was looking perfect, in comparison with the stock bearings, so I've fitted everything back together, pressed the bearings with the old one etc.
All was looking and feeling fine until I've put the last nut, the stub axle one. Once thight, the stub axle becomes very hard to spin, and it's not even torqued yet.
The conical spring washer is sitting with the convex surface out, as stated in the Haynes manual.
I've tried the turn the spacer on the wheeel bearing around but to no avail.
I'm a bit lost at the moment 🫤
I took some pictures in case I have missed something obvious, the only thing I am not sure of is the gap between the driven flanger and the hub.
The symptoms you describe and the fact a large bearing was replaced by two smaller ones make me think the bearings may not have seated properly. My 4th Gen does not appear to have a gap where yours has one, another indicator the bearings are proud and need to be seated.
While taking the parts off, I've noticed that there was a tiny gap between the bearing in the hub sprocket and the bottom of its housing, my small hapiness was cut short when after 20 minutes on the press, the bearing has not moved whatsoever. Either the gap is normal (between 1 and 2mm) or the bearing is stuck in its current position.
I tried again in case something had moved but I didn't see it. Sadly it's still locking up as I'm tighting the hub nut.
So now, my plan is to take the bearings out, replacing it by the old bearing to see if it sits properly, if so then try it and make sure everything spin freely and if that is the case, I'll go to a local bearing fabricator with the old Honda bearing to get a proper copy.
It might be a stupid question but, is that normal that the spacer in the hub sprocket is has a lot of play ?
So after putting back the old sprocket bearing in place and playing around I may have found the culprit. The dust seal on the bearing carrier is sticking out by 1 or 2mm.
BUT :
It seems that there is no need for a dust seal on the left hand side of the bearing carrier, as it is actually not shown on the Haynes schematic nor on the CMSNL one and even the part picture on their website shows the carrier without dust seal on the this side, when the other side as one fitted on.
Where did the plastic spacer/washer go? The one described in you first post and shown on the photo. If you tighten the axle around the inner rings it should propably not be between the bearings. Inner rings need contact. At least as far as I understand the function and the issue. If the original bearing is angular contact type and replacements are 2 x deep groove type bearings the original may be slightly better for angular loads which would matter if you have a sidecar attached or race. For common use and good quality bearings rather insignificant.
Where did the plastic spacer/washer go? The one described in you first post and shown on the photo. If you tighten the axle around the inner rings it should propably not be between the bearings. Inner rings need contact. At least as far as I understand the function and the issue. If the original bearing is angular contact type and replacements are 2 x deep groove type bearings the original may be slightly better for angular loads which would matter if you have a sidecar attached or race. For common use and good quality bearings rather insignificant.
Do you mean the yellow one between the bearings ? If so, I haven't used it, as I assumed it's not meant to go in that configuration (2x standard bearing vs tandem as the original)
End of thread · 14 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 12 Oct 2025