This story starts about 15 years ago when I lost my garage, but that involves a divorce, so let’s just leave that for another day. The present event that had me “mentally melting in the sun” started with a routine replacement of water pump seals and bearings. All was going swimmingly; I had the disassembled bike in the hot trailer, the engine case baking out on the deck and the bearings cooling in the freezer. The basement room was set up for bearing installation because it was nice and cool and well lit.

Nice, let’s go!
Step one, grab the hot engine case from outside and deposit it downstairs on the bench next to the correct sockets for driving in the bearings. Next, grab the chilled bearings from hibernation on the Bubber Burgers, don’t forget the spacer on the kitchen table. Right, got it…downstairs with ‘em. Oh damn, forgot the hammer, it’s in the trailer..Outside again!!

I easily tapped the cooled sealed bearing into the cover and went to grab the spacer for installation. “What! Where the hell’s the spacer?” I said out loud, I had just carried it down from the kitchen. I looked all over the bench, under the bench, on the floor, in my pockets, on the steps up to the kitchen, back in my pockets, then on the kitchen table. Alright then, it’s not in the obvious places, so I looked outside on the deck and on the ground between there and the trailer, in the trailer, again in my pockets (isn’t it amazing how you’ll recheck someplace when you’ve lost something, like it gonna instantly reappear there), still no F-ing spacer!!
Now, I’m sweating from the heat and humidity, the many trips outside, up and down the stairs and from being on my hands and knees with a flashlight. Where the F is that spacer? At this point I’m checking places I didn’t even go with it.

Okay, I think, I’ll just take a deep breath, try to relax (like that’s going to happen at this point) and retrace my steps. So retracing my steps led me from the freezer to turning around and grabbing the spacer from the table, I put them all in one hand and brought them down to the work bench, went out to the trailer for the hammer, then it was gone when I got back. Well, now the bearings were defrosting so I took them back to the freezer until I found the F-ing spacer.

I even checked the pictures that I took of the parts, just to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind, and it really did exist.

After looking for an hour and a half and using every swear word I could think of, I decided I was done. That’s it….it fought me and won , I surrendered! I might as well just put all the parts away, order another “F-in spacer”- as it was now called, and get going to my real job. I started to load everything into a plastic bag and removed the bearings from the freezer to throw in. But, just as I was about to put the large bearing into the bag I noticed that it was sealed on one side! What the F—K! I know that I removed the seals from that bearing…..well…..can you guess what was sitting perfectly between the inner and outer race?
You get three guesses and the first two don’t count.
Yep, that “F-ing spacer” sat perfectly there in the bearing. It was there when I carried it downstairs, but the bearing flipped to the other side when I put it on the bench so I didn’t see it (yes, I never turned it over!!) It stayed for the trip back upstairs to the freezer, spacer side down, so I still didn’t see it when I looked a thousand times.
Unbelievable??? Maybe, but true.
Tomorrow I finish installing the bearings and get my ride back together. Wish me luck.
Someday I’ll tell you the story about when my dog ate my carb floats…..I’m serious!
'Lidz

I let the case sit out in the 90 degree sun so that the bearing bores would expand a little.
The larger bearing shown in the previous posts sits in the case down below the alternator stator and slides over the crankshaft end. This bearing usually stays on the crankshaft when removing the cover. This bearing was fine, but I repalced with a SKF #6001 sealed bearing after removing both seals.

Here's the bearings in the freezer sitting on top of some awesome "Bubber Burgers"!
This helps to "shrink" them slightly making it easier to press them in place.

Here's both ceramic seals that sit on the coolant side of the case under the impeller. The one on the left has a spring built into it (underside in pic) and slides on the impleller shaft, the other one (white side) is two piece and is pressed into the case (coolant side). The snap ring holds it all together on the bearing side of the case.
Here's how they sit when installed. White face against hard black face of the spring seal. Notice the spring where my thumb is.

Here's a closeup of the water pump bearings. The open one on my bike, that sits toward the engine was thrased, the inner one (sealed) felt fine. I replaced them both with SKF # 6001 from my local bearing supplier. These are sealed and the seals are easily removed. My supplier said that the sealed ones are cheaper!! Notice also the infamous spacer!!

Here's the parts that make up the water pump on the 748. Notice that one of the smaller bearings is sealed on one side (#1)the other is open (#2). The bearings get installed in the case with the sealed side of bearing #1 in first (toward outside, away from engine) then the spacer (seen in pic sitting between bearings), then the open bearing #2.

BTW, that spacer involves an interesting story, that I'll relate later if I have time.