Hi everybody. New guy with a bit of a conundrum.

I have a 2001 Honda recon that my dad bought new in 2001. I have acquired it for my kids after it has sat for a few years. The first problem I found was that the rear brakes were locked up. I pulled the brake cover and sure enough it was full of rusty water and the drum was stuck to the shoes and had to be hammered off. I got everything cleaned up/replaced and when I go to put it back together, the cover that holds the brake shoes does want to go all the way on. When I use the bolts to pull it down tight, the rear end does not want to spin again. It happens whether the brake shoes are on their or not. I discovered that the bearing in the cover was very hard to turn by hand, so I ordered a new one along with a seal. My question is, how easy should this bearing be to turn and does it sound like it is my problem?