replacing rear weel bearing.

[gefr]

On 56k kms my rear bearings are giving a ratling noise when brakin the rear brake. I hear them when approaching to traffic lights, as the wind noise is really low. I guess they have expired. Anyone else had them replaced? Would you reccomend replacing the front ones as well? Never kept a bike that long so I don' know. My previous TDM850 had worn 3 bearings in less kms (I recall 40k kms). Cheers.

[cpmodem]

Originally Posted by gefr

On 56k kms my rear bearings are giving a ratling noise when brakin the rear brake. I hear them when approaching to traffic lights, as the wind noise is really low. I guess they have expired. Anyone else had them replaced? Would you reccomend replacing the front ones as well? Never kept a bike that long so I don' know. My previous TDM850 had worn 3 bearings in less kms (I recall 40k kms). Cheers.

I make it a practice to replace all wheel bearings on all of my motorcycles at 50k miles whether they actually need it or not. It is a very cheap and easy to do PM. That could keep the skin on your ass where it belongs.

Also, not that it is your case, butt for the kids out there that don't know any better; high psi wash hoses (like at the coin-op car wash) are the bane of wheel bearings (amongst other important bits).

-cp

[aurel]

Originally Posted by gefr

On 56k kms my rear bearings are giving a ratling noise when brakin the rear brake. I hear them when approaching to traffic lights, as the wind noise is really low. I guess they have expired. Anyone else had them replaced? Would you reccomend replacing the front ones as well? Never kept a bike that long so I don' know. My previous TDM850 had worn 3 bearings in less kms (I recall 40k kms). Cheers.

Got exactly the same problem 2 weeks ago, I heard them while breaking with the rear brake at very low speed. Once replaced (only the rear bearing not both) everything was ok. Mine was in a very bad condition due to the salt they put on snowed road during winter

aurel

[gefr]

How old is your bike? And how many kms? You may be washing it often due to your mud adventures with pressure hose but I don't think salt has any place getting into your bearings! I tend to agree with cpmodem that pressure washing is usually fatal for bearins. In my case I suspect cleaning the area around the rear wheel with clean domestic diesel could have played a role, diluting the grease but milleage makes the failure reasonable. Cheers.

[cpmodem]

One of the OC Inmates suggested packing the area between the seal and the bearing with waterproof grease. Seems like it might help.
-cp

[NothingClever]

Originally Posted by cpmodem

One of the OC Inmates suggested packing the area between the seal and the bearing with waterproof grease. Seems like it might help.
-cp

And if you're TRULY a cheap bastard, you'll know you can peel the bearing seal away with an automotive pick and repack your own bearings without having to remove them .

That's a lot of work so I just R&R them at 24,000 miles whether they're graunchy or not.

[aurel]

Originally Posted by gefr

How old is your bike? And how many kms? You may be washing it often due to your mud adventures with pressure hose but I don't think salt has any place getting into your bearings! I tend to agree with cpmodem that pressure washing is usually fatal for bearins. In my case I suspect cleaning the area around the rear wheel with clean domestic diesel could have played a role, diluting the grease but milleage makes the failure reasonable. Cheers.

My bike is 6 months old, 27.000kms. I wash it often but I NEVER use high pressure hose on bearing.

Believe me, it's hard to explain in english because of my poor level but the bearing was really damaged by the salt... Like some parts on a boat.

aurel

[gefr]

I think you should apply for the Guiness book of records. With your rate you will need a set of bearings for EVERY WINTER! Maybe search for extra waterproof aftermarket bearings. You sure seem to enjoy your bike! You are a steel eater (local expression). Cheers.

[aurel]

Originally Posted by gefr

You are a steel eater (local expression).

I have to confess I'm not sure to understand the relation between eating steel and enjoying my katoom...

aurel, switching from www.advrider.com to www.learnenglish.org.uk

[fastlearner]

I agree with CP and NothingClever. The bearings are a great piece of maintenance to do yourself. I've done it many, many times on my 450exc.

There are a couple tricks that make it go more easily like, putting the bearings in the freezer for a couple hours so they shrink just a little bit. Before putting them in I lightly warm the hub with a torch to make it expand. This makes the bearing move into place much more easily. Don't ride for a couple hours after until the grease that was in the freezer with the bearings warms up a little - not critical but a good thing to do.

As N.C. said, I also remove the seal on a new set of bearings and add Bel Ray waterproof grease.

Another tip, when you remove the old bearings, keep one. Take it to your bench grinder and take a few 1/1000ths off the outside evenly. Now you've got the perfect tool for pressing/tapping in the new bearings - for free!!!


Cheers

[crazybrit]

Originally Posted by fastlearner

Another tip, when you remove the old bearings, keep one. Take it to your bench grinder and take a few 1/1000ths off the outside evenly. Now you've got the perfect tool for pressing/tapping in the new bearings - for free!!!

Cheers

Or even easier since not everyone has a bench grinder. Take a dremel tool (or a hacksaw) and make a radial cut through the outer race of the old bearing. Take a large screwdriver and insert it into the cut and open the outer race, tap out the bearings. Remove the outer race. I have a large bag of old outer races so I only need to do this when I find a size I don't have. I hate using sockets as I rarely have the right OD and I don't like hitting my tools.

Now you can use this outer race to drive in the new bearings (you'd think it would move around and be generally difficult, it isn't and a frozen bearing needs little force to drive in). Also because of the cut, should the driving race get pressed into the bore a little you can just apply pressure using a pair of channellocks and it will pop right out.

I always pack the distance between the seal and the bearing with Belray waterproof grease. I've popped the outer seal off bearings before using a small jewellers screwdriver, usually to visually confirm that they were full of crap. I don't think it makes sense to repack them as you not only need to repack but you need to take some solvent to them to clean out the old crap and dirt. Also decent quality bearings from a local bearing store are like $5 each (I use KBC a Korean brand). Of course I have a wheel bearing driver which makes pressing them out trivial.

Tony

[gefr]

NothingClever,
repacking is wrong IMHO because the reason we replace the bearings is the play the worn bearings develop between the races and the balls. New grease may eliminate this until the grease gets really warm and the weel will start to wobble again. My $0.02 (in euros 0.0133€). Cheers.

[Kawidad]

Originally Posted by gefr

NothingClever,
repacking is wrong IMHO because the reason we replace the bearings is the play the worn bearings develop between the races and the balls. New grease may eliminate this until the grease gets really warm and the weel will start to wobble again. My $0.02 (in euros 0.0133€). Cheers.

It is wrong to do it, if the bearing is tired. But, if you are doing it as a PM, it's okay. This is an old dirt biker trick.

Another trick is to peal the seal off a new bearing and pack it with high quality water-proof grease or other lubricant, then install. You'd be surprised at how little lubrication is inside that seal. It's amazing they last as long as they do.

[NothingClever]

Guys, give me some credit here....

Like I said, I replace mine whether they need it or not at the 24,000 mile mark.

I only offer up the technique for general FYI and in the event a rider is somewhere where the proper size bearing is unavailable yet needs to be R&R'd.

And I agree, depending on the manufacturer, many bearings are undergreased from the factory. I've had good luck with NTN which is a Japanese bearing.

[cpmodem]

Since its been brought up in court ... errrrr, I mean in this thread, I would like to recommend a place to purchase replacement bearings:



CBR Bearings has been very helpful to a lot of m/c riders on a lot of different brand bikes. I have no business ties to them, other than as a very happy and satisfied customer.
-cp