Basic Guzzi info, anyone?

[lrutt]

I just replace the carrier bearing and the trick I was told that work great was to take a couple washer that just fit on the back side of the bearing. There is a slot there where a washer will fit into and give you a surface to pound against. Then get a socket that fits as tight as possible down the back side of the drive shaft tube. Put and extension on this socket so you can get a hammer to it. Then insert washers with some grease to help hold them in place and keep pressure on the socket to also hold them in place. You can then get some pretty good wacks on the socket extension and the bearing will come right out.

I could not get any kind of device on the lip of the bearing from the back side but this washer trick worked perfect. The replacemetn went in well, bearing in freezer, heat gun on housing and it went right in.

[jeffm]

Originally Posted by deerslayR

I will replace the bearing.

That is for the best, I think. They're damn cheap and easy to
change since you have the beast apart. Imagine my horror
when ~500 miles after my rebuild, one of the tranny bearings
siezed. I had to strip the damn thing down to pull the tranny.

anyways, I recall that when I pulled my carrier bearing,
I attacked it from the other side with an old socket with
an OD just less than the ID of the swingarm. A couple of
taps with the hammer and it slid right out.

jeff

[Bloodweiser]

finally! Ive been waiting FOREVER for someone to start talking about guzzis!

I have to pull my swing arm to replace my boot... should I plan on putting in a new swingarm bearing while I'm at it?

[jeffm]

Originally Posted by Bloodweiser

finally! Ive been waiting FOREVER for someone to start talking about guzzis!

I have to pull my swing arm to replace my boot... should I plan on putting in a new swingarm bearing while I'm at it?

depends :)

I usually carry a split boot (has a seam that fastens with nuts and bolts) in my
toolkit. I did a roadside repair with it and left it on for 15000 miles
didn't have to pull anything.

if you are pulling the swingarm, you might as well take the opportunity to
check for play in your cardan joint, inspect and replace the swingarm and
carrier bearings if necessary, and check your splines. I do not know the
history of your bike. If it was a new-to-me with unknown history, I'd
just go ahead and replace.

[Yad]

Originally Posted by Bloodweiser

finally! Ive been waiting FOREVER for someone to start talking about guzzis!

I have to pull my swing arm to replace my boot... should I plan on putting in a new swingarm bearing while I'm at it?

Mine was such a pain to get out, although next time I'll have the washer trick. I think popular wisdom says 30-50k miles. The expert Mr. Roper says change them any time you have the swingarm off.. but then he probably has a good puller! I will say that these bearings can take a beating. After all the off-axis hammering I did to get mine out, it still spun nice and smooth in my hand - I would not have known anything weird had been done to it. But failure of this item is Bad News, so better safe than sorry.

Another thing - i've read that misalignment of the swingarm will shorten the carrier bearing life. Alignment is done by making sure the spindles are screwed in exactly equally on each side (or as exactly as a sober guy with a good metal ruler can do, anyway).

[Bloodweiser]

Originally Posted by jeffm

depends :)

I usually carry a split boot (has a seam that fastens with nuts and bolts) in my
toolkit. I did a roadside repair with it and left it on for 15000 miles
didn't have to pull anything.
.

I'm glad to hear you rode with a split boot for 15000mi, they seem like a great addition to the tool kit!

back to the bearings - its a new-to-me bike, so I feel like replacing as much as I can afford. so how many bearings are there? Theres a motion industries near me, think they'll be able to help me if I bring in the old ones?

[Yad]

Originally Posted by Bloodweiser

I'm glad to hear you rode with a split boot for 15000mi, they seem like a great addition to the tool kit!

back to the bearings - its a new-to-me bike, so I feel like replacing as much as I can afford. so how many bearings are there? Theres a motion industries near me, think they'll be able to help me if I bring in the old ones?

one big one = U-joint carrier bearing is obviously inside the swingarm. Swingarm pivot bearings (that the swingarm screw spindles go into) are much less critical and much easier to inspect, I would leave those (after cleaning and re-greasing) unless they are obviously rough or notchy.

[L1gunman]

Originally Posted by Bloodweiser

I'm glad to hear you rode with a split boot for 15000mi, they seem like a great addition to the tool kit!

back to the bearings - its a new-to-me bike, so I feel like replacing as much as I can afford. so how many bearings are there? Theres a motion industries near me, think they'll be able to help me if I bring in the old ones?

Most good industrial bearing supply stores can help you out quite a bit. Greg bender has a lot of the information about part numbers for the bearings on his website. I'd print out a copy of his info, and take it to the bearing place, and get them to match everything up. Thats what i did.

the carrier bearing really ought to be pressed in, not hammered in. i know a lot of people have hammered them in with no problem, but I have the luxury of a friend with a machine shop, so thats how i did it.

Greg's site, just in case it hasnt been posted before.

http://www.thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/loopframe.htm

[Bloodweiser]

I read greg benders site ever night before I go to sleep.

so I should budget in the cost of a carrier bearing, is there just 1?

When do I get my refund check? I just found out today about the $600, i'm going on a guzzi spending spree!!!!!

[lrutt]

Yes, just one carrier bearing, I bought mine from MGcycle and I think it was only like 16.

[deerslayR]

Finally got the #%^!*'in' driveshaft carrier bearing out of the swingarm!

Put the swingarm in the freezer(don't tell the queen) for 6 hrs.

Rigged up a puller using a 1/2" X 12" carriage bolt.

Then heated the outer surface of the swingarm until it was toasty.

Put a 12" crescent wrench, with 4' breaker bar on the puller nut and

gave it a yank...............

POW!

That sucker was out 'o there.

Thanks for all the helpful tips.

[Andy-Gadget]

Originally Posted by lrutt

Yes, just one carrier bearing, I bought mine from MGcycle and I think it was only like 16.

The bearing HAS to be C3 clearance, I.E. loose, or it will stuff up.
The C3 mark is often just etched on the outer race as part of the bearing number, and can be missed.

BTW bearing clearances go as follows, C1: precision bearings, C2: normal bearing clearances and so not marked, C3: loose clearance, used were alienment can't be guaranteed (guzzi carrier bearings) or hot running conditions, like crank shaft bearings.
C1 and C3 are marked on the bearing, and as they are "Special" they usually cost more

[deerslayR]

Originally Posted by Andy-Gadget

The bearing HAS to be C3 clearance, I.E. loose, or it will stuff up.
The C3 mark is often just etched on the outer race as part of the bearing number, and can be missed.

BTW bearing clearances go as follows, C1: precision bearings, C2: normal bearing clearances and so not marked, C3: loose clearance, used were alienment can't be guaranteed (guzzi carrier bearings) or hot running conditions, like crank shaft bearings.
C1 and C3 are marked on the bearing, and as they are "Special" they usually cost more

Andy,
Thanks for the clarification.
Went shopping for bearings today and had to inform the counter person of my
need for the C3 spec. They didn't stock it.
Once I made it clear that it was for a driveshaft application, there was no
argument as to my proper needs.

[Bloodweiser]

how much did it run ya?

[deerslayR]

Originally Posted by Bloodweiser

how much did it run ya?

$23, when it comes in.