Another Great video tip . As a qualified fitter and machinist, you only need to pack bearings with a small amount of high quality grease . ( I use Wynn’s red grease) too much grease or over packing will potentially cause other issues. My Dr 650 bearings and seals came out with minimal effort required. I also smear a very light coat of grease on the inside of the bearing hub which makes install of the new bearings even easier. ( and helps to remove next time) Hope this tip helps others.
Yup, some great advice there. - Go one further than feeling for gritty, if they aint buttery smooth replace them. Way worse than not much grease is ANY contamination. If you really want to repack a bearing don't use the parts washer, use kerosene from a sealed bottle and don't use grease from that container next to the bench grinder. Overpacking a bearing with grease is another good way to over stress them and blow the seals out under load. If you are serious about mud and river crossings (some of us are) ask your local specialist bearing supplier about waterproof grease and/or bearings with seals rated for more wet/dirty environments. They cost more but not all bearings are equal. Tapping bearings even on the outer race isn't ideal and can cause brinelling. If you don't have a bearing press a drill press and socket or a large G clamp can work.
EXTRA TIPS FROM VIEWERS! Timken bearings shown in vid is actually a USA brand. Check the box for country of manufacture, it could be USA or Taiwan. Quick way to check front bearings. Front wheel off the ground, spin it, touch the fork by the axle. Any 'rumbling' feel? You need new bearings. - jonnoMoto Ideally use a bearing press to push your bearings in instead of tapping. Cheap tools on Ebay. - Jack Heinemann Can you overgrease bearings? Motorbike wheels spin much slower than the bearings are rated for, so heat shouldn't be a problem. But jamming too much grease in can put pressure on the seals. - KLRmurdercycle Try putting your bearings in a freezer to make fitting much easier. Hard to get out? Apply heat to the hub. - Derrick Cutting a carriage bolt cut down the middle and hammering a big screw driver in it to wedge the two sides out works great for removal. It takes like 1 minute to cut a $0.50 carriage bolt. Having trouble identifying your bearing number? It's usually printed on the original bearings. Then just go to your bearing specialist with this number. WHERE ARE MY BEARINGS MADE? Many bearing manufacturers will have varying grades of quality and this is reflected in the country of manufacture. An example? Swedish company SKF manufacture in Sweden, France, Germany, Poland, United States, China, India and other countries around the globe. Timken bearings shown in vid is actually a USA brand. Check the box for country of manufacture, it could be USA or Taiwan. Welcome to our dodgy channel! See more adventure bike setup vids in the playlist below. Motorbike setup bit.ly/3Dpb6rM Adventure bike & product reviews bit.ly/3DpEKxk Motorbike safety & protective gear bit.ly/3Dpb438 DR650 project series bit.ly/3XOsPRK And finally our most popular videos... Best lightweight adventure bikes? th-cam.com/video/lsorI76PBYc/w-d-xo.html Best midweight adventure bikes? th-cam.com/video/LmhL_u8s8HA/w-d-xo.html The midlife crisis solution! th-cam.com/video/LRQyEBY5YjQ/w-d-xo.html
Just ordered a bunch of Timkens to redo the bearings on an extra set of wheels I have for my DR350, and one of the sizes (6202) showed up with MADE IN CHINA on the packaging. Bummer!
I timely video Barry! I went through three sets of All Balls bearings in my Beta in a period of under 18 months. No muddy riding, and definitely no water ingress from washing - yet all of them rusted solid. I picked up a set of Japanese bearings from a wholesaler for less than the cost of the All Balls kit and have not had an issue since. So if you want cheap and convenient, get the ABR kit; but if you want quality parts that won't leave you stranded, get Japanese parts. Also important to note that if your spacers are worn or damaged, they will damage the lip on your new seal quickly. Make sure the spacers are free of sharp edges and damage.
I reckon the All Balls crew is making a mint from riders who don't want to look up the bearing specs for their bike, Coxy. I wouldn't be surprised if they buy those Chinese bearings for around $1 but then charge 10 to 15 times that.
On repacking the bearing, there is a thing as too much grease. When they spin at high speed, the extra grease can create resistance and trap heat inside the bearing. On bearing with grease fittings, they usually recommend a precise amount of squirts per day of utilisation, no more no less. Now on a motorcycle, the wheel spin much more slowly than what your bearings are rated for. The main enemy is contaminants. So if I where to repack a wheel bearing, it would be on the fuller side. But if I am buying brand new bearing, I trust the manufacturer and just slap it in because they know really well what they are doing and I don't want to damage that seal if it's not really needed. Instead pack the space in between the bearing and the seal with grease. It might not help but it sure cannot hurt. There are instances where I would repack a sealed bearing, such as still good but old and used bearing (mostly on bike I don't care much), but if you care a lot about this just change them every few year. It's not like if it was complex and expensive...
Yep, we went on the fuller side due to the comparatively low revolutions of a motorbike wheel. But we didn't jam it full as it can create pressure on the seals apparently.
Great tips! I haven't had a complete wheel bearing failure since I started repacking them with grease every time I change a tyre or tube. And like you said they last way longer.
Ditching the pressure washer in favor of a low pressure hose and a brush can make a huge difference to the lifespan of all sorts of bits on the whole bike, most seals are there to keep oil/grease in, pressure washers have an easy time getting water past them from the outside and of course spoke nipples and wiring ect are a breeze for the pressure washer to get into.
@@peterbonivart6818 Yes true but a lot of people just seem to smash the whole thing without thinking about it, as someone who can only afford second hand bikes I've seen so much needless damage over the years. A brush and a hose does a better job anyway and really cant go wrong unless you do something really stupid.
In my head I know to keep the pressure washer well away from bearings and the chain etc, Chris... but it's easy to forget! We only use pressure washers when the bikes are so filthy that normal pressure won't budge mud.
Lots of good advice. I would also add using a concrete anchor is one way to grab a bearing from the inside race and either pull or hammer it out. The front wheel on my 800GS had a very tight inner spacer that did not allow the bearing to be hammered out like on a dirt bike.
As an Elect Fitter Mechanic I had some training with bearings on top a youth of workings on bikes of various vintages, all my life I acquired bearing from the local bearing shop (with the good-looking girl on the counter) but recently after getting back on a bike I had need of a new rear wheel seal. So I ordered some "All Balls" bearing kit. I immediately noticed the poor quality of the product but still fitted them, I kept the originals and will most likely reinstall them next service. Nice to have my suspicions confirmed.
If you scroll through the comments you'll find some riders aying the All Balls work well for them, but there are definitely enough negative reports for me to avoid them like the plague... especially when Japanese made ones are cheaper.
My last set of All Balls on my DRZ endured 15.000km of water, mud and other stuff. I think the secrets are, do not pressure wash directly onto the seal and when changing the tire (in my case ~4k km) repack the inside of seal with grease. This will extend the life of even poor material like All Balls 😁. I believe if water gets in, neither OEM bearings will stand.
In my experience wheel bearings are far more difficult to remove than just tapping them out with a punch. Lots of heat to the hub is a must. Putting the new bearings in the freezer before installing makes a big difference as well in getting them in and well seated
Fun fact: rather than the freezer, which is typically only a couple degrees below zero, grab an aerosol can they use for blowing dust out of electronics (usually available in tech stores that sell computers, labeled as Computer Duster or some such. Wear gloves. Hang the bearing from a wire. Hold the spray duster can upside down, and spray the bearing. You can get a bearing down around -50C in seconds doing this, as it sprays the aerosol propellant out in liquid form which then immediately evaporates taking a substantial amount of heat with it. WEAR GLOVES AND GLASSES. If you spray thus on yourself as a liquid, it can do a fair bit of damage freezing your skin. But damn if it's not the best way I've ever found to install bearings inside a hub, as you can spray them right at the bike. Those cans are so much more useful as spray cold than they are as dusters. Then you can heat the hub AND spray the bearing both.
Its a damn near impossible task to tap the first one out with just a punch. What you gotta do is go to your local hardware store and buy some dynabolts (expanding contrete bolts), screw one of those in there so it bites the inner race then just smash it out. Sometimes you need 2 bolts so you can flog the sleave from one to space it out. Job done. I wouldnt use canned air on bearings, there really isnt a need, abit of heat on your hub, bearings in the freezer for 5 minutes and theyll damn near just slide in by hand. They really should be pressed in but anyway ...
Funny thing about heat vs cold that I lost a bet on; Heat does come in handy as a means of breaking 'bonds' loose, however, where you have and inner metal/part matted with an outer metal part, for example, when you cool both items they shrink, away from each other. Put another way, if you apply moderate heat to a steel ring, the inside diameter will lessen slightly, the outside diameter will increase slightly, if you freeze the ring, the ID will increase slightly, the OD will decrease slightly, hence the entire object shrinks or expands everywhere, due to temp changes. This inspires me to make this really dumb, 'gumby' joke; This principle works in both Fahrenheit and Celsius.
Spray chain lube on the seal lip/spacer after washing or lubing the chain, same for PDS lower shock and swingarm and other pivoting things. Think I got 200hrs on my EXC150 wheel bearings, sold my 2012 300 at 600hrs still on the original swingarm bearings and just changed the lower shock bearing with a small bit of play. I try not to spend to much time in axle deep water/mud if I can.
You have to tap them out on the inner race. Doesn’t matter though as if you’re taking them out they should be getting replaced. Install by hitting on the outer race only.
Anytime I have my wheels off like for a tire change whether the bearings feel gritty or not I pick the seal out of the bearing with a small pick or a micro screwdriver and blast the old grease and dirt out with air then hit it with some spray cleaner to to get them nice and clean then I repack them with something like royal purple high temperature aluminum complex like they use on the maglev high-speed bullet train that runs at 605 kilometers per hour (the aluminum draws heat from the bearing like a heatsink) I've been doing it this way for over 40 years and I've never worn out a wheel bearing .. and I have racked up some hard miles in that time on my bikes
So true. I've been getting better over the years. Thankfully I've only let a bunch of riders down once. My badly rusted chain broke and I messed up the whole ride as they got me out of the forest back to the cars. Very embarrassed. I was never invited back by those guys and for good reason!
I Take old bearings to skf or any bearing shop and the guy behind the counter replaces them on sight alone. No measurements no part numbers so I guess there isn’t that many different types I think bearings or so cheap and so easy to replace some guys change them out on every second tire. What’s $30 on the price of a new tire?
Yep the only weird bearing I had was the rear left hand side for a Husky TE610, Kevin. It had the bearing guy puzzled and he had to look it up. Thankfully they had one in stock, he said it's incredibly rare.
Best advice in this vid; 1. Buy LOCAL. There are good bearing shops around that will stand behind the product. 2. NEVER pressure wash near bearings or grease (Zerk) fittings.
One comment from a mechanic....don't add grease to a factory greased bearing...as too much grease retains heat and grease will overheat and burn....and the new grease you have added will just stay around and not in the race or balls.
Yep, I was reading up about that but the relatively light load and slow revolutions of a motorbike wheel apparently fall far short of the tolerances of the bearings. It seems the main potential issue is if you really pack the grease in hard you might put pressure on the seals and they could pop out? I've put a note in the pinned first comment.
Avoid using degreaser as well. Even though bearings have seals, degreaser (like dirty river water) has a way of getting into them and flushing out the all-important grease.
A mechanic taught me a trick for checking front wheel bearings. With the wheel off the ground, spin the front wheel and touch the fork by the axle. You can feel rumbly bearings that you can't hear and doesn't have any play in. Doesn't work if the brake drags a bit though.
I kinda wonder if same bearings koyo for example with different angular speed ratings contain different ammount of grease, or maybe another viscocity - if they do - than maybe grease them all up to brim is not always a good idea
Definitely a pile of opinions out there. Motorbike wheels put comparatively very little speed or stress on what the bearings are rated for so we usually err on the side or more grease than less. But certainly don't want to jam the entire bearing full as it creates pressure on the seals.
You can find part numbers on the outside of the (old) bearing. Check these with the well known manufacturers (European, Japanese) as they match their part numbers oftentimes. That way, I got new bearings from SKF for a fraction of the price for my DR800...
yep, cb500x rear OE bearing failed at 55K kms. Had been riding all day on some twisty stuff, was on my way home, not one indication it wasn't happy. A squeal then it locked up, I managed to steer it safely to the side of the road, the carrier bearing failed. 40km from home $170 Tow Truck bill. Went to Allied Bearings and bought Japanese Koyo bearings $45 total for the three. A few others have had theirs fail around 50K kms. Chinese made bearings were the OE ones.
All Balls are ok but you need to pack grease in them. Guaranteed to last 20k plus km with heavy water contact. It's true many bearing brands don't have much grease. Allways use an idustrial or heavy equipment grease. Lucas Oil Red and Tacky is what I use. Kendall, Pennzoil, doesn't matter. Just use a heavy duty rating. Some high end bearings don't have dust covers either. Tire changing is a good time to pull off the dust cover and clean and repack the bearing still in the hub. I check my bearings almost every ride.
Good idea. I've been incredibly slack in the past but I'll be doing this every tyre change too. The DR650 doesn't have seals on the inside of the bearing. Weird as water could get in if you sit in a deep puddle long enough.
Dont 'tap' the bearings in with a hammer, they really need to bs pressed in. You dont want to apply any crosswise force to the inner race, when your taking out old ones it doesnt matter but never reuse bearings that have had the inner race pounded they wont last long. When your taking them out you can just smash them out with a punch, Dynabolts (expanding concrete bolts $2 or so at bunnings, buy 2 and use the sleave of one as a spacer) work excellent, screw it in then smash it out with a drift, the otherside is easy then. Im againt adding 'extra grease', dont disturb that seal. Nice coat of grease on the face of the bearing inbetween the dust seal after youve pressed it in, grease the inside of the dust seal, in between the lips on the actual seal section...not the dead space as old mate is sean doing in this video. For these bikes that see it all, it really probably isnt a bad idea to just buy a handful and keep a stock on hand and replace them regularly, like every second tyre change or whatever. Thats my 2 cents
@@crosstrainingadventure Cool, Thanks. Who would have thought a short video on wheel bearings would spark the great discussions seen in this comment section, It is really good to see folks sharing their knowledge. Do you understand what I mean with the Dynabolts, I've come across a few bikes that have had damn near impossible to remove bearings when only trying to catch the lip with a punch, the dynabolts make it a piece of cake. Take care
Checked my wheel bearings before a two day 800km trip on my DR650. One was rusted solid and the other two on their way out. I suppose crossing 30 odd rivers in a span of a month will do that. 🤦. Side note: If you could choose a mid-size Adventures Bike, what would you choose? Love your channel and the awesome videos 😊👊
Hard to say, Jay. What would you call mid-sized? We did a whole vid about popular bikes from 190 to 210kg I think. I prefer lighter bike but I'd pick the T7 if I had to. Less electronics and bling. Apparently ultra solid. No crazy amount of power!
Some guys make them last if they put more grease in but there are too many failures for my liking. And the bearing kits cost a fair bit more than genuine Japanese bearings from a specialist. Easy choice for me!
All balls and other china bearings are not terrible as long as installed properly. Nsk ,skf, or timken are pretty easy to get and will last as long as factory. Most important part of any wheel bearing install is not crushing the seals or hitting the inner race with a hammer. Also, not bottoming out the second bearing too hard on the spacer. It needs to be the perfect size socket or an older outer race to do with a hammer. Probably good to get a proper bearing tool if you haven't hammered in a lot of bearings. Still need to make sure you don't drive them in too hard into the spacer. Cutting a carriage bolt cut down the middle and hammering a big screw driver in it to wedge the two sides out works great for removal. It takes like 1 minute to cut a $0.50 carriage bolt.
Also would not recommend removing bearing seals to add more grease. Bearing engineers know what they are doing. That is an adequate amount of high quality, and clean grease in there. Those seals are almost impossible to not damage removing. Adding grease just makes the bearing run hotter from pushing all the grease around and it burns up the seals and grease. Just put a bunch of grease between the outer dust seal and the bearing and you won't have water and dirt intrusion problems.
Just put more grease in, they might last a fair while. Not everyone has failures within a few rides. And these could mostly be due to going cheap on minimal grease.
WHERE ARE MY BEARINGS MADE? Many bearing manufacturers will have varying grades of quality and this is reflected in the country of manufacture. An example? Swedish company SKF manufacture in Sweden, France, Germany, Poland, United States, China, India and other countries around the globe. Timken bearings shown in vid is actually a USA brand. Check the box for country of manufacture, it could be USA or Taiwan. The Japanese brands I've listed in the vid may have cheaper bearings that are made in China - check the box.
Unfortunate for me, my backup dirt bike bearings, turned out to be ok, I'd put in new ones only to discover that the rim's bearing sleave was worn out. I tried a couple of different shim ideas, and they just got spit out. wahhh...Thankfully, I was able to upgrade, so don't really need that bike now, it works, just has side to side slop at the rear wheel.
@@crosstrainingadventure I had cut up strips of metal, spent some time with it, and jammed the new bearing housing in, the shims worked them selves out in seconds, once I started riding it, so much pressure guess. I think if a guy really worked at it, he could figure out some kind of washer/keeper to keep the shims from working outward and out of the bearing sleeve. shrugs... The cost of a new rear wheel assembly is about what my old beater is worth... 🙃 On my new bike, I fitted zip ties around the 4 locations of exposed wheel bearings, to try to mitigate the fine dust/powder that would get into those bearings and hub interfaces, keeping the lock part of the zip tie oriented downward, as it creates a bit of a space, I even sanded down those lock ends on the inside so they might fit up close and minimize that particular dust entry point. I have to check now and again to see that the zipties are flat up against the bearing areas as in a day or two of riding one or two will work themselves away a bit. This might not do me any good at all, but it's taking me more time to explain what I've done than it did to install them lol... I think snug fitting 'squared-edge' O rings would be a bit better, but again, this might have nothing to do with why the bearing sleeves wear out ...shrugs...
Not all bearings from Japan brand are made in Japan. The quality and durability of them from other country are different from the one MIJ. There are also many faking. Take care of it.
my 2013 dr 650 has over 100,00 ADV kms on the original wheel bearings ,including the sprocket carrier,No way you say!! from new I have been popping the little bearing seals,cleaning and greasing them,just simple maintenance,,
That's a good run, Murray! And it sounds as though you haven't been in axle deep water at all? I've always disliked how the inside face of the bearings don't have seals.
@@crosstrainingadventure actually,my squamish BC rides have water crossings,on every ride ,and in the chilcotin ,as well,,no lack of water in the rain forest,,i,m just a muppet on an old bushpig,cheers
A few viewers have said the same thing, AB! Of course not everyone has issues with All Balls, especially if they add some extra grease. Maybe just slop a bit more in next time you have the wheels off?
As per pinned first comment, the only issue might be if you jammed so much grease in that it put pressure on the seals. The typical load and rotation speed are far short of the usual tolerances.
I packed them full once. 2 much grease fill pop the seals and dust will get in and they will faile. Mine fail in the middle of Flinders,no bearing shops there 😂
Another Great video tip . As a qualified fitter and machinist, you only need to pack bearings with a small amount of high quality grease . ( I use Wynn’s red grease) too much grease or over packing will potentially cause other issues. My Dr 650 bearings and seals came out with minimal effort required. I also smear a very light coat of grease on the inside of the bearing hub which makes install of the new bearings even easier. ( and helps to remove next time) Hope this tip helps others.
What about center spacers? Lubricate/ grease them?
Yup, some great advice there. - Go one further than feeling for gritty, if they aint buttery smooth replace them. Way worse than not much grease is ANY contamination. If you really want to repack a bearing don't use the parts washer, use kerosene from a sealed bottle and don't use grease from that container next to the bench grinder. Overpacking a bearing with grease is another good way to over stress them and blow the seals out under load.
If you are serious about mud and river crossings (some of us are) ask your local specialist bearing supplier about waterproof grease and/or bearings with seals rated for more wet/dirty environments. They cost more but not all bearings are equal.
Tapping bearings even on the outer race isn't ideal and can cause brinelling. If you don't have a bearing press a drill press and socket or a large G clamp can work.
Great tips!
EXTRA TIPS FROM VIEWERS! Timken bearings shown in vid is actually a USA brand. Check the box for country of manufacture, it could be USA or Taiwan.
Quick way to check front bearings. Front wheel off the ground, spin it, touch the fork by the axle. Any 'rumbling' feel? You need new bearings. - jonnoMoto
Ideally use a bearing press to push your bearings in instead of tapping. Cheap tools on Ebay. - Jack Heinemann
Can you overgrease bearings? Motorbike wheels spin much slower than the bearings are rated for, so heat shouldn't be a problem. But jamming too much grease in can put pressure on the seals. - KLRmurdercycle
Try putting your bearings in a freezer to make fitting much easier. Hard to get out? Apply heat to the hub. - Derrick
Cutting a carriage bolt cut down the middle and hammering a big screw driver in it to wedge the two sides out works great for removal. It takes like 1 minute to cut a $0.50 carriage bolt.
Having trouble identifying your bearing number? It's usually printed on the original bearings. Then just go to your bearing specialist with this number.
WHERE ARE MY BEARINGS MADE?
Many bearing manufacturers will have varying grades of quality and this is reflected in the country of manufacture. An example? Swedish company SKF manufacture in Sweden, France, Germany, Poland, United States, China, India and other countries around the globe.
Timken bearings shown in vid is actually a USA brand. Check the box for country of manufacture, it could be USA or Taiwan.
Welcome to our dodgy channel! See more adventure bike setup vids in the playlist below.
Motorbike setup bit.ly/3Dpb6rM
Adventure bike & product reviews bit.ly/3DpEKxk
Motorbike safety & protective gear bit.ly/3Dpb438
DR650 project series bit.ly/3XOsPRK
And finally our most popular videos...
Best lightweight adventure bikes? th-cam.com/video/lsorI76PBYc/w-d-xo.html
Best midweight adventure bikes? th-cam.com/video/LmhL_u8s8HA/w-d-xo.html
The midlife crisis solution! th-cam.com/video/LRQyEBY5YjQ/w-d-xo.html
Just ordered a bunch of Timkens to redo the bearings on an extra set of wheels I have for my DR350, and one of the sizes (6202) showed up with MADE IN CHINA on the packaging. Bummer!
As always, your videos are awesome! I am getting back to off road riding, counting on you to keep saving my ride, and eventually my life 😊 thank you
Great to hear, Claudio!
I timely video Barry! I went through three sets of All Balls bearings in my Beta in a period of under 18 months. No muddy riding, and definitely no water ingress from washing - yet all of them rusted solid. I picked up a set of Japanese bearings from a wholesaler for less than the cost of the All Balls kit and have not had an issue since. So if you want cheap and convenient, get the ABR kit; but if you want quality parts that won't leave you stranded, get Japanese parts.
Also important to note that if your spacers are worn or damaged, they will damage the lip on your new seal quickly. Make sure the spacers are free of sharp edges and damage.
I reckon the All Balls crew is making a mint from riders who don't want to look up the bearing specs for their bike, Coxy. I wouldn't be surprised if they buy those Chinese bearings for around $1 but then charge 10 to 15 times that.
On repacking the bearing, there is a thing as too much grease. When they spin at high speed, the extra grease can create resistance and trap heat inside the bearing. On bearing with grease fittings, they usually recommend a precise amount of squirts per day of utilisation, no more no less.
Now on a motorcycle, the wheel spin much more slowly than what your bearings are rated for. The main enemy is contaminants. So if I where to repack a wheel bearing, it would be on the fuller side. But if I am buying brand new bearing, I trust the manufacturer and just slap it in because they know really well what they are doing and I don't want to damage that seal if it's not really needed. Instead pack the space in between the bearing and the seal with grease. It might not help but it sure cannot hurt.
There are instances where I would repack a sealed bearing, such as still good but old and used bearing (mostly on bike I don't care much), but if you care a lot about this just change them every few year. It's not like if it was complex and expensive...
Yep, we went on the fuller side due to the comparatively low revolutions of a motorbike wheel. But we didn't jam it full as it can create pressure on the seals apparently.
Great tips! I haven't had a complete wheel bearing failure since I started repacking them with grease every time I change a tyre or tube. And like you said they last way longer.
Ditching the pressure washer in favor of a low pressure hose and a brush can make a huge difference to the lifespan of all sorts of bits on the whole bike, most seals are there to keep oil/grease in, pressure washers have an easy time getting water past them from the outside and of course spoke nipples and wiring ect are a breeze for the pressure washer to get into.
It's not rocket science to regulate pressure with distance.
@@peterbonivart6818 Yes true but a lot of people just seem to smash the whole thing without thinking about it, as someone who can only afford second hand bikes I've seen so much needless damage over the years. A brush and a hose does a better job anyway and really cant go wrong unless you do something really stupid.
In my head I know to keep the pressure washer well away from bearings and the chain etc, Chris... but it's easy to forget! We only use pressure washers when the bikes are so filthy that normal pressure won't budge mud.
Lots of good advice. I would also add using a concrete anchor is one way to grab a bearing from the inside race and either pull or hammer it out. The front wheel on my 800GS had a very tight inner spacer that did not allow the bearing to be hammered out like on a dirt bike.
As an Elect Fitter Mechanic I had some training with bearings on top a youth of workings on bikes of various vintages, all my life I acquired bearing from the local bearing shop (with the good-looking girl on the counter) but recently after getting back on a bike I had need of a new rear wheel seal. So I ordered some "All Balls" bearing kit. I immediately noticed the poor quality of the product but still fitted them, I kept the originals and will most likely reinstall them next service. Nice to have my suspicions confirmed.
If you scroll through the comments you'll find some riders aying the All Balls work well for them, but there are definitely enough negative reports for me to avoid them like the plague... especially when Japanese made ones are cheaper.
@@crosstrainingadventure I got lazy and ordered online.
I don't blame you, it takes a fair bit of time finding out the bearing sizes usually. I think it's why All Balls make a killing...
My last set of All Balls on my DRZ endured 15.000km of water, mud and other stuff. I think the secrets are, do not pressure wash directly onto the seal and when changing the tire (in my case ~4k km) repack the inside of seal with grease. This will extend the life of even poor material like All Balls 😁. I believe if water gets in, neither OEM bearings will stand.
Excellent advise on an often overlooked subject!
Thanks!
In my experience wheel bearings are far more difficult to remove than just tapping them out with a punch. Lots of heat to the hub is a must. Putting the new bearings in the freezer before installing makes a big difference as well in getting them in and well seated
Fun fact: rather than the freezer, which is typically only a couple degrees below zero, grab an aerosol can they use for blowing dust out of electronics (usually available in tech stores that sell computers, labeled as Computer Duster or some such.
Wear gloves. Hang the bearing from a wire. Hold the spray duster can upside down, and spray the bearing. You can get a bearing down around -50C in seconds doing this, as it sprays the aerosol propellant out in liquid form which then immediately evaporates taking a substantial amount of heat with it.
WEAR GLOVES AND GLASSES. If you spray thus on yourself as a liquid, it can do a fair bit of damage freezing your skin.
But damn if it's not the best way I've ever found to install bearings inside a hub, as you can spray them right at the bike.
Those cans are so much more useful as spray cold than they are as dusters.
Then you can heat the hub AND spray the bearing both.
Its a damn near impossible task to tap the first one out with just a punch. What you gotta do is go to your local hardware store and buy some dynabolts (expanding contrete bolts), screw one of those in there so it bites the inner race then just smash it out. Sometimes you need 2 bolts so you can flog the sleave from one to space it out. Job done. I wouldnt use canned air on bearings, there really isnt a need, abit of heat on your hub, bearings in the freezer for 5 minutes and theyll damn near just slide in by hand. They really should be pressed in but anyway ...
Great tips!
Funny thing about heat vs cold that I lost
a bet on;
Heat does come in handy as a means
of breaking 'bonds' loose, however,
where you have and inner metal/part
matted with an outer metal part, for example,
when you cool both items they shrink, away
from each other.
Put another way, if you apply moderate heat
to a steel ring, the inside diameter will lessen
slightly, the outside diameter will increase slightly,
if you freeze the ring, the ID will increase slightly,
the OD will decrease slightly, hence the entire object
shrinks or expands everywhere, due to temp changes.
This inspires me to make this really dumb, 'gumby' joke;
This principle works in both Fahrenheit and Celsius.
@@bikersoncall That's not true. Heat makes both diameters grow. Cold makes them both shrink.
Spray chain lube on the seal lip/spacer after washing or lubing the chain, same for PDS lower shock and swingarm and other pivoting things. Think I got 200hrs on my EXC150 wheel bearings, sold my 2012 300 at 600hrs still on the original swingarm bearings and just changed the lower shock bearing with a small bit of play. I try not to spend to much time in axle deep water/mud if I can.
Yeah I know some guys love splashing through deep mud or water holes but I'll always look for the other way around!
I’m curious how you’d tap out on the outside race 🤔
I used to add grease to new bearings until they were full, but then learned it’s not best practice
Yep, as per the pinned comment you don't want to jam them 100% full of grease, but ensure there's a reasonable amount.
You have to tap them out on the inner race. Doesn’t matter though as if you’re taking them out they should be getting replaced. Install by hitting on the outer race only.
Anytime I have my wheels off like for a tire change whether the bearings feel gritty or not I pick the seal out of the bearing with a small pick or a micro screwdriver and blast the old grease and dirt out with air then hit it with some spray cleaner to to get them nice and clean then I repack them with something like royal purple high temperature aluminum complex like they use on the maglev high-speed bullet train that runs at 605 kilometers per hour (the aluminum draws heat from the bearing like a heatsink) I've been doing it this way for over 40 years and I've never worn out a wheel bearing .. and I have racked up some hard miles in that time on my bikes
Ditto for my brother in this vid. I'm going to be much more attentive from now on!
@@crosstrainingadventure Gotta get down on it Barry 😎
So true. I've been getting better over the years. Thankfully I've only let a bunch of riders down once. My badly rusted chain broke and I messed up the whole ride as they got me out of the forest back to the cars. Very embarrassed. I was never invited back by those guys and for good reason!
I Take old bearings to skf or any bearing shop and the guy behind the counter replaces them on sight alone. No measurements no part numbers so I guess there isn’t that many different types I think bearings or so cheap and so easy to replace some guys change them out on every second tire. What’s $30 on the price of a new tire?
Yep the only weird bearing I had was the rear left hand side for a Husky TE610, Kevin. It had the bearing guy puzzled and he had to look it up. Thankfully they had one in stock, he said it's incredibly rare.
Best advice in this vid; 1. Buy LOCAL. There are good bearing shops around that will stand behind the product. 2. NEVER pressure wash near bearings or grease (Zerk) fittings.
One comment from a mechanic....don't add grease to a factory greased bearing...as too much grease retains heat and grease will overheat and burn....and the new grease you have added will just stay around and not in the race or balls.
Yep, I was reading up about that but the relatively light load and slow revolutions of a motorbike wheel apparently fall far short of the tolerances of the bearings. It seems the main potential issue is if you really pack the grease in hard you might put pressure on the seals and they could pop out? I've put a note in the pinned first comment.
Avoid using degreaser as well.
Even though bearings have seals, degreaser (like dirty river water) has a way of getting into them and flushing out the all-important grease.
A mechanic taught me a trick for checking front wheel bearings. With the wheel off the ground, spin the front wheel and touch the fork by the axle. You can feel rumbly bearings that you can't hear and doesn't have any play in.
Doesn't work if the brake drags a bit though.
Great idea, I'll add this to the pinned first comment.
Put your ear to the staunchon too, youll hear those puppys either gliding along smooth as butter, or itll be a horror show
I kinda wonder if same bearings koyo for example with different angular speed ratings contain different ammount of grease, or maybe another viscocity - if they do - than maybe grease them all up to brim is not always a good idea
Definitely a pile of opinions out there. Motorbike wheels put comparatively very little speed or stress on what the bearings are rated for so we usually err on the side or more grease than less. But certainly don't want to jam the entire bearing full as it creates pressure on the seals.
You can find part numbers on the outside of the (old) bearing. Check these with the well known manufacturers (European, Japanese) as they match their part numbers oftentimes.
That way, I got new bearings from SKF for a fraction of the price for my DR800...
Good tip, I'll include that in the pinned first comment.
yep, cb500x rear OE bearing failed at 55K kms. Had been riding all day on some twisty stuff, was on my way home, not one indication it wasn't happy. A squeal then it locked up, I managed to steer it safely to the side of the road, the carrier bearing failed. 40km from home $170 Tow Truck bill. Went to Allied Bearings and bought Japanese Koyo bearings $45 total for the three. A few others have had theirs fail around 50K kms. Chinese made bearings were the OE ones.
Bummer. Mind you 55000km is good for a bearing. The CB500X is made in Thailand but I would have thought Honda would use Japanese bearings. 😢
Always buy OEM bearings and seals. I don't recommend beating bearings out or in like that either.
All Balls are ok but you need to pack grease in them. Guaranteed to last 20k plus km with heavy water contact. It's true many bearing brands don't have much grease.
Allways use an idustrial or heavy equipment grease. Lucas Oil Red and Tacky is what I use. Kendall, Pennzoil, doesn't matter. Just use a heavy duty rating. Some high end bearings don't have dust covers either.
Tire changing is a good time to pull off the dust cover and clean and repack the bearing still in the hub.
I check my bearings almost every ride.
Good idea. I've been incredibly slack in the past but I'll be doing this every tyre change too. The DR650 doesn't have seals on the inside of the bearing. Weird as water could get in if you sit in a deep puddle long enough.
@@crosstrainingadventure I think depends on how or where you ride too. It's not hard to find water, mud, weeds on the trails in this part of Canada.
@@KLRmurdercycle Sometimes it's hard not to find water, mud weeds on any trails in our part of Canada 😁
@@jamesdenton3692 beavers are getting out of control😆
Dont 'tap' the bearings in with a hammer, they really need to bs pressed in. You dont want to apply any crosswise force to the inner race, when your taking out old ones it doesnt matter but never reuse bearings that have had the inner race pounded they wont last long. When your taking them out you can just smash them out with a punch, Dynabolts (expanding concrete bolts $2 or so at bunnings, buy 2 and use the sleave of one as a spacer) work excellent, screw it in then smash it out with a drift, the otherside is easy then. Im againt adding 'extra grease', dont disturb that seal. Nice coat of grease on the face of the bearing inbetween the dust seal after youve pressed it in, grease the inside of the dust seal, in between the lips on the actual seal section...not the dead space as old mate is sean doing in this video. For these bikes that see it all, it really probably isnt a bad idea to just buy a handful and keep a stock on hand and replace them regularly, like every second tyre change or whatever. Thats my 2 cents
Thanks, made a note about the pressing tool in the pinned first comment, Jack.
@@crosstrainingadventure Cool, Thanks. Who would have thought a short video on wheel bearings would spark the great discussions seen in this comment section, It is really good to see folks sharing their knowledge. Do you understand what I mean with the Dynabolts, I've come across a few bikes that have had damn near impossible to remove bearings when only trying to catch the lip with a punch, the dynabolts make it a piece of cake. Take care
Checked my wheel bearings before a two day 800km trip on my DR650. One was rusted solid and the other two on their way out.
I suppose crossing 30 odd rivers in a span of a month will do that. 🤦.
Side note: If you could choose a mid-size Adventures Bike, what would you choose?
Love your channel and the awesome videos 😊👊
Used V-strom$ or a new Aprilia $$$
Hard to say, Jay. What would you call mid-sized? We did a whole vid about popular bikes from 190 to 210kg I think. I prefer lighter bike but I'd pick the T7 if I had to. Less electronics and bling. Apparently ultra solid. No crazy amount of power!
@Cross Training Adventure Thanks. Yes, mid sized like the T7 or Aprillia 660. For now I'll just ride my Pig everywhere 😊
All balls bearing are terrible one ride and they blew out
They are chinease shit
Sounds like an installation error 🤔
Some guys make them last if they put more grease in but there are too many failures for my liking. And the bearing kits cost a fair bit more than genuine Japanese bearings from a specialist. Easy choice for me!
All balls and other china bearings are not terrible as long as installed properly. Nsk ,skf, or timken are pretty easy to get and will last as long as factory. Most important part of any wheel bearing install is not crushing the seals or hitting the inner race with a hammer. Also, not bottoming out the second bearing too hard on the spacer. It needs to be the perfect size socket or an older outer race to do with a hammer. Probably good to get a proper bearing tool if you haven't hammered in a lot of bearings. Still need to make sure you don't drive them in too hard into the spacer.
Cutting a carriage bolt cut down the middle and hammering a big screw driver in it to wedge the two sides out works great for removal. It takes like 1 minute to cut a $0.50 carriage bolt.
Also would not recommend removing bearing seals to add more grease.
Bearing engineers know what they are doing. That is an adequate amount of high quality, and clean grease in there. Those seals are almost impossible to not damage removing. Adding grease just makes the bearing run hotter from pushing all the grease around and it burns up the seals and grease. Just put a bunch of grease between the outer dust seal and the bearing and you won't have water and dirt intrusion problems.
Doh! My "All Balls" order is in the post ... why did I not procrastinate like normal!
Just put more grease in, they might last a fair while. Not everyone has failures within a few rides. And these could mostly be due to going cheap on minimal grease.
@@crosstrainingadventure I will do that, I just laughed at myself and the perfect timing as they are meant to arrive today :)
Yep using your finger is the best sensitive check there is. 😊
WHERE ARE MY BEARINGS MADE? Many bearing manufacturers will have varying grades of quality and this is reflected in the country of manufacture. An example? Swedish company SKF manufacture in Sweden, France, Germany, Poland, United States, China, India and other countries around the globe.
Timken bearings shown in vid is actually a USA brand. Check the box for country of manufacture, it could be USA or Taiwan.
The Japanese brands I've listed in the vid may have cheaper bearings that are made in China - check the box.
I was hoping that G spot vibrator was gonna be in the video...
🤣
Unfortunate for me, my backup dirt bike
bearings, turned out to be ok, I'd put in new ones only
to discover that the rim's bearing sleave
was worn out. I tried a couple of different shim
ideas, and they just got spit out. wahhh...Thankfully,
I was able to upgrade, so don't really need that bike now,
it works, just has side to side slop at the rear wheel.
I was wondering about that after I made the vid... how to shim the bearing if the hub has become too worn to hold it securly.
@@crosstrainingadventure
I had cut up strips of metal, spent some time with it,
and jammed the new bearing housing in, the shims
worked them selves out in seconds, once I started
riding it, so much pressure guess.
I think if a guy really worked at it, he could
figure out some kind of washer/keeper to keep the
shims from working outward and out
of the bearing sleeve. shrugs...
The cost of a new rear wheel assembly is about
what my old beater is worth... 🙃
On my new bike, I fitted zip ties around the
4 locations of exposed wheel bearings, to try
to mitigate the fine dust/powder that would get
into those bearings and hub interfaces, keeping
the lock part of the zip tie oriented downward, as
it creates a bit of a space, I even sanded down those
lock ends on the inside so they might fit up close and
minimize that particular dust entry point. I have to
check now and again to see that the zipties are flat
up against the bearing areas as in a day or two of
riding one or two will work themselves away a bit.
This might not do me any good at all, but it's taking
me more time to explain what I've done than it
did to install them lol... I think snug fitting
'squared-edge' O rings would be a bit better,
but again, this might have nothing to do with
why the bearing sleeves wear out ...shrugs...
A lot to learn... I must admit I'm a mechanical muppet so I'm always keen to hear about different strategies.
Always use wheel bearings with a seal on both sides.
100%! The DR650 only has seals on the outer side... 🤦♂️
@@crosstrainingadventure Upgrade then to double sided seals, your bearings will last longer.
Not all bearings from Japan brand are made in Japan. The quality and durability of them from other country are different from the one MIJ. There are also many faking. Take care of it.
my 2013 dr 650 has over 100,00 ADV kms on the original wheel bearings ,including the sprocket carrier,No way you say!! from new I have been popping the little bearing seals,cleaning and greasing them,just simple maintenance,,
That's a good run, Murray! And it sounds as though you haven't been in axle deep water at all? I've always disliked how the inside face of the bearings don't have seals.
@@crosstrainingadventure actually,my squamish BC rides have water crossings,on every ride ,and in the chilcotin ,as well,,no lack of water in the rain forest,,i,m just a muppet on an old bushpig,cheers
@@crosstrainingadventure actually I like that they don,t have seals,that way i can force new grease into them and out the backside/EH?
So… the only way this video could have been better is if it came out before I proudly installed a set of Allballs instead of just after. Thx🙄
A few viewers have said the same thing, AB! Of course not everyone has issues with All Balls, especially if they add some extra grease. Maybe just slop a bit more in next time you have the wheels off?
What was that about driving through deep water? 😂
Too much grease in a bearing is also not good. Check with the manufacturer
As per pinned first comment, the only issue might be if you jammed so much grease in that it put pressure on the seals. The typical load and rotation speed are far short of the usual tolerances.
I packed them full once. 2 much grease fill pop the seals and dust will get in and they will faile. Mine fail in the middle of Flinders,no bearing shops there 😂
Watch them wheel bearings, dont want to end up like the goose
Avoid Russian bearings. HaHa!