Front wheel bearing

[uncltommy77]

02 600 Well got a new front tire put on and found out my left front bearing wasnt as smooth as the other. So other words its shot. Week before I ride down toTennessee! Not cool! Better now then something goin wrong down there. Question is whats an easy way of changing those without the proper tool? I would suppose pounding them out carefully? Any suggestions?

[Jreid843]

Hate to sound like a dummy but what do you mean as smooth as the other? Im not sure how you tell a bike have a bad wheel bearing

[TRPUT]

Hate to sound like a dummy but what do you mean as smooth as the other? Im not sure how you tell a bike have a bad wheel bearing

Pretty easy when the wheel is off the bike - say, when having a new tyre fitted.

0Question is whats an easy way of changing those without the proper tool? I would suppose pounding them out carefully? Any suggestions?

You don't need a special tool. Tap the old bearings out from the opposite side with a rod (even an old screw driver) being careful to keep the bearing square (not twisted) as it comes out and not to gouge the rim. I use the old bearings to tap the new bearings into place. Just remember to insert the inner spacer.

[uncltommy77]

Put your finger in the hole and turn it. Should feel smooth and not loose. Mine isn't loose, but has some funky feeling while turning. The other one doesn't. I'm going to get a socket the same size as bearings and pound em out. Just a little scary cause I'm leaving to ride it over 1000 miles in under a week. Glad I found out before I left but is still shitty. Might be the reason I have a shake after 85mph. Hopefully it goes away with new bearings.

[Stumpy]

Bad bearings can cause some really bad things that you don't ever want to happen.

If in any doubt at all - replace them! they are about $9 each. Tap them out with a socket placed on the outer rim. Don't use a screwdriver, if you nudge the tip down into the race, you could end up with ball bearings spilling everywhere, and a twisted case that needs welded out!

[Wild-Bill]

What's all this about a socket? The ID (Inner Diameter) of the bearings is the same as the ID of the spacer between the bearings.

Heat the wheel around the bearing with a hot air gun (over-powered hair dryer, available at Harbor Freight for ~$15 http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-wa...112-96289.html) and use a section of 1/2" round stock as a drift. You've got to feel around with the drift for the edge of the bearing and try to catch it. Work your way around the bearing, catching the drift on the edge and hitting with a hammer until the bearing comes out.

Start with the right-side bearing. There's a ridge around the inside of the wheel on the left side which keeps the spacer centered. The right side of the wheel doesn't have that. As soon as the right-side bearing starts to move, you'll be able to push the spacer a little to the side and catch it easier with a drift.

Use an angle grinder or Dremel cutting wheel to cut through the outer race of an old bearing and knock out the inner race and all the ball bearings. That'll leave you with a ring exactly the right size to drive the new bearing into the wheel. It won't get stuck inside the lip on the wheel because of the slot you cut. A 2x4 or chunk of plywood over that ring will let you use a heavy hammer (I use a 3 lb sledge) to drive the new bearings in without hitting anything on the wheel.

I remove the rotors and set the wheel on a sheet of plywood while I'm working on it. When removing bearings the wheel is up on a pair of 2x4s so the bearing can drop free. Get the 2x4s under the rotor mounting points, not way out on the rim. That way there's less chance of bending a wheel and less flex available to soak up impact from the hammer.

Put the new bearings in the freezer overnight and reheat the wheel before installing. The shrinkage from freezing the bearings and expansion from heating the wheel will make the installation go much easier.

[uncltommy77]

Got em done! Wasn't that bad of a job. Didn't have to heat the wheel or freeze the bearings, they went right in with little hammer assistance. I'd like to add if anybody has to do this and never have before, one set of bearings have less wheel to travel out of than the other. Remove that one first! Found that out when the other one was not wanting to go. Once that one is out, the other comes right out. I have no more weird shake after 85mph, smooth rolling and the free tire from last year has no problems. Very satisfied and feels good to do it yourself. Now 5 more days and off to Tennessee! Time cannot move fast enough. Thanks for the info and help guys.