I'm greasing my wheel bearings. I must say, they look pretty good for a bike with 9000+ miles on it. This is the first time I have opened them up. I'm running into a problem, though. The bearing in the rotor side of the rear wheel doesn't seem to want to cooperate. I was able to remove the dust seals of all of the others with a small pick. Some gentle prying and they pop right out. This one looks a bit different than the others, and no amount of prying will get it out of there. The rubber flexes some, but that's about it. What am I doing wrong?
Everything in there is clean and tight. I know replacement wouldn't hurt, and I'll probably do it here pretty soon. But right now, I just want to get them greased up nice.
They'll last pretty much the life of the bike if kept full of grease, protected from water & mud & ridden under normal conditions. 9000 miles isn't very much for a set of wheel bearings. Street bikes often go 50-100,000 miles on a set at much higher average speeds. That being said, if the bike is ridden in lots of water & muck and it gets in behind the seals, that can trash a set in no time.
The fronts on my SMS seem to howl at speed, more so in hard corners. Basically no offroad/water crossings... I'm under 3000 miles. If I'm heavy on the front brakes it will go away, but if I'm light on the brakes it's still there, so I think that, and the fact that it's louder in corners, rules out the front brakes. Even after a long fast ride (It's seen 108mph so far...) the front hub isn't even warm to the touch, so I'm thinking it's just a combination of normal noise and the Hyde plate amplifying it.
I would never replace a good bearing, the next set you buy may not be as well made. Grease them up and ride.
I could be wrong but I thought wheel bearings were sealed units these days? I've certainly never removed any seals and greased a wheel bearing.
You can use a small pick (I prefer the 90 degree) and carefully remove the plastic seal from one side of the bearing and re-pack the bearing with grease. (I prefer the bluish green marine grease) then snap the plastic seal back in the bearing. I do this on new bearings as well because they are not full of grease and have air space which allows water and mud to get in.
I have always disagreed with tearing apart a brand new sealed bearing because I think I know better than some German or Japanese Engineer who designs bearings for a living. A lot of people do take them apart and say they have good success.
That's the way they are designed. Any grease that is not lubricating the moving parts is just a potential dirt magnet. But it seems like people are having success either way, so it doesn't seem like taking them apart is doing any harm.
It's true that it takes very little grease to keep the bearing lubricated. That is if the seals do a perfect job and it doesn't get dirt or water in it. The reason I pack the bearings with marine grease is not for better lubrication but as a water barrier for what ever might get by the seals.
jtemple, make sure the snap ring is removed on the rotor side, its on that side on my 610. I grease mine every time I change tires. I bought a grease needle from a parts house and use a high quality, high preassure water proof grease. Almost 17,000 miles on my TE all original bearings. Only one that worries me is the center bearing on the back.
Snap ring is removed. I'll play with it again later. I'd hate to break something trying to grease a clean bearing and be unable to ride for a while, though.
If you're driving any bearing in or out the #1 rule is "Don't beat on your balls". (Not joking) If the bearing outer race is pressed in to the hub only drive it out by the outer race. If you beat on the inner race to drive a bearing out that is pressed in by the outer race you are breaking rule #1. If the bearing is already trash then feel free to beat on what ever you want.
Want wheel bearings to last? Read the article on p. 28 here: http://issuu.com/scotiadallas/docs/august?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed Note the pic in Fig.5 The key isn't necessarily the grease IN the bearing(although that helps too), but the grease in the gap between the axle seal and the bearing. Keep that gap filled with grease, or grease/antiseize mix and your wheel bearings will last a loooonnnnggg time. If that gap is filled with grease, it means water, dirt & muck can't get in there and sit. Water & muck is what causes almost all wheel bearing failures on dirtbikes. If water & muck can't sit in there, it can't get to the bearing and rust it out, or ruin the bearing seal; allowing crap to get in and ruin the bearing. PS If you use a power washer to clean your bike(not recommended, but I digress), you need to pull your wheels and inspect the grease in this gap at least every couple of washs or so, as that high pressure water can get behind the seal and displace the grease, negating all these precautions.......
That's how I do it. Everything in there is filled with grease. I do not use water under any sort of pressure to wash my bikes. I use a shower head.
