Bearings

[dna9656]

Wheel bearings.

 

I need to lift the bike up for a wheel bearing re-pack.

 

It looks like the exhaust pipes would carry the

 

load if I were to put a 2 X under the bike and

 

use my standard floor jack under the 2 X to raise

 

the bike.

 

I'm not sure this is ok....is it?

 

This bike is a pure OD (Olive Drab) ***** to push.

 

I'm not sure if it's brake drag or bearings that n

 

need re-packing.

 

Any and all thoughts would be appreciated.

Edited December 25, 2013 by dna9656

[MiCarl]

I wouldn't count on the pipes holding it up.

 

Only the left bearing can be lubed, the others are sealed. Typically bad bearings are rough rather than difficult to push.

 

I think your problem is most likely to be the brakes. I'd put it on the center stand, pull the caliper and see how the wheel feels.

[dna9656]

I put a 2"x6" under the bike then some 1.5" X

 

1.5" under the frame rails, and lifted it up

 

by the frame, NP!

 

I will follow your advice and check the un-loaded

 

drag of each wheel.

 

The book says to drive out the bearings with a

 

socket (and hammer I assume) Just how do

 

the members here remove wheel bearings?

Edited December 28, 2013 by dna9656

[jasonm.]

there is a spacer in between the wheel bearings. The spacer keeps proper"spacing" Now this spacer can be shifted a bit to the side to allow for a drift punch the knock out the bearings. A few evenly spaced taps...hits is all it take with a 2# sledge hammer. If you have a heat gun use it also on the hub only as well as warming the hub before installing new bearings. Socket is for install. Make sure you have a socket that ONLY hits the very OUTSIDE edge of the bearing. The warming really helps both ways

[MiCarl]

Just to clarify - on the install only heat the wheel. Let the bearing spend the night in the freezer to make it even easier.

[jasonm.]

i tried the freezer thing too. It made do diff. Think about it...my freezer is approx. 5F...the air/bearing normal temp. is 70F. Do you really think that 65F change makes the hardened steel bearing shrink? I know many people believe this. But talk to a metalurgy expert. And he will tell you -30F is more useful...yet not possible. Actually the sweating of the cold bearing actually adds water is a lubricant...that's all. Now heating the wheel hub area to 200- 300F...that's obviously causes expansion and make the whole job smoother. But putting the bearing in the freezer cannot hurt.

[Marcarl]

Diving the bearings out will not make them any better, so best to count on replacing them in the process. All bearings are common, so are available from a local bearing dealer, except the right rear I believe, and that is a needle bearing, only available from Yamaha, and they might not have it in stock so you might have a while to wait.

[greg_in_london]

Lots of strange comments here - except that there is no need to lift the bike on the exhausts and worn bearings will not make the wheel hard to turn - not if you are able to ride it ! If the wheel is hard to turn, free off the brakes or scrape the hedgehog out from between the wheel and the mudguard.

 

Put the bike on the centre stand and do one or more of three things - suspend the front end with a rope/chain from the ceiling/rafter (if available) attached to the headstock, put a large weight in the top box or on the back seat to keep it down and/or use two axle stands/jacks under the frame on either side (the lips of the axle stand will go round the exhaust pipes and support the weight. Note that the rope/jack/weight is not to take the whole weight of the bike, it is just sufficient to over-balance it backwards on the stand.

 

If you have not used two jacks, make sure that you put something under the engine so it CANNOT fall forwards on top of you. If things go wrong, it might damage the bike, but not as badly as it could hurt you.

 

Or buy a jack/work bench that will allow you to strap the back end down.

 

Secondly - the bearings themselves.

 

If there is significant play when you grab the rim and you can hear a rumble when you spin the wheel with the brakes off, your bearings are knackered. When you take the wheel out you will see movement on the inner race and when you turn it with your finger you might feel roughness. That will mean that the seals have not kept grit and moisture out, the lubrication has failed and the bearings are worn and need replacement If those things haven't happened, why do you want to re-grease the bearings ? You can only do that by removing the seals (which is possible with rubber seals, but not metallic ones), adding grease and then replacing them with or without the seals. By taking the bearings out you will be doing damage unless you use a bearing puller. That is because, even if your drift does not slip and damage the seal when hammering it out, you still have to hammer onto the inner race, which hits the balls, which hit the outer race to move them (to remove). It won't cause catastrophic failure very often, but it cannot help.

 

If your bearings are beginning to fail, then removing the bearing, taking out the seal, rinsing with paraffin and relubricating before reinstalling will extend the life of the bearing (indefinitely if you keep redoing it) until you can replace the bearings.

 

If there is no noticeable wear, don't touch them though. The bearings are best left well alone while they are working. As Marcarl said - if you suspect them with good reason, save your time and energy and replace them.

[dna9656]

Thanks to everyone for the guidance! This is why I wanted to re-pack the wheel bearings:

In my experience most used vehicles have not received the periodic maintenance the OEM schedules call for. When I get a used vehicle I go through the scheduled maintenance list and get the machine caught up on everything that's applicable that I can handle or get advice/help with. Those items I don't do I give to a shop to perform. This way I know what's been serviced, what needs further attention and if I need to trouble shoot I have a pretty good idea of what the problem IS NOT and that goes a long way to finding out what the problem IS.

I notice we are an international forum so we have some language differences; that's ok and kinda cool. We learn that the other guy isn't so different just because he says things in a different way. One response suggested paraffin, here in the US that's candle wax or baking wax, but I also know that wheel bearing grease is paraffin based so there is one of those differences in culture and language...

So I am getting the idea that because a motor cycle isn't as heavy as a car the grease lasts longer? That doesn't make sense to the car mechanic in me, in the military we re-packed wheel bearings every 3 years minimum, it usually happened more often due to routine inspections, brake jobs and the fact we used the cheapest grease on the planet and it did not do as good a job as the better petroleum and synthetic grease available on the market.

My wheels turn easily, I don't feel any roughness when turning the bearing with my fingers (wheel and axel removed), the brakes have their normal drag on the wheels as I turn them when the bike is lifted off it's wheels.

Am I and old guy (57) or is the bike just really hard to push around my concrete floor?

Edited January 6, 2014 by dna9656
got rid of contractions

[RandyR]

 

Am I and old guy (57) or is the bike just really hard to push around my concrete floor?

 

You should get on the bike and have someone else push. That's much easier.

 

no 57 is... well, lets not go there.

[camos]

Am I and old guy (57) or is the bike just really hard to push around my concrete floor?

You should get on the bike and have someone else push. That's much easier.

 

no 57 is... well, lets not go there.

That only works if there is someone around to help. Since I'm just me the preferred method is to duck-walk it for short distances or powered duck-walk for longer distances. Walking the bike just holding onto the handlebars does work OK too but if you get off balance to the off side there is little that can be done to stop it going over... unless your name happens to be Arnold.

 

I don't mind going there, 57 is not old. Its a little older than 47 and not quite as old as 67. In 10 years when I get to 77 I'll let you know if there is much difference.

[dna9656]

When I got the bike(s) home it took a MONUMENTAL effort to get them into the garage, this first bike (the '83) I backed down the ramp on the trailer into the shop (garage)... NOT so bad. Moving the bike around IN the shop has been another story, very hard to push about but I guess anything that weighs 700+ Lbs. would be.

With the '85 I had LOTS of help and it was a real Bi__h to move! Man it was tough!

This past Christmas my 2 sons were here and yeah you bet yer backside I sat on the '85 while they pushed me where I needed to put the bike!

[greg_in_london]

I've got a few years to go before I reach 67, but even so, the Venture is a heavy bike and an even slightly uneven surface will make it hard to push. (Even more so with a 300lb/150kg sidecar attached) Even so, if it is hard to move when it is upright then it suggests dragging brakes or flat tyres.

 

I think you call paraffin kerosene - something non-flammable to clean metal parts with, though degreasant is probably friendlier to the skin if you have it.

[KIC]

I kinda liked the comment " knackered" .. got a new word for my vocabulary...

[Marcarl]

Thanks to everyone foe the guidance! This is why I wanted to re-pack the wheel bearings:

In my experience most used vehicles have not received the periodic maintenance the OEM schedules call for. When I get a used vehicle I go through the scheduled maintenance list and get the machine caught up on everything that's applicable that I can handle or get advice/help with. Those items I don't do I give to a shop to perform. This way I know what's been serviced, what needs further attention and if I need to trouble shoot I have a pretty good idea of what the problem IS NOT and that goes a long way to finding out what the problem IS.

I notice we are an international forum so we have some language differences; that's ok and kinda cool. We learn that the other guy isn't so different just because he says things in a different way. One response suggested paraffin, here in the US that's candle wax or baking wax, but I also know that wheel bearing grease is paraffin based so there is one of those differences in culture and language...

So I am getting the idea that because a motor cycle isn't as heavy as a car the grease lasts longer? That doesn't make sense to the car mechanic in me, in the military we re-packed wheel bearings every 3 years minimum, it usually happened more often due to routine inspections, brake jobs and the fact we used the cheapest grease on the planet and it did not do as good a job as the better petroleum and synthetic grease available on the market.

My wheels turn easily, I don't feel any roughness when turning the bearing with my fingers (wheel and axel removed), the brakes have their normal drag on the wheels as I turn them when the bike is lifted off it's wheels.

Am I and old guy (57) or is the bike just really hard to push around my concrete floor?

My 85 is kind of hard to push when it's cold and hasn't been started, unless I remember to put it in neutral first, ten pull the clutch handle,,, then it's much easier. It seems the clutch drags a bit with the oil between the plates. Once it has turned over once or twice then it becomes manageable, still heavy, but can be done. Maybe your clutch isn't working quite right and needs to be bled out.

[syscrusher]

I think you call paraffin kerosene - something non-flammable to clean metal parts with, though degreasant is probably friendlier to the skin if you have it.

 

Here in the states the kerosene is pretty flammable.

I used to have a kerosene heater for the garage.