Rocket Scientist

Grand Exulted Poobah
Joined
Sep 27, 2009
Messages
6,522
Location
Spring Lake, Michigan
Ride
Black 05' Rocket III standard
Today I pulled my rear wheel to get the tire changed. Checked the bearings and found I couldn't turn either of them by hand. I can turn them with tools and they feel like the balls are square. Has anybody removed them before ? Nothing about it in the manual. I have the front tire off for a new baloney as well. Those bearings feel fine but wondering if I should change them as well. The bearings are pretty standard. What I'm afraid of in the front is the seals. I have to pull the seals to get the bearing numbers. If I eff them up I could be waiting a long time for parts (haven't checked availability yet) any thoughts, particularly on getting the old bearings out ?
 
This would be a good time to mention to watch for bearing load up when bolting the final drive to the swing-arm. The axle has to be true with the swing-arm.

I always grease the splines whilst changing the tire. What you said makes sense. Starting now I will leave the final drive bolts slightly loose until the axle is fitted and nipped up. 45,000 miles doesn't seem like much for wheel bearings. The fronts feel fine, so you might be onto something. Thanks for the tip !
 
I know it's an old thread, but what did you end up with for bearing replacements? I took my wheels to drop at paint today and noticed one on the front and one on the rear were very stiff. The rear was the right side (opposite final drive). Must say I was very shocked as the bike only has a little over 20k miles on it. Seems wicked premature for bearing failure, particularly since I'm in my fourth tire change and have always made sure to grease well?!!
Am I over reacting or does it seem way to early to you guys as well?
 
I had the same thing when changing a rear tire. The bearings were stiff and hard to move by hand. I replaced them (approx 70k km) but I found that when I took the original bearings out they turned smoothly so Iprobably wasted my time, money and effort.
 
I think Triumph uses crappy bearings. The failed bearings that came off my out put shaft looked like they sized to width on a belt sander. They were so cheap they didn't have any name on them at all. My old rear wheel bearings turned easier after I removed them but not what I would call easy. Like the grease turned into wax. I replaced both NSK bearings with a Koyo and a KYK that I bought locally at an industrial supply house. Just had the rear wheel out and they are still turning freely.
 
Luckily my landlord is is the mx chief at a local factory. He's pretty sure he has all the bearings and seals at his shop. It was funny when we put the new 2d gear in this weekend he laughed and said he had 10 of that exact bearing in a supply bin. He works trades out with the company all the time so fingers crossed I won't have to go searching!
 
I always grease the splines whilst changing the tire. What you said makes sense. Starting now I will leave the final drive bolts slightly loose until the axle is fitted and nipped up. 45,000 miles doesn't seem like much for wheel bearings. The fronts feel fine, so you might be onto something. Thanks for the tip !

It sounds like good mileage to me Rocket Scientist. I lost my rear bearing on my Harley Fatboy at around 7000 miles. I was driving back from an all day ride and the bike just didn't fell quite right. Most people wouldn't have even noticed. Trailered it to the dealer just to be on the safe side and there was a small about of grease making its way out of the rear seal. Harley had a bearing issue on some bikes. When they replaced bearing and seal they discovered it had also damaged the $500 rim as well. Fortunately, I had purchased an extended warranty that included the tires and rims. All covered under warranty including a new front tire that was an older style prone to some cupping. $50 deductible and I was out the door.
 
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