wheel bearing choices

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
I am gonna check that out Eric, I still have to change the front, I got the berings here but I was gonna wait until I replace my front tire!
Yea I have a front and rear to go over the winter as Ill need new rubber. I agree I change them when I put on tires and every time they look pretty terrible. Seems excessive, but they are not that expensive.

I also want the press to do some work on my truck :)

This is the one they have another wider one that's 20ton and it's a bit more money but also a bigger foot print in the shop. My space is limited so this might be it. Not wide enough to fit a tire, so you'll always have to remove the hubs which is fine since you should press them out anyways

http://m.harborfreight.com/12-ton-h...s1023_c4215b&utm_referrer=direct/not provided

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kickstart

Well-Known Member
Buying a press is a good idea but only part of it, you will also need fixtures to hold / support the hubs and two pushers to remove and install the two size bearings.
 

Brew

Troop Supporter
What do you use? Socket and rubber mallet?

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Yes, a socket the size of the bearing. I use the closed end of the socket so the whole surface of the socket is in contact with the whole face of the bearing. I usually change the bearings out at 10K
 

Glenn

Member
Well I hammered my wheel bearings out today with no real issues. I bought a 3/4 x 18 piece of thickwall water pipe (metal). I slipped a deep one inch socket over the end of the pipe - it makes a perfect drift pin to knock these bearings out. On the other end of the pipe I inserted a large bolt with washer - this gave me a good surface to beat on with my hand mallet. I braced the hub with pieces of 2 inch wood.

Ok now I have a question: Im getting ready to mount a 300 Shinko tire on the k9 and from what I hear on the site it will probably rub on the drive belt. Most folks are grinding the tires off a little to get them to fit. Has anyone used a 1/16 or 1/8 shim to space the pulley out farther to make more room for the belt. Does someone make a one piece hub shim plate with 5 holes for the bolts that will work on this hub? Is this a safe approach? I'm no expert here so someone please chime in....
 

BWG56

Guru
Glenn, whats the born date on that Shinko? I like the looks of them and its another choice for our 300's:old2:
Oh and a shim is not a good idea, put it on and maybe it won't even hit.
 

Glenn

Member
Glad you mentioned the date code - its 4614 so its about ll months old. The tread is pretty thick and seems to be well made. Got it on Amazon for $195.76 free shipping. Was sitting on my front porch the very next day. The tires I ordered for my other bike arrived in one day also - crazy! Yes agree on the shim - don't want to offset - only if no choice. I hope I get some mileage out of this one. My Avon in the picture has only 4107 miles - there are areas of tread seperation. No more Avons for me!IMG_20151016_152828_930.jpg
 

BWG56

Guru
Like I said , I like the tread design and 11 months old is good, price is great, Metzler's are around $300+ and I had an Avon that split at 1800 miles, I would definitly by one of these next.
 

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
Well I hammered my wheel bearings out today with no real issues. I bought a 3/4 x 18 piece of thickwall water pipe (metal). I slipped a deep one inch socket over the end of the pipe - it makes a perfect drift pin to knock these bearings out. On the other end of the pipe I inserted a large bolt with washer - this gave me a good surface to beat on with my hand mallet. I braced the hub with pieces of 2 inch wood.

Ok now I have a question: Im getting ready to mount a 300 Shinko tire on the k9 and from what I hear on the site it will probably rub on the drive belt. Most folks are grinding the tires off a little to get them to fit. Has anyone used a 1/16 or 1/8 shim to space the pulley out farther to make more room for the belt. Does someone make a one piece hub shim plate with 5 holes for the bolts that will work on this hub? Is this a safe approach? I'm no expert here so someone please chime in....
Nobody makes a shim for these hubs that I am aware of. You could try shimming but may cause other issues. I would only make alignment changes via the spacers and not add extra width as the load on the bearing could exceed the manufacturer specs and they will wear faster than they already do which is enough.

Before I did that I would see if it actually does rub?

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kickstart

Well-Known Member
Glad you mentioned the date code - its 4614 so its about ll months old. The tread is pretty thick and seems to be well made. Got it on Amazon for $195.76 free shipping. Was sitting on my front porch the very next day. The tires I ordered for my other bike arrived in one day also - crazy! Yes agree on the shim - don't want to offset - only if no choice. I hope I get some mileage out of this one. My Avon in the picture has only 4107 miles - there are areas of tread seperation. No more Avons for me!View attachment 27222
If you can get an accurate measurement, measure the width of the new tire before and after mounting. Measure the avon and the gap between the tire and belt, then you'll have some idea what needs to be done if anything.
 

Glenn

Member
Thanks kickstart good idea. Im reluctant to have to file a tire...but if push comes to shove...
My Avon is already close to my belt and I don't want to get into a big alignment ordeal by loosening the trans etc. I just finished installing my trans - rebuilt by andrew. My drive belt is tracking right in the middle of the rear pulley so I think my alignment may be fine.

Waiting for wheel bearings to come in so I can complete this tire change. The wheel bearings I knocked out did not look bad at all. Bike has 10k miles. I wanted to change them because of all the bad stories I heard here about how crappy they are. I am just putting the same (new) bearings back in and will change at 20 k intervals - that could be years of riding with this bike. I wanted to put the high quality $50 ea jap bearings in but just not willing to part with that much cash for this tire change....
 

kickstart

Well-Known Member
Thanks kickstart good idea. Im reluctant to have to file a tire...but if push comes to shove...
My Avon is already close to my belt and I don't want to get into a big alignment ordeal by loosening the trans etc. I just finished installing my trans - rebuilt by andrew. My drive belt is tracking right in the middle of the rear pulley so I think my alignment may be fine.

Waiting for wheel bearings to come in so I can complete this tire change. The wheel bearings I knocked out did not look bad at all. Bike has 10k miles. I wanted to change them because of all the bad stories I heard here about how crappy they are. I am just putting the same (new) bearings back in and will change at 20 k intervals - that could be years of riding with this bike. I wanted to put the high quality $50 ea jap bearings in but just not willing to part with that much cash for this tire change....
I don't like the idea of removing any material from a tire either however the crotch rocket boys refer to the wide area as chicken strips and do their best to remove them during cornering. That isn't going to happen with a BD at least not mine.:)
BTW after I installed my new Metzeler the distance between the tire (chicken strip) was .055 taken with feeler gauges.
 

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks kickstart good idea. Im reluctant to have to file a tire...but if push comes to shove...
My Avon is already close to my belt and I don't want to get into a big alignment ordeal by loosening the trans etc. I just finished installing my trans - rebuilt by andrew. My drive belt is tracking right in the middle of the rear pulley so I think my alignment may be fine.

Waiting for wheel bearings to come in so I can complete this tire change. The wheel bearings I knocked out did not look bad at all. Bike has 10k miles. I wanted to change them because of all the bad stories I heard here about how crappy they are. I am just putting the same (new) bearings back in and will change at 20 k intervals - that could be years of riding with this bike. I wanted to put the high quality $50 ea jap bearings in but just not willing to part with that much cash for this tire change....
Lucky if your bearings look good! I got caught in one downpour on the bike and when I did my rear tire the bearings looked like they were packed with brown grease.

I would pop the covers off the new bearings and pack it full of grease to help prevent water from finding any room in there. The new ones lack a full packing which I think is why mine looked like that since it allowed a little water in and they truly are not "sealed".



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