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Front wheel bearing removal- what's the trick?

  • Thread starter Thread starter 80GS850GBob
  • Start date Start date
8

80GS850GBob

Guest
I grabbed the front wheel hub this morning to replace the bearings..I have to!
Got the drift punch thru from one side to the other, through the center spacer that can move over "a little" so the center punch can try to get a bite on the bearing, but it keeps slipping off the bearings inner race section...just not enough bite for the punch.

So, what's your trick to remove the front wheel bearings and center spacer...mostly the bearings since once I get one out it should be real easy to get the other...
Hub in question is a GT750 wire spoke hub.
 
80GS850GBob said:
I grabbed the front wheel hub this morning to replace the bearings..I have to!
Got the drift punch thru from one side to the other, through the center spacer that can move over "a little" so the center punch can try to get a bite on the bearing, but it keeps slipping off the bearings inner race section...just not enough bite for the punch.

So, what's your trick to remove the front wheel bearings and center spacer...mostly the bearings since once I get one out it should be real easy to get the other...
Hub in question is a GT750 wire spoke hub.
Click to expand...

Not sure of any trick other than the way your doing it. They can be a pain sometimes getting it to bite. You could try some heat. Maybe heat expansion will help. I've use heat and cold before to install crank bearings. If it's just the hub and not the whole rim, you could try putting it in the freezer for a day and the apply some heat to the outer hub with a propane torch. It should expand quicker than the steel bearings.
 
gsrick said:
Not sure of any trick other than the way your doing it. They can be a pain sometimes getting it to bite. You could try some heat. Maybe heat expansion will help. I've use heat and cold before to install crank bearings. If it's just the hub and not the whole rim, you could try putting it in the freezer for a day and the apply some heat to the outer hub with a propane torch. It should expand quicker than the steel bearings.
Click to expand...

I can try that {freezer}...the drift punch here is a tad rounded and I think that's what's messing with me...the one at work is faced off with a sharper edge. I'll try that one tomorrow I guess.
I knoiw once I get one out it'll be easy...it's just getting that one out...lol..ugh.
 
I need to swap from a 15mm ID to 20mm ID...the center spacer will be the tough part to change and I'll probably have to get one milled or something....one problem at a time I guess...
 
There are tools that handle this chore with ease. One is made by 'Pit Posse' -- haven't heard of them lately though. You drop a slotted insert into the ID. It barely fits. You press a wedge into the insert's slot, and drive than in a little with a hammer, which spreads the insert apart just a little, enough to grab the bearing's ID tightly. Then you just smack the insert, and out comes your bearing.

I almost broke my porch storm door window with an airborne bearing doing this!

You're in Aurora? I'm in Joliet; I can lend you the tool if you wish. I have it here.
 
Not an expert but I have found that one bearing is typically easier to remove than the other.
Lowes & HomeDepot have punches with squared ends that have worked well for me.


If the wheel is resting on the tire sidewall, then the tire will absorb much of the shock and make it harder to pound out a bearing.
 
We are taught at MMI to place the wheel on two 2x4 boards to raise it off the rotor, but I think he is dealing with just a center hb from a wire wheel, which I think will be difficult to hold still.
 
I use a large brass type drift and file an angle on it so it is less likely to slip off, once you get one out the other is easy.
 
Rebar for me..with a slight curve so the end hooks into the bearings a little. May take several taps in different spots so it comes out relatively flat and doesnt start to bind.
 
Just did a GT500 hub yesterday that I?m breaking down for polishing & clear coating. Its the same as a GT750 hub but with only one disk.


Had removed the tire a few days ago & started by removing the disk.
The bearings are recessed so to start I rested the hub center directly on one 2x4. Held the punch by pressing it against the opposite side of the opposite bearing. A light blow with a heavy mallet got it started & then switched to two 2x4s so the bearing could drop out.
 
jabcb said:
Just did a GT500 hub yesterday that I’m breaking down for polishing & clear coating. Its the same as a GT750 hub but with only one disk.


Had removed the tire a few days ago & started by removing the disk.
The bearings are recessed so to start I rested the hub center directly on one 2x4. Held the punch by pressing it against the opposite side of the opposite bearing. A light blow with a heavy mallet got it started & then switched to two 2x4s so the bearing could drop out.
Click to expand...

I tried that approach but I guess my punch is a little too rounded off.....and I thought some GT550s had provisions/holes for two discs? {well- I thought...}
 
80GS850GBob said:
I tried that approach but I guess my punch is a little too rounded off.....and I thought some GT550s had provisions/holes for two discs? {well- I thought...}
Click to expand...
The GT250, GT380, GT500, GT550 & GT750 hubs are the same. They were drilled for two disks even though Suzuki only used two disks on the GT750.


I have a GT550 that?s been upgraded to two disks.
We used the salty_monk twin-piston upgrade on a GT250 cafe build. It requires swapping the fork tube assemblies & mounting the disk on the other side. The hub has to stay as is because of the speedo drive.
 
Lol...got it! Funny thing is the center spacer...how is that thing really held in there except by side load force between bearings?

Also a good thing I did remove them as the non speedo side was gritty when turned.
Now to find some new bearings with the same OD but 20mm ID...and a new center spacer with 20mm ID.
 
I have the Pit Posse tool. Some bearing are really hard to move any other way & it seems to vary from bike to bike even with the same wheel... manufacturing tolerances I guess.
 
salty_monk said:
I have the Pit Posse tool. Some bearing are really hard to move any other way & it seems to vary from bike to bike even with the same wheel... manufacturing tolerances I guess.
Click to expand...
Maybe the difference is intentional.
On the old Suzuki two strokes with drum brakes that I?ve worked on, one bearing is recessed, and the other is flush or sticks out slightly. The flush one has a tighter fit ? its the first to install & the last to remove.
 
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