wheel bearings

[bigbabee]

How do I remove the wheel bearings from the stock mag wheel of a `79 GS !000E

[Nessism]

Find a friend with a wheel bearing removal tool. Salty Monk (Dan) loaned me his set and I had the bearings out in record time.

[salty_monk]

You can allegedly do it with a punch & hammer from the back but it didn't work for me... couldn't get enough purchase on it as the spacer got in the way.

Tool I bought is the Pit Posse one, great bit of kit.

Dan

[almarconi]

How about a hammer and a drift..works for me.

[salty_monk]

It works if there is enough space between the bearing & spacer on the first side... you need to move the spacer over so you can see a good surface for your drft. I couldn't do that on the wheels I did. For the time I saved the $45 was well worth it!

[Nessism]

It works if there is enough space between the bearing & spacer on the first side... you need to move the spacer over so you can see a good surface for your drft. I couldn't do that on the wheels I did. For the time I saved the $45 was well worth it!

Agree!

As an aside, a wheel with fresh bearings is a thing of beauty. That thing spins like crazy and makes balancing the wheels much easier.

[robertbarr]

How do I remove the wheel bearings from the stock mag wheel of a `79 GS !000E

How far south in Chicago? I'm in Joliet, and I have the fancy-pants tool for that job. It takes maybe 11 seconds with the tool.

[spyder2120]

if you are planning to completely replace them then a hammer and a metal rod or punch. worked for me. if you havent bought bearing yet, i would recommend all balls racing bearings. high quality and a great price. most atv shops can order them and you can go to their web site and get the part # to expediate things with an inexperienced clerk.

[reddirtrider]

A handy tool I made is an 1/2" mild steel rod that is bent slightly at the end and then ground down so that it can get into the space behind the bearing. Oh, and it works good for steering stem bearings too.

[67fire]

If not a drift or special tool, try a slide hammer with a hook tip.

Eric

[Nessism]

The issue with removing GS wheel bearings is that it's difficult to get to the back side of the bearing so you can drive it out. Suzuki put a tubular spacer inside the wheel which doesn't slide to the side very far so it's hard to put a drift on the bearing race. Slide hammer or drift and hammer, it doesn't matter since it's hard to get an edge to drive. Based on what others have said I suppose it's possible to get at the bearing without a special tool but it won't be easy.

[reddirtrider]

The issue with removing GS wheel bearings is that it's difficult to get to the back side of the bearing so you can drive it out. Suzuki put a tubular spacer inside the wheel which doesn't slide to the side very far so it's hard to put a drift on the bearing race. Slide hammer or drift and hammer, it doesn't matter since it's hard to get an edge to drive. Based on what others have said I suppose it's possible to get at the bearing without a special tool but it won't be easy.

Yes, that's using a straight drift. The problem is you can't angle the edge in enough. If you just bend a rod at the very end and then grind it down so it won't slip off the edge so easilly you can get them out - even stearing head bearings. If you need a pic I'll take one when the wife returns with the camera - shes at her friends.

The only problem with this trick is that the rod isn't straight and it wants to recoil off the surface if you strike it too hard. This isn't a big problem as you don't want to use a great deal of force anyway.

[salty_monk]

How far south in Chicago? I'm in Joliet, and I have the fancy-pants tool for that job. It takes maybe 11 seconds with the tool.

What took you so long

I agree, has paid for itself already... a decent drift is 10 bucks....

http://pitposse.com/tools1.html

[robertbarr]

What took you so long

Umm... maybe sleep? Take a look at the posting times, jeez! I was off-duty already.

Now, the question is this:

I've never done the rear bearings on a chain drive bike. On a shaftie, there's just the left & right, like the front wheel. No mystery. On a chain drive, there's a third bearing that lives under the sprocket hub. How do I get to that one?

I'm sure it's pretty simple, but the exploded diagram doesn't quite explain it to me.

[reddirtrider]

Umm... maybe sleep? Take a look at the posting times, jeez! I was off-duty already.

Now, the question is this:

I've never done the rear bearings on a chain drive bike. On a shaftie, there's just the left & right, like the front wheel. No mystery. On a chain drive, there's a third bearing that lives under the sprocket hub. How do I get to that one?

I'm sure it's pretty simple, but the exploded diagram doesn't quite explain it to me.

That ones the easiest of all. So easy I won't even go into it.