Wheel bearings on a motorcycle can last forever if you grease them. Of course you can just feed it wheel bearings, but this method is much quicker than changing bearings, if you do it while the bearings are still good. Use waterproof grease for best results.
Be very careful when prying the delicate seal out. Of course if you ruin the seal, the you simply buy a new bearing (no big deal). Use the "drill method" if the seal won't pop out easily. It's tried and true on hundreds of farm equipment bearings. Bearings which used to go out even several times every season seemed to last forever using this method.
Adding a zerk fitting to the wheel hub is dangerous because excess grease can burp out (as the hub warms up) and cause severe loss of braking. Don't overdo it, and make sure your seals are in good condition.
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Carefully pry the dust seal out. Be careful not to bend it. If it won't move, try tapping it "inward" slightly to "break it loose" before prying out. The curved end of a tire lever works perfectly in this case. |
| Notice the seal is levered inward, from the outer edge. Don't pry from the center, where the dynamic sealing occurs; you will rip the tiny sealing edge.
Of course, if the seal pops out, pack some grease in there. Press the grease thru with the flat of your thumb and put it back together. Don't fret about the other side. Just push some grease thru and you're golden. The seal is a tiny soft metal disc, molded with rubber. If you bend the seal, it's dead. Be very careful, and if it doesn't appear like it wants to jump out, the "drill method" is far safer. If the seal is metal (and NOT molded in rubber) then your only choice is the "drill method" below. |
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| Drill a 1/16" hole in the dust cover. Use very light pressure. The seal is a thin metal disc with a rubber coating. You will drill a hole thru this disc.
Clear the chips away as they come out. A 1/16" drill bit requires very light pressure to cut. You want the drill to just **barely** break thru without cramming a bunch of (soft metal) chips inside. To break the tiny bit off inside the bearing would be unfortunate (hard metal!) so be careful. However, with the hole in the seal it's usually easy to get the seal out with a hooked wire. |
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Get a hypodermic needle greaser with a zerk fitting. NAPA (Auto Supply) has them.
Attach it to your grease gun and test it out so you have an idea of how much grease comes out with each inch of pump-stroke. If the needle won't go in, rotate the bearing a little. (When you rotate the inner race, the bearing cage rotates half that amount.) Poke into the hole and pump a tiny amount into the bearing. Remove the needle, rotate the bearing's inner race about 90 degrees, and insert again. Repeat for a total of about 8 times. If grease is oozing out of the seal, pump less. |
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Wipe the seal around the hole and put a dab of silicone over the hole. Don't get too anal about getting every molecule of grease off. Just wipe it good and it will stick. Silicone is amazing.
In this photo, the silicone is touching the inner race (which rotates). This is too much silicone. You don't want a big lump swinging around in there. Just a tiny blob 1/16" inch thick is sufficient. Turning the bearing before the silicone is cured can press some grease out the hole, so let it sit until cured. |