[twowheels]

When I bought my bike used I had to also buy a used rear wheel off of EBay to replace the damaged rim it came with. I don't know the mileage on the rear bearings for this reason but there is a detectable notch when rotating the bearing by hand but no lateral play in wheel. As a precaution thought I would change the bearings in it so I have a few questions for those who might have already done this procedure.

I have already watched a few YouTube videos on this including the excellent one done by MC Garage so have a basic idea on the process now

1) Do I need to buy a long drift to push them out or can I just use a hammer and long flat head screw driver?

2) The All Balls kit shows it comes with three bearings for the rear wheel, where does the 3rd bearing go?

3) Does anyone know the generic bearing numbers as I have a bearing wholesaler nearby?

4) What size of sockets work best to push the new bearings in?

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/new-r...om/new-rider/choosing-kit/2006/november/feb16-05-how-to-replace-wheel-bearings/
https://fortnine.ca/en/all-balls-wheel-bearing-and-seal-kit-25-1386

 

[quexpress]

1) Do I need to buy a long drift to push them out or can I just use a hammer and long flat head screw driver?

You could but it would be much easier with a drift punch. You could also use a ratchet extension. See attached pic.

2) The All Balls kit shows it comes with three bearings for the rear wheel, where does the 3rd bearing go?

2 of them are for the rear wheel. The other is for the sprocket holder. See attached pic.

3) Does anyone know the generic bearing numbers as I have a bearing wholesaler nearby?

You need 2 sealed bearings 6204 UU. The size is Size: 20 x 47 x 14 mm. Don't worry about the letters after the 6204. These indicate "sealed on both sides". Your bearing vendor will set you up.

4) What size of sockets work best to push the new bearings in?

I can check later if you wish but I prefer to use the old bearing which I have previously removed. I have tapped some in with sockets or old bearings but after a few close calls (bearing inserted crooked), I prefer to use a threaded rod with large washer to pull the bearing into the wheel. The rod is inserted through the wheel on one side. Then on the other end of the threaded rod: the new bearing, old bearing, flat washers and nut to squeeze everything in place.

Note: Don't forget to replace the center spacer before installing the second bearing. It's been done more than once by more than one rider.

 

[motorboy]

Yes due worry about the letters at the end- if you get 2RS that means they are rubber sealed on both ends and will last a lot longer- grease can't come out-a hammer and large screw driver will work just fine being your not going to reuse them--now for installing them take them out the box and put them in the freezer for about 1-2 hours just before you take them out heat the wheel hub with a hair dryer hot to touch the bearing should just slip right in with only a little push if not take the old bearing put it on top and tap -and that's it

 

[onewizard]

Another How To Thread

:smile2:
Been already said , but several things to know ZZ,UU, 2RS, all seals are different and letter designates this by the manufacturer. You may also see C3 , which stands for the clearance tolerance


http://www.microbluebearings.com/pages/BEARING-SUFFIX-CODES.html This is a excellent source, explaining both seal and clearance.

 

[Rotten Ronnie]

2009 Versys Gen 1 Wheel bearing replacement

Part 1 of 2 posts:



WTF is that grinding noise as I rotate the rear tire while doing a routine chain tightening?!!! Oh frig, I've notched a bearing and I can hear and feel it drag as I rotate the rear wheel of my 2009 Kawasaki Versys KLE650. Bugger me. Or rather bugger my plans for riding this weekend and the next until I get these sorted. I was watching a movie called "Mondo Enduro" by Austin Vince, and they had two bearing failures while riding around the world, and only managed to continue through good fortune as they were able to buy one locally while on route, and the other occurred in Russia, and they really lucked out when the Russian whose home they had broken down in had a spare in his pile of junk that was a perfect fit.

My plight wasn't that bad, but I'd already had the bike immobilized up on the stands due to a leaking fork seal, and this was just icing on the cake.





The nasty thing!



Alright, I'm not going to walk you through the details on how to remove a rear tire, nor go into nauseating detail on how to do it, but I was requested by the mod on the Versys forum for a How -To, and they like more detail, but they are not going to like the dirt encrusted rims etc etc. Lol. I ride it and put it away wet, but let me tell you, if I had a do over on this, I'd have scrubbed those rims clean with a rag and some WD-40 as well as cleaned that sprocket til it sparkled. Why? I got filthy!

I watched the video below and tried to follow his advice with one big difference:

The day I got the bearings from FortNine.ca:

I put them straight into the freezer.
Yep, below zero. Cold stuff contracts, warm stuff expands. Here is that video I was blathering about:




So first thing you need to know, is that on the Versys rear tire there are three bearings, the large bearing for the sprocket hub, and the two smaller bearing for the actual rim itself, an inner, and the outer.

I tried using a blow torch, honestly I did, but all I managed to do was to burn the rubber and set a wee grease fire, so I set the torch aside and steeled myself to simply drive the bearings out by brute force.





There should be a fire extinguisher beside the torch.

I had a 1/2 drive T-handle that had a nice sharp end on it, as the socket extension I had also grabbed looked too rounded on the end and I thought it would likely slip off and make me mad.

Did you watch the video? Probably not. Nobody does what they are told, so here you go:

Don't forget to put your axle/rim spacers into a safe place where they can be a part of a diverse environment, free from harassment and gender discrimination. (I had to scrub the gunk off of mine with a toothbrush)

1. Remove the old dust seals, there are two of them and you can lever them out of the hub with a screwdriver. The screwdriver is steel, the hub is aluminum, so don't mess up your rim. You have been warned.





Archimedes would be proud






It's stiff and brittle, and you will probably damage it.

It's going to get damaged, the kit you bought must have the new seals in there, otherwise you are going to get dirt into your brand new bearing.

2. Shift the spacer off of the bearing inner race - You can just see the bearing spacer in the shot above, deep in the well. With your improvised drift, lever that spacer out of the inner race and push it to any side. It's going to move maybe 1/4" more or less.






Shifting the bearing spacer to the side






Now it's Whack-a-Mole time!

3. Drift out the old bearing - Use your drift to sharply rap the inner race that you have exposed. Now move the drift and lever the spacer over to the opposite side and repeat the taps. Do this for all four cardinal points North, South, East and West. If you haven't shifted it with 20 hits of the hammer, you may want to soak the bearing with penetrating oil and let it sit while you go back and watch the video (RTFM). I felt it shift after 20 and it hit the shop floor well before I got in the fortieth blow of the hammer.





The old bearing and spacer hit the floor

Now your rim is going to look something like this, although in your case probably much cleaner. Flip the rim over, and now beat out the other bearing, but don't you dare smack that rim! Just the bearing itself. There's no dust seal you say! Yeah, it's an inner bearing and you won't need a dust seal for it.






More work, it never ends.





4. Cush hub magic... - in the cush hub itself is a spacer/adapter that you are going to want to keep around. It converts the inner race to the same size as the axle, so put it somewhere safe.






I almost missed this...






adapter/space for the cush hub

5. Cush hub snap ring - Yep, that snap ring has to come out. I have a pair of snap ring pliers in my tool box that I bought at Home Depot years ago. They convert to internal or external rings and come with multiple tips for many different sizes and locations of snap rings. (If you don't have snap ring pliers, you can grind the point off a small nail and place it in the snap ring hole then use a screwdriver to lever against the nail. Go buy the pliers, I used to do it this way. It hurts when you slip)





Channellock for the overpriced win!

 

[Rotten Ronnie]

Part 2 of Wheel Bearing Replacement

6. Drive out the cush hub bearing - from the backside, drive out the cush hub bearing but be triple careful not to smack the shiny aluminum rim.

7. Clean up, Clean up, Everybody do their share... - now is your chance to clean all the old grease and grit (maybe even rust from the old bearing) with a rag and make it all sparkly.

8. Smoke 'em if you got 'em, you deserve a break for getting this far.

9. Stack your bearings and align - Now take one bearing and wrap the others in a shop towel to keep them freezer cold while you work with this one. You have less than 7 minutes before the bearing will reach room temperature, so grease the outside of the bearing and center it over the hub. place the old bearing on top of it, then place the axle shaft through both bearings to act as a guide. I have a 32mm socket but it was too small to use as a driver. The guy that offers that tip is a heavy equipment mechanic and sneers at anything smaller than 3/4" or 1/2" drive ratchets. He probably has air tools too. You'll be using the OUTER RACE of the old bearing as your driver, with the axle as an "alignment tool".





The old bearing is going to drive in the new one.

10. Drive your bearing into the hub - Rap the bearing on the four compass points, making sure that you are going in nice and level. If it gets cockeyed (you'll know), then drive them back out and start over. Rule of thumb, 1/16" tip to one side is okay, smack the opposite side now. 1/8" tip, and you will want to back away, take a breather, rap it out and start again. 1/4" tip , and you may have damaged the hub. Put down the sledge hammer and collect your stuffed toy from the Carni. The whole time the axle is held in one hand, the hammer in the other. (I tried without the axle and just holding the bearing, it slips, bounces and may strike and mar the hub) The axle also keeps you smacking on the outer race as opposed to the inner, which would damage your new bearing below.

Seriously, I'd tap it five gentle times per compass point, and it slipped in. The first one was a stubborn SOB, the rest were easier because I knew what to expect and how simple it was.

11. Don't drive the old bearing into the hub - Stop when the old bearing is less than 1/8" deep into the rim, (I got enthusiastic and almost drove both bearings into the rim, and had to use a screwdriver to get the old one out!)





Time to stop when the new bearing is below the surface of the hub, as it's a PITA to get the old bearing out

12. Use a brass drift or similar to fully seat - Brass is softer than steel, but harder than aluminum, so try to tap the outer race, but refrain from scoring the hub itself. It's easier than it sounds. I didn't have a honest to god drift, so I used a commercial water faucet key. (It's made out of brass)





It's tilted to strike the outer race yet avoid scratching the hub

Now beat on that drift again on the four compass points, and it'll sink in. You will know when you strike bottom:
The rim will ring like a bell, and you will have struck bottom!
Congrats! You just drove your fist bearing! If you kept it freezer cold and lubed it like I told you, then you are smiling now.

13. Lube and press in dust seal - Now grease that dust seal and push it into place with thumb pressure. This is one bit where you could have left it sitting in the sun, but it will go. Put the old bearing on top once it has seated, and give it a light tap just to be sure it's home.





Pat yourself on the back!

14. Repeat for other bearings. - Don't forget that you need to set and place the bearing spaced back into the rim before driving the last bearing. Try to ensure that it mates up with inner race to inner race. It's not too hard.

15. Cush hub snap ring, dust seal, and adapter/spacer - I hope you remembered to reassemble the cush hub and leave it in the manner in which you found it, turning out the lights as you leave.

It took me longer to draft this post then it did to do the job itself on the rear rim.

Time for rear rim: 1 hour 45 minutes including a smoke break.
Time for front rim: 1 hour cause I misplaced my 12mm socket.

I spent most of my afternoon on my little Princess Auto / Harbour Freight shop stool and wheeled around and around the bike and it's tires. I can see why some guys like the pit bull stands with removable handles. Hahaha.

Anyhow, if you have questions, or a better way of getting it done, then feel free to let me know. It past the "Rotten Ronnie" cafe racing test, and I spoiled myself and had a Tim bit as well, with sparkles.

:cheers:



=============================================================

Update on the fork seal leak...

That seal mate worked a treat! Best ten bucks I ever spent!

When I used it as mentioned above, I neglected to work the forks up and down to reseat the lips.

It's tight and just the faintest skiff of oil on the fork. Brilliant! Thanks for that advice to pump the front end. I dropped it off the stand and rolled forward and hit the front brake to work the forks. That did it.

My chain is still buggered but I think I can ride this one out till the end of the season as there is plenty of limit and the rear sprocket is in middling shape. Call me a cheap bugger, cause I am.

 

[onewizard]

6. Drive out the cush hub bearing -
Update on the fork seal leak...

That seal mate worked a treat! Best ten bucks I ever spent!

When I used it as mentioned above, I neglected to work the forks up and down to reseat the lips.

It's tight and just the faintest skiff of oil on the fork. Brilliant! Thanks for that advice to pump the front end. I dropped it off the stand and rolled forward and hit the front brake to work the forks. That did it.

My chain is still buggered but I think I can ride this one out till the end of the season as there is plenty of limit and the rear sprocket is in middling shape. Call me a cheap bugger, cause I am.

Excellent write up, now in how to. And it is entertaining too!:thanx::type::wink2:

 

[quexpress]

Well done!!! :cheers:

 

[2tallformybike]

How much play should be in the bearing spacer on the rear wheel. I’m pretty sure the bearings are seated and I gave each side a few extra taps to be sure but I can’t really tell.

 

[2tallformybike]

 

[Fly-Sig]

They feel firm when seated. I could feel the difference when hitting them once they hit bottom.

Those look correct from here.

 

[Fly-Sig]

Looks like you found new bearings to save your ride.