Install front wheel bearings dirt bike

Now you need to tap the bearings out by coming from the other side as illustrated here. Using a larger screwdriver, or metal bar of some sort with an edge to it, place the end of it on the lip of the inside bearings — you will feel it catch.

Gently tap them out by tapping on opposite sides of the bearings so they come out flush. If you hammer only one side of the bearings they will wedge on an angle and damage the inside of the axle shaft speaking from experience!

Note: There are two bearings on the chain side and one on the brake side. Tip: It makes life a lot easier if you use a gas torch to heat up the outside of the bearing hub. This will expand the surroundings enabling the bearings to pop out effortlessly.

You can also use a wheel bearing puller which is the fancy way of doing it! As you can see here.. Take the bearings from your new bearing kit and smear a bit of grease on them.

Fit them evenly into place with the seal side facing outward. Use a socket that matches the outside diameter of the bearing race and tap them in gently with a mallet. To easily remove those seals, use a mechanics scribe. Pops right back in. Generally Moly Disulphate is great grease but not so flash on dirtbikes where is gets washed by water. Lithium is probably a better choice. The grease I use was determined to be suitable due to the fact that my lower shock mount bearing lives It sure don't wipe off!!

Better git them bikes done! Spring's just 'round the corner!! Last edited: Aug 13, Aug 13, Sorry my friends,but I do not agree with you on this one double seals ,the outer seal on the speedo hud and the axle spacer should in fact keep most if not all the moisture from getting to the bearings, this is what it is designed for.

You do use double lipped seals on these don't you. I grease the seals whenever I have the wheels off and have never found any water in the hub.

The bike is only on its 2nd set of bearings,the 1st set went south in the 3rd year. I remove the outer seal of the bearing once a year and regrease them and they are as good as the day I installed them. This is the system that works for me and I will have to stick with it, sorry.

The kawi engineers must know SOMEthing! I can say that in the case of their bearing seal removal Sometimes it just comes to darts on a board! I apologize David and Canyncarvr,I think there has been a unfortunate misunderstanding on my part. I was for some reason thinking that you were dealing with the OEM bearings and actually removing the outer seal completely,thus having a exposed bearing,similair to what Yamaha does.

The small rubber seals on these bearings are indeed just a dust seal,if these bearings were continuously exposed to water or another form of contaminant it would penetrate between the inner race and the dust seal and destroy the bearing. You are correct when going to a aftermarket bearing and removing the innermost seal and leaving the outer seal in place ,only removing it for bearing repacking,where you would be forcing the contaminated grease out and fresh grease in.

Again sorry guys,James. David Trustrum Subscriber Aug 14, Sorry for what? Well now!! I'm not sure that's a sic or not. But it's funny! Before you install the new bearings, I recommend putting them in the freezer. Metal slightly shrinks at cooler temps, so this will help make the installation a little easier. Some people say to heat up the hub where the bearings go to make it easier to install them, although others will say that it weakens the metal.

Take the wheel bearing and set it on the journal where you will press it in. You can start out with a piece of wood or flat piece of metal and hammer it in until its flush. Make sure you know that it is going down straight, otherwise it can damage the surface.

You want to be hitting on the outer race outside circumference of the bearing and NOT the inner race. If you press or hammer on the inner race you will destroy the bearing. This is just the sleeve that you took out that goes in between the bearings, and it can be easy to forget until after you press all of the bearings in, resulting in hair-pulling frustration.

Now you just repeat installation on this side, whether you have one or two bearings left. It may take some time, but the bearings will go in assuming you bought the correct part. Now you can install the other seal to complete the wheel bearing installation on your dirt bike.

When you go to put the wheel spacers on, put some waterproof grease on them to help protect the seals and bearings. To learn more about dirt bike maintenance, head back to the main page and read the next article so your can keep your dirt bike running. Tags: maintenance.