Replacing wheel bearings.Can't believe what I read?

XSAndy

Ok, so this is how it all goes. Rear wheel bearing is removed in a similar way to the front. "You slide the spacer to one side and then tap out the bearing with a soft drift".

That's what the service manual for an 81 SH says. My spacer runs full width inside the hub and has no room to slide. the bearing butts up against the spacer both sides.

Have had some reinforcing steel with a kinda mushroomed edge in the tiny groove that's left but can't seem to budge the bearing before the drift slips out of place.

Do I have to butcher one of the bearings to get it out and then remove spacer to punch the other out or is there something I'm missing. Parts diagram also shows some sort of flange that may prevent spacer moving???
Any ideas...? Crying or Very sad

billc

All the spacer's run full width,it should more to the side enough to gain access to hit bearing with a punch and drive bearing out.I've seen some great looking punches made by mechanics for doing this.Remember wider is better,semi circle would be great.A regular punch will work with a cuss word thrown in once and a while. Take your time, if it's your first might butcher bearing still cheaper than a shop and you learned something. Good luck

5twins · Full Member Joined: Aug 05, 2006 Posts: 1616

From what I've read (never tried it myself), the rear wheel bearings are easy. The sprocket side has a spacer sleeve pressed into the bearing. Find a socket or piece of pipe that same diameter and drive the spacer down in. This will push the center spacer, opposite side bearing, and grease seal out. Then the sprocket side bearing is easy to get to. That "sliding the inner spacer to the side" ordeal only needs to be done for the front wheel.

There is a bit of an upgrade or mod you can do to the inner spacer once you get things apart. The early models had a hole drilled through the side of the center spacer (about a 1/4" dia.). This allowed you to insert a rod with the end bent over and stick it in that hole. Then you could drive the bearing out by pounding on the rod. Yamaha eliminated this hole in the spacer on later models for some reason.

XSAndy

Wow thanks Guys. That makes a lot of sense. I gingerly gave that sprocket side spacer/liner a tap or 3 but now I'm more confident to give it the old heave ho. All a bit different to the manuals version of events eh?
Know what i'l be up to tonite! Very Happy

5twins · Full Member Joined: Aug 05, 2006 Posts: 1616

Technically, driving the bearing out by it's inner race is wrong and this is what you'll be doing by pounding on that inner spacer. It could ruin that brake side bearing. On the plus side, these bearings are common, readily available, and not too expensive.

aybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had to replace a wheel bearing on any of my Jap bikes or on the extra wheels I've acquired. I check them and add more grease to the bearings if I can (rubber or no seal ones). It's also not a bad idea to add extra grease to a new bearing. You can pry the rubber seal out with a small sharp knife. You'd be surprised how little grease they put in these sealed and "lubed for life" bearings. I use a needle point attachment on my grease gun to pump grease between all the balls.

tonup · New Member Joined: Dec 10, 2008 Posts: 5

"The sprocket side has a spacer sleeve pressed into the bearing. Find a socket or piece of pipe that same diameter and drive the spacer down"

I purchased a set of XS650 79 FS rims with out and brearings installed. The guy gave me the internal spacers and I bought a bearing set but I don't have the spacer mentioned in the quote above. So as a result the axle is loose on the sprocket side.

Does anyone know where I can buy this spacer from? This has brought my bike build to a halt.

I also noticed the rear wheel had space to slide left and right on the axle are there other spacers I need on the outside of the wheel?

jayel

here are drawing of the parts list (you might try a different year if these are to blurry) any late model 74 and up will use the same wheel spacers

www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-x...partslist/

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