The Yamaha Road Star Warrior Forum

I started taking my rear tire / swing arm apart today in preparation for sending it out for Big Tire Mods.  As I was disassembling the hub, I ran into problems removing the  oil seal and needle bearing.  Though I was using a "hook" type oil seal removal tool, I still managed to screw up the oil seal, so I'm going to have to replace that.  I got the ball bearing out of the inner side of the hub, but when I tried to remove the needle bearing, I ran into problems.  There wasn't anything to 'grab' onto with pullers, just a very small lip on the inner race.  Instead, I tried to "tap" the bearing out from the back side using snucking fitting socket.  Weeeelllllll, that didn't work too well, after a few manly taps, i started shooting needles out the bottom of the hub - bummer! I know the price of bearings and seals is small in comparison to the price of the fat tire kit, but I'd still rather not needlessly fork over that $.

 Does anyone have any good tips on bearing and seal removal before I start taking them out of the rear wheel?

Yes, it is called a Blind Bearing Puller.....

Dennis Kirk and any other reputable motorcycle specific tool vendor sells what you need to properly remove the bearings without damage. Research.

Ahhhhh...thx! I remember these now....yep, i bet this would have worked! I should have stopped and asked the 4m before i wasted my bearing.

When I did my fat tire conversion, I got my seals and sealed bearing out by using a long screwdriver and bent the tip. All I did was to put the screwdriver in the wheel axle hole to reach the bearing and carfully tapped out.  I ran into the same problem though with the needle bearing. I think it is common since when I got my fat tire kit from Reza from Cycle Images, he also included a new needled bearing with my wheels and said to send it back if not needed. Sure enough, It was the one bearing that I could not reuse. 

Friendly Tip: if you are going with chrome rims like I did, also make sure to carefully inspect the bearing seats on each rim to check that no chrome material got in there. If it did, you will need to get it out prior to reinstall your bearings. If not, you may end up like me trying to beat the bearings in place and wondering why they wont fit. Good Luck!

Scott:

Ahhhhh...thx! I remember these now....yep, i bet this would have worked! I should have stopped and asked the 4m before i wasted my bearing.

The hub needle brg is very difficult to save the 1st time around and also the most expensive. . It might be possible to use the stepped collar (15) to drive/press the needle brg out after removing the circlip (21) . You'll need to chk that the large diameter of (15) will pass through the small I.D. of the hub and report back here so we can be smart like you.

A heat gun used prudently with proper drift punches or sockets can be used to extract the brg's.

Wheel Bearing Removal by kichigai:  http://rswarrior.com/forums/p/26954/388223.aspx#388223

How to get rear wheel bearings out: http://rswarrior.com/forums/p/24882/366817.aspx#366817

Specialty Tools as suggested by Darkstar: http://rswarrior.com/forums/p/53074/713787.aspx#713787

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