How to Pack Wheel Bearings on a Motorcycle

You'll start by removing the wheel seal in the rim depending on how long it's been in the rim. You wanna grab it in a couple areas, tap it gently. You're not really concerned about destroying the old seal because you're gonna discard it and always replace it with a new seal. Again, clean shop towels are critical. You'll remove the bearing. I want to make a quick note underneath the bearing is not only a center spacer but also an end play shim. And any time you use an end place shim, you'll use a top hat. The reason for the top hat is that the raised portion of this top hat shim will run against the inner portion of the tapered wheel bearing. Make sure whenever you're servicing these type of wheels, you wipe all your spacers clean, make sure not to mix up any components, the order that they're used in or to lose any of them. This is a critical function to keep these type of bearings off of the races to the correct end play specification found in your service manual with the end play spacers removed, cleaned and replaced into the wheel, I'll wipe off all the excessive grease on the tapered style wheel bearing. I'll use a little cleaner over a container with the bearing, thoroughly cleaned and wiped off dry. Now is the time to check not only the outer roller surface for any wear discoloration or galling, but also the inner race surface of the bearing for excessive wear or movement. If any of these areas are in question. Again, there's a nice thorough section in your appropriate service, manual reference, it know the areas that you're servicing the procedures that are needed before you do them. I wipe this bearing clean. I'm gonna show you two different ways to repack a wheel bearing. One would be with a new style wheel bearing packer. Again, this is like most tools, there's a number of ways to do the same procedure, explore all your options, use whatever way you're most comfortable with. I'll install the bearing tapered side down into the packer and gently push down on it. You'll push on this bearing packer just enough until you see excess grease come up out of the top of the bearing. At that point, the bearing inside is full. You can take a little extra wipe the outside of the bearing with clean fresh grease and you can set the repacked service bearing aside. You can then return to your rim. You've already cleaned your center spacer, your end place, shim and your top hat spacer take a moment with a clean shop towel and a little cleaner or solve it and wipe up the wheel bearing race that stays in the rim again. It's a good time to inspect the race for tightness and fitment. I dod in the rim also check the race for any scoring excessive wear or galling. Another note if you pull a bearing out and it has excessive discoloration. Refer to your service manual. Make sure your end play is correct for the application with the race clean. I can reinstall the freshly greased and repacked bearing. I can then use a little extra grease from the bearing packer. I'll make sure I get a good wipe inside the new wheel seal. I'll also use just a touch on the outside edge. This will ease an installation of the new seal into the rim before I install the new seal. I'm gonna take a quick moment. I'm gonna remove the freshly packed bearing. I'll wipe off the grease. This again is just another way to repack your wheel bearings. If you don't happen to have a tool such as a bearing packer or a number of the other self packing tools that are available, I'll wipe off the fresh grease. I use a container of new grease. Always work with new clean grease. Don't use anything that's contaminated. It is a critical item on your motorcycle. I can take a little bit of fresh grease, put it in my palm at this point with the cleaned bearing I'll use the widest portion opposed to the bearing packer where I use the small portion on the tapered end. I'll be packing from the wide portion of the bearing and I'll just gently work from the outside of my palm all the way around the circumference of the bearing. You should be able to get a fairly large amount of grease forced into not only the bearing cage but the roller area of this tapered bearing, it can get a little messy. Always use clean shop towels. You wanna work your way around the entire circumference of the bearing that you're packing. Make sure you get an adequate amount of fresh grease in the burying cage and the rollers, you can then wipe off the excess. You aren't really concerned with the center of the bearing having some excess grease because when you reinsert your axle, the axle won't only get lubricated, but it'll push the excess grease out. We can use the excess from the outside of the bearing, what's left in our palm, get a little on the race. We'll also do the same procedure with the wheel seal. We'll get an adequate amount on the interior portion and we'll also use a slight white on the outside that will ease with the installation of the new wheel seal into the outside diameter of the wheel hub with the bearing packed. I don't like to put used grease back into a new container. So I will use a shop towel, clean my hands off. And the more you do these bearings, the less and less grief you will waste. You'll know the correct amount to put in your palm before you start to pack the bearing again. Do one bearing at a time. Make sure your end place facer, stay in the location and the direction that they were in. You can now reinstall the freshly greased and packed bearing, push down on it and rotate it, make sure it's seated up against the wheel bearing race correctly. You can also reinstall your new wheel seal. Now with correct fitting components that have been properly cleaned, serviced and reg greased. You should almost be able to push them in by hand. You really shouldn't have to fight them. They shouldn't go into the rim crooked. If you're fighting this type of rubber seal, which does have a metal lining if it's tipping and it wants to bend on, you definitely make sure you have the correct component for the wheel hub application. Once you get it started straight, you can cover it with a clean shop towel, just give it a gentle tap until it's fully seated into the wheel. Again, refer to your service manual. Some wheel seals need to be recessed below the top edge of the hub on certain wheel styles. In order to accommodate different wheel spacing combinations. At this point, we've concluded this side wheel bearing cleaning, servicing, repacking of grease. I'll flip the wheel over, I'll do the same procedure on the opposite side with a new wheel seal. I'm pretty confident following correct factory service procedures. Repacking these bearings, replacing the seals, everything will work out just fine. We'll be ready to ride.