Drive shaft bearing issues

[mccbrothers]

thought i better throw some more pics up just got out of the garage with my bro been wrenchin on his hawk, pulled his drive axle out to throw anti ratchets on and a new track and of course both bearings on the drive axle, crazy we put new ones in last decemmber and the brake side bearing won't even spin, only made it one season, about 20 rides, I have went threw a set every year myself, just thought I would remind you all to replace yours before they leave you hanging at hawkfest or somewhere deep in the backcountry.

 

[off road rider]

cool pics.. on the bearings have you been pulling the cover and adding more grease? they hardly put any goo in there any more. I was going threw several sets a yr on the bike, started doing the grease trick and have had great results...

 

[mccbrothers]

Its not your first rodeo

Big D you have good advice, Tim from cycle therapy, just got roos 550 hawk, I was talking to him tonight and he saidthe same thing, high pressure water proof greece, a Bel ray or something like that, talk soon, thanks

 

[off road rider]

Big D you have good advice, Tim from cycle therapy, just got roos 550 hawk, I was talking to him tonight and he saidthe same thing, high pressure water proof greece, a Bel ray or something like that, talk soon, thanks

Nice Tim will rip oin the 550, I was surised by how well he got around on the KTM..More Hawks, more riders = more fun.. Lets RIDE!!

 

[mccbrothers]

Looks like snow a bit next week so hopefully ?

Next weekend should be decent, going down to tims shop right now to put some anti ratchets under his 550, hopefully it will quit ratcheting with the ZX poo suspension, tim sold his 2 moto to a guy in Alaska, his bike blew up this summer after last winter red lining it every where with that conversion kit, he said enough is enough, another hawker, should be a solid guy for the group.

 

[off road rider]

I know how he feels, Im glad my bike survived, it wasnt good at the end of last season.. seams to be a pattern.. dirt bike ...snow bike.. Hawk..

 

[007_Hawk]

Greasing the bearings..

Can someone explain in a bit more detail the process of greasing the bearings.
What is everything that needs to be removed to acess them and is it a total of four--two on top and two on bottom?
I've got some good grease that I'd like to throw at them to prevent being stranded again...luckly I wasn't too far from the truck last time.
Thanks!

 

[RudeAwakening]

all hawk riders should change to better quilty bearings then ADB put on.
Cheap bearings = a bad afternoon and a waste of $$$

 

[off road rider]

It might be better to wait until next time.. on the drive shaft anyways..It takes alot of work to get to them.. especially if your running extraverts..
The problem isnt the grease or ADB its the bearing manufactures.. they skimp on the grease.. Ive pulled the seal from bearings right out of the box and only found a hint of grease while others have a fair, but week amount..
One thing to keep in mind is that you can not mix grease compounds..
Make sure your using the same grease base that was used from the manu..
I thought this thread was about Cailens awsome vid teaser.. Man I think your changing my mind big C.. Ill have to see what I can do.

 

[mccbrothers]

something to talk about

pulled the seals on the RBI bearings, tims set and my bros set, just a wee bit of green looking grease, looked like a belray, but anyhow we used a razor knife to lightly pri the seals out then washed out the grease completely in the solvent tank, blew them out with oir, then put in a high pressure grease(red/pink)put one seal first back in then packed bearing full, after pressing the bearings back on the shaft I gaveit the spin test and man where they slow to turn, the grease will break down a bit once we run the machine, but anyhow we will see if this set makes it more then a season, I think a guy could just get under his machine and just pop the inside seals off and pack the bearings with out pulling the suspension, taper locks, cogs, belt, brake, etc. What a pain in the but, we got times all back together after having to pull one whole side offf the frame loose and pry it out to get the anti ratchets in, and one of the last things we go to do is put the brake rotor back on the drive shaft and the taper lock/brake hub strips out putting the allen screws back in, the brake hub is soft aluminum threads and the taper lock is super hard steal threads, horrible set up, hopefully Boivin will have a brake hub for a 500.

 

[off road rider]

I noticed the possibility of stripping the screws out on the hub during my mod, luckily it didn't happen to me.. But almost..
can you use a slightly longer screw and threw bolt it??

 

[TLKDPROD]

Come on guys ! Get yourself the top of the line SKF or NTN, you're gonna pay 14$ a piece and you'll be done for 2-3 years. For the amount of time a guy takes to split the frame and get them out, I personnally wouldn't screw around with used units I may have to replace at half season... The only bearings that need to be top of the line are these 2. I don't think a guy should mess with these unless you don't mind them seizing an starts chewing themselves up, get a tow back to the trailer and maybe miss one epic day...

I beleive you did replace your stock ones with RBI right ? RBI, as far as I know, are lower quality units, they're ok but not top of the line. And I, personnally, don't think, removing the seals, trying to throw grease in a used unit, putting back the old seals you've previously taken out is gonna be the way to go.

Just my 2 cents here...

 

[mccbrothers]

Tryed the german bad bays as well

TLkd I tryed the German ones last year that were twice the price and they sucked asss as well, made it one season, I know packing the bearing new or used is the only way to get longer life out of them, I think Rbi is made from the same metal and rubber as the expensive bearings, cut with the same equipment, just one is made by chinese and others made by Japs, or germans.I think the real fix would be a bigger bearingor some other set up

 

[Beeline]

Ive never replaced mine. Im getting worried now. Ill start pulling mine out. Can someone tell me the top of the line brands and part # 's . Hey Steve , I understand you machine the jack shaft out of steel that allows me to get rid of the hand made bushing and paper thin steel wrap on my shaft ? I have Steve W. 's roller cat secondary on mine. If so, can you give me a price and your address .

 

[off road rider]

Come on guys ! Get yourself the top of the line SKF or NTN, you're gonna pay 14$ a piece and you'll be done for 2-3 years. For the amount of time a guy takes to split the frame and get them out, I personnally wouldn't screw around with used units I may have to replace at half season... The only bearings that need to be top of the line are these 2. I don't think a guy should mess with these unless you don't mind them seizing an starts chewing themselves up, get a tow back to the trailer and maybe miss one epic day...

I beleive you did replace your stock ones with RBI right ? RBI, as far as I know, are lower quality units, they're ok but not top of the line. And I, personnally, don't think, removing the seals, trying to throw grease in a used unit, putting back the old seals you've previously taken out is gonna be the way to go.

Just my 2 cents here...

I do not use junk bearings.. this trick will provide more longevity.. with any brand of bearing..
take the seal off any new bearing and have a look.. I also would not mess around with used bearings.. if Im going to pull it apart for any reason new stuffs going in..
Its common practice for the guys in the know on dirt bikes..Personal exp on my Fleet of off road bikes tells me that..I got the tip from David knights mech.. it certainly cant be a bad thing..

 

[TLKDPROD]

There sure isn't a lot of grease in these bearings... I'll give it a try on one of my back idlers to see what they look like at the end of the season. I'm afraid a guy might break the seal when taking them on/off...

I've heard of Guys in Qc installing a dedicated shield (outside ring that bolts on the 3 bolts of the bearing carrier) on the inside frameside of these driveshaft bearings, so the seal/bearing is not exposed to snow anymore and prevents hard ice build-up - seal damage - snow/water infiltration - rust - then bearing wear/failure.

That's another trick to get more longevity out of your drive-Shaft bearings but none of us here on the west side ride 400km a day like they do with their trail network back east... Make sense to have them though.

 

[TLKDPROD]

TLkd I tryed the German ones last year that were twice the price and they sucked asss as well, made it one season, I know packing the bearing new or used is the only way to get longer life out of them, I think Rbi is made from the same metal and rubber as the expensive bearings, cut with the same equipment, just one is made by chinese and others made by Japs, or germans.I think the real fix would be a bigger bearingor some other set up

I misuderstand you here Cailen, I thought you pulled your OLD bearings then cleaned them, then packed them with grease...

Sorry bud.

 

[off road rider]

There sure isn't a lot of grease in these bearings... I'll give it a try on one of my back idlers to see what they look like at the end of the season. I'm afraid a guy might break the seal when taking them on/off...

I've heard of Guys in Qc installing a dedicated shield (outside ring that bolts on the 3 bolts of the bearing carrier) on the inside frameside of these driveshaft bearings, so the seal/bearing is not exposed to snow anymore and prevents hard ice build-up - seal damage - snow/water infiltration - rust - then bearing wear/failure.

That's another trick to get more longevity out of your drive-Shaft bearings but none of us here on the west side ride 400km a day like they do with their trail network back east... Make sense to have them though.

Use a very thin tool, I use an exacto knife that I ground the tip and cutting edge from..

 

[TLKDPROD]

Just tried it, grab the inner ring lip comes out great, goes back in nice !
Thanks for sharing.

That RBC bearing sure seem to me like it's got enough though...

 

[off road rider]

Just tried it, grab the inner ring lip comes out great, goes back in nice !
Thanks for sharing.

That RBC bearing sure seem to me like it's got enough though...

That one looks good, might want to check out the other side..
Ive seen huge variance's with the same co....