The outside of a motorbike engine seen up close near the exhaust

Home Repair And Restoration

Bearing Basics

Video Date 07 January 2016

By Ren Withnell

Bearings! They are the bane of my life. The CBF 125 eats rear sprocket carrier bearings for breakfast. The CBF 250 has just done the same. Sharon's rear wheel bearing collapsed a few weeks back. Bearings are like buses, you go for thousands of miles over months and years with nary an issue, then all of a sudden all hell breaks loose. It's not like the bikes all do the same mileages, it is just good old Murphy's Law.

Anyhow, here's my short video that may help the uninitiated gain a little knowledge about the most common type of bearing.

Bearings wear out, that is a fact of life. But how can we prolong a bearing's youthful vigour and extend its service life? As can be clearly seen in the video keeping out grit and grime will help greatly. I'd always recommend buying sealed bearings for wheels - however - "sealed" implies they they'll be water tight, air tight and impervious to outside influence. Nope. The rubber seals that come with the bearings are at best very basic. The rubber seals that sit outside of the bearings are much more effective as long as they are in good order. Seals wear out, that is a fact of life.

Quality bearings *should* last longer and generally they do. The brand "SKF" seems to be considered the Rolls Royce of bearings. Those in the know talk highly of "FAG" and "NSK" too. While I've become something of an expert in replacing bearings I still have a lot to learn. Do you have any recommendations to keep your bearings in tip top condition? Can you recommend a brand? Any other bearing tips?

A common or garden wheel bearing from a motorcycle
If ya do the miles, you're gonna get familiar with these things.

 

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