Rear wheel needle bearings - input needed.

[Jgnp15333]

So, I am sending my wheels off to be powdercoated next week. Since they have to be baked, they must be stripped completely. I didn't have any issues removing any of the bearing until I got to the rear wheel.

The first whack with a screwdiver confirmed that there was NO meat to hammer on the needle bearing's outer race to bonk them out. I called the local Yamatech and he advised me that these bearings are a royal pain to replace and he cuts them out via Dremel.

Well, I did Dremel a cut into them and managed to get them out after about an HOUR of horror. Now the surface that the needle bearing's outer race rests in is a bit scarred up. Yamatech advised me to dress the surface to rid it of any high spots and all should be well.

I sanded the surface and knocked down the peaks of the gouges I created and then polished it. There are still some pits in there and it's worrying me that the replacement needle bearings will not like being seating on this new surface.

In retrospect, I probably could have left the needle bearing in and just regreased them.

Scold me or reassure me. I need to hear it. What do I do next?

 

[Jgnp15333]

Kill me now!

 

[Motogiro]

Am I looking at the outer race of the bearing or am I looking at the bore that the race fits into? You need a new bearing correct?

 

[Jgnp15333]

You're looking at the bore of the wheel. The new needle bearing's outer race will be seated up against the newly marred surface.

Is this a salvageable situation or am I now in the market for a new rear wheel?

Am I looking at the outer race of the bearing or am I looking at the bore that the race fits into? You need a new bearing correct?

 

[FinalImpact]

Granted its not purty or like the oem finish, but not the end of the world (new wheel) worthy either. As the tech said, long as there are no raised edges, it will hold a bearing. If it had a gouge 3 - 4 mm wide that over time could allow the new shell to deform into the grove. Those are small and as you saw, the material is brittle as hell! It wont deform from a tiny gouge like those, so don't worry about it.
A trick a i learned from an old smoker was to take the wraper off the smoke and place it on your finger. Rub the inside and you feel with greater sensitivity.
Although an inside bore gauge would be best and measure for high spots. Then knock that ridge down vs sanding or die grinder etc.

Anyway, you can't strike this bearing putting it back. Use oil or grease and a press with 360° on contact. Press it in. Or a fine pitch bolt and tighten it in.
Do NOT use antisieze! It will end badly!
Good luck!

 

[FinalImpact]

So what color and are you dojng the frame too?

 

[Motogiro]

You can also pack the bearing in dry ice. The dimensions will shrink allowing easier install and as the bearing warms back up it will expand snug in the bore..

Also... I'm glad it looks like we don't have to kill you now..... Lol! I love that, "Kill me now!" :rof:

 

[Jgnp15333]

Thanks for the advice good people. My blood pressure finally dropped out of the stroke-zone!

I'm doing this bike facelift because the previous owner had some mishaps that really killed the aesthetics of the bike. It is several different colors of blue, the tail section is broken and glued and there are some scrapes on the left side.

I drive a pretty vanilla car and never get to have any fun with the looks of it because I have to "appear professional." However, my better half has no comment when it comes to hooning out the Fazer.

Rather than do a full scale repaint, I am going to have some fun and wrap the thing in vinyl to try out some color schemes.

If you didn't want to kill me before, here it comes!

I think that the ICON drift Triumph is gorgeous. I am going to do a full paint wrap with matte metallic HEXIS vinyl and fluorescent yellow retro-reflective vinyl. It will surely seize the admiration of the local squids.

 

[Jgnp15333]

I have a silver frame but, as much as I would like to custom color it, I'm not feeling up for a complete disassembly yet!

So what color and are you dojng the frame too?

 

[Wildcat_drvr]

The vinyl that they print on?
That can make things look 3-D!
That would make the tube frame LEAP out at ya!
Visual Freak-out!
So Cool, ya gotta wear Shades.

Rich

 

[FinalImpact]

You can also pack the bearing in dry ice. The dimensions will shrink allowing easier install and as the bearing warms back up it will expand snug in the bore..

Also... I'm glad it looks like we don't have to kill you now..... Lol! I love that, "Kill me now!" :rof:

I would really love to see this work ^^ and it can and DOES work in many applications. However, this is not it IMO. Sorry to be the nay sayer...

This tiny part lacks thermal mass (i.e. the ability to retain heat). Something like an engines cylinder liner has mass and will stay cold as its 10 to 20X thicker. My point: that thin little bearing holds no thermal heat and you have no time to d$ck around. If its going to work it goes instantly from frozen to dropped in without touching it with tools that will raise its temperature. The moment it touches the landing its thin shell will quickly increase to ambient or the wheel temp and this ends out easy solution of "cooling to drop it in".

I worked a transmission shop for 6 years and believe me we tried it on many applications. The part has to be thick enough to hold some thermal heat and a thin little thing like that just doesn't. POINT: be prepaid to press it in.

Besides, if it was that easy I'm sure Yamaha would have said dip that bugger in LN2!

PS - I'm sure you know this already - don't let any powder make its way into those landings or the bearings will never fit. Use some good plugs that can handle the heat. Or real GOOD TAPE!

 

[FinalImpact]

Something else that comes to mind while this bearing is out:

Take an air powered rotatory file with a rounded carbide bit in it and grind two groves into the stop land 180° apart. Should there ever be a need to remove this bearing again this would allow you to drop in a drift and tap it out from the other side w/out having to spend hours grinding and cleaning...

Just a thought...

Edit: another thread on the same topic: http://www.600riders.com/forum/garage-mechanical-help/52142-needle-bearing-removel.html

 

[Jgnp15333]

I wish that the dry ice method was a surefire method for this. I think I will be going to my friends robotics lab to refit these bearings. I will throw that out there regarding milling those two grooves. If I keep this for the long haul, it would be nice to NOT have to go through this again.

 

[Marthy]

The bearing will go over a hole but not a bump. Remove minimal material...

Been doing a lot of gbox work on racecars over the years. Heat is your best friend! Aluminum will expand more than thr bearing... it would have drop on its own.

Heat the wheel to put the bearing back in. Use the spit test. LOL heat and put saliva on your finger... if you touch the wheel and the spit boil... you're right on. Thats about 250F or so. Put the bearing in a zip lock in the freezer for a bit. Make sure the bore is warm all the way to the end where the bearing need to seat. Get a hammer and puch ready in case to need to finish it up.

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