Replacing Dirt Bike Wheel Bearings Using Basic Tools

We replace some worn rear wheel bearings on Nat's KTM 350EXC motorcycle. These bearings only had a small amount of play in them but once they start to wobble, it's never too long before they fail completely. A very simple maintenance task that anyone can do at home with basic tools. Keep your bike maintained to guarantee you'll enjoy your next ride!
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Josh: 2015 KTM 500 EXC
Nat: 2016 KTM 350 EXC
Cameras: Canon G7X Mark II

[@jamesriley4857]

Wow that's so interesting. On the DR650 we have to find perfectly round pebbles in the river and carefully place them on the Monmouth bone (they can be hard to find these days) before smothering them in whale blubber (careful the tree huggers don't catch you using that). Have fun wearing them out again!

[@MVDBR]

👍😅

[@behindbarswithnoodles]

Read the description wrong , thought it said 2 tools replacing wheel bearings 😜 hahahahaha only joking , great video guys very informative. keep up the good work, hope you both staying safe from the 🦠

[@MVDBR]

Close enough 😘 Thanks mate you too

[@soundzrinmygarden3833]

Well done Nat. Those hands look a lot nicer than the manky old hands in the Haynes motorbike manuals. Now I just need my wife to watch this so she can change my next set of wheel bearings, don't like my chances though.

[@Chris_Z.]

Good Job. When replacing the new bearings into hub you could also use the old bearing on top when tapping back in.

[@MVDBR]

Yeah but they tend to get jammed into the hub 🤨 I used to cut a slit in an old bearing shell to use but these days the big socket is easy enough 👍

[@gc1862de]

Look out, shes on the tools. GOOOOoooooo Nat.

[@MrHiroboman]

Another good way to put tension on the chain while doing up the nut is to put a rag between the chain and sprocket and rotate the wheel backwards to jam the rag/ wheel.

[@MVDBR]

Yeah true but that takes an extra 10 seconds that I don't have to spare 😁 Thanks for the comment mate

[@alren8477]

Its amazing how many people look passed this. I've only recently done the Super Enduro bearings Front rear. 4 in the rear 2 up front. And i always clean my tools after use also 😎😎😎 Great video guys, stay safe !!

[@MVDBR]

4 in the rear whoa guess that's not surprising given the torque they have to deal with 💪

[@blockhead52]

Well done Nat very informative thanks for sharing.

[@davidrockwell9776]

I use a map torch and freezer. Freeze the bearing overnight, torch the hub to 200f or 93c. The bearing will fall in to the hub, then tap like you showed it to ensure bearing are seated.

[@inthepumpkinpatch5383]

Another great video I know I've struggled with wheel bearings before this should help people out making their job a lot easier thanks for sharing

[@MVDBR]

No worries mate thanks for watching 👍

[@JoeJoeMoto]

Great job Nat!!

[@jasondeckie]

Nice one guys!

[@syntaxmsi]

"You m'love wiggled me back wheel"... cheeky buggah!

[@BrokenSprocket]

Good job Nat 3 Emmys.

[@MVDBR]

It's not a television academy award it's an EMMSY 😅🤘

[@ShadowVonChadwick]

Old bearings are good to start knocking new ones in. Clean first

[@psyolent.]

spot on

[@ianferrier235]

Nice job guys, Nat so much bling for a mechanic got to love it 😁 ,sorry couldn't help but notice.

[@MVDBR]

I was surprised she left that stuff on 😅

[@mohawkmikemotorcycles9077]

Cool video

[@ShadowVonChadwick]

No man's touch needed, but remember to clean even before knocking old bearing out. Cold and Heat are a must. Even if it's an elec heat gun. Thanks for the vid.

[@user-bj5rb6xf2w]

Классные видосики. Честно говоря ничего не понимаю о чем говорите, но по жестам догадываюсь. Подписывался на вас когда было около 6к подспичиков, а чейчас обратил внимание что нас уже 10к+. Молодцы)

[@MVDBR]

Это нормально, я не могу понять, что ты пишешь :) Спасибо, 10К - это безумие! Спасибо за просмотр!

[@aripramono5649]

The best mecanic 👍🏻🏍️💪

[@merrellwilliams9500]

Hey best nails I've seen working on a yet!

[@Wheetlelol]

A what

[@AdventureMotoEnduro]

old mate will be cringing seeing that extension bar abused with a hammer not a dead blow lol

[@MVDBR]

Dodgy is what we all about my brother 😁 Extension bar still works who gives a shit 😎👌

[@AdventureMotoEnduro]

@@MVDBR hehe

[@grant7411]

If u heat the hub slightly with a heat gun the old bearings fall out very easy without marking the hub. 👌

[@grant7411]

All balls last longer if you pop that blue seal out and put some good grease in them. Learnt that after one set lasted a whole 6 rides 🤦‍♂️

[@MVDBR]

@@grant7411 I have tried that way too with no luck. We did that with these anyway before we froze them at Nats insistence, I can guarantee they'll need changing out again soon 😫 I've done a video on All Balls bearings previously, they're just shit

[@scottkeir1060]

Just found your channel through the Skid factory guys, I really like the spirit and mateship that goes on in your vids. I have been binge watching over lockdown. As an avid mtb rider one of the first things I noticed in this vid was your Commencal Meta in background. I'm thinking of getting one, how do you rate it?

[@MVDBR]

Hey Scott thanks for the comment mate. Took me a minute to figure out what you were referring to tho hahaha, I know nothing about the pedal variety bikes. The one in the background was the young fellas but I guess it was another of his impulse purchases as he recently sold it (at a huge loss). Kids these days 🙄 You could have gotten this one cheap hehe

[@vancouverisland7274]

Very helpful ! Thank you 😊

[@jefftaswelder9154]

Same way I do mine BUT my shed is NOT that clean 🙁 I end up tripping over all the crap on the floor 🤣🤣🤔 Stay well u 2 😁🍺

[@MVDBR]

Hahaha I can't handle a messy shed. Ours is too cramped to let it get out of control 😎 Cheers ears

[@mmaaddict78]

Thanks for the video. Checked mine today on the 350 and they are shot front and rear. Ordered up some factory links front and rear bearings and seals. This video should make the job a bit easier. Now I'll know to watch out for a possible plastic spacer hiding in there. I'd have probably just ham fisted it and broke that spacer had I not seen your video lol

[@MVDBR]

Did yours have the spacer?

[@mmaaddict78]

@@MVDBR I haven't dug into it yet. I'll be doing the job on Sunday morning. The bike is a 2012 350 XC-F. It's the offroad version of the bike that I made street legal. Do you know which years and models tend to have the plastic spacer?

[@MVDBR]

@@mmaaddict78 no from what I was told even some bikes in the same year of manufacture had them and some didn't, depending on which middle main spacer they had 😅 Fkn KTM manufacturing glitch or using up some old parts maybe hahaha

[@mmaaddict78]

@@MVDBR You're probably right about the manufacturing. They probably had a batch of wheel spacers made too short and said Fk it, throw a cheap plastic spacer in there, it's only a few tenths off spec lol.

[@mmaaddict78]

@@MVDBR Well I did the job and was surprised once I pulled the wheel off. Two bearings on the sprocket side and one bearing on the rotor side. No plastic spacers. My bike has Tusk impact rims and I had just assumed the setup would be same as stock. Nope. Your video still helped regardless.

[@syntaxmsi]

Under lockdown, can't ride so might as well do some maintenance... It's the least you can do for your country.

[@MVDBR]

Das it 🤘

[@KLRmurdercycle]

Do my bearings exactly the same way. I use Allballs and get 10k to 15k km. I do change them basically every year though. I'm in just as much mud and water as you guys. Front ones every 2 years. Key is cleaning the old grease out and replacing it every tire change.👍

[@MVDBR]

Good to hear someone gets some good life out of All Balls. Basically here though, an All Balls kit with 2x bearings and 2x seals costs $30, and the local bearing shop will supply NSK, Koyo, or other similar quality bearings for about $6 each and seals are about $1 each. That's why we don't bother messing about with All Balls usually. It seems to be pretty common opinion here in Aus that they are low quality but it's possible that in different countries they are sourced from different manufacturers, who knows :)

[@KLRmurdercycle]

@@MVDBR totally agree. There's gougers out there. Klr have 3 rear bearings, 2 are easily sourced locally but the 3rd is a pain to find. Allballs kit here is $15-20 for the 3. But religously replace them yearly because of the reputation. Atv and sledders all agree as well.😆

[@MVDBR]

@@KLRmurdercycle ah yep that does complicate things, my WR had 2 different sized bearings in the rear and one of them was a special order unit so yeah in that case can completely understand going the All Balls route. Our KTMs use common standard size bearings and they're all the same which makes things a lot simpler! The Austrians do actually so some things right lol

[@vwfez8697]

nice work did nat get some custom gloves to have those nails in them? hahaha. good instruction.

[@MVDBR]

Hahaha no those were only for the wedding, she's already picked them off 😅🤘

[@stephencapel6283]

I used the same brand when I got my fe501 because I had them already and to my surprise I have done 3795 km so far in 7 months and still tight so should be fine, and the plastic spacer us there to locate the centre spacer so it doesn't get stuck to one side when fitting but I think you realised that after

[@MVDBR]

Hmm have you gotten yours wet a fair bit? I've never had All Balls last more than 1000-1200km but we ride thru water a fair bit.

[@stephencapel6283]

Yep been wet dry and most of my riding is ruff single track but I allways pop one of the seals out of any bearings I fit and pack with motored Fett 2000 grease which is lithium based I think and that protects against water anyway

[@stephencapel6283]

That was meant to be motorex

[@MVDBR]

Ah well when bearing shops sell better brands for less than half the price I'll still steer clear of All Balls. Good to hear someone is having some luck with them tho

[@stephencapel6283]

I normally will use only nitto Japanese bearing but they came with the second set of wheels I got with the bike so but even so I still repack all new bearing with good grease for peace of mind and never had a bearing fail

[@simondalikeable9655]

Heat up the hub around the bearing and it should only take a few hits to remove bearing

[@jaasongannon7576]

Nice video, whats the name of the indicators your running on that bike thanks

[@MVDBR]

Stockers on the front, Click n Ride on the back 👍

[@duncancampbell6602]

These bearings don't need to be hand packed with grease? Must be a different design with the ktms..

[@MVDBR]

Generally no they're supposed to come pre-lubed. We always re-pack these All Balls ones though because they come with a tiny squirt of grease which is pretty useless.

[@ktmkaos]

Try the axle nut on the sprocket side will make wheel changes easier.Reusing the old wheel spacers is a bad idea as the seals will never seal and the bearings won't last .I think KTM supply new spacers in their kits.Your right about all balls ...chinese crap.Love ya vids ...your guys in Queensland have got the best riding

[@ktmkaos]

​@@ccenduro I acknowledge clipping a rock or log when the nut is on the left side can loosen it.I may have been lucky in the last 40 years but I may put a lock wire thru it

[@ktmkaos]

@@ccenduro I ride a 2017 sterco ...it looks the same ....Am I missing something?. The axle is stationary ,How can the rotation of the wheel loosen the adjuster bock on the axle? the bearings would have to be seized on the axle

[@ktmkaos]

@@ccenduro Mate can't happen unless the axle spins... Buttery Bullshit!!...Your on a forum put it out there

[@xone9869]

Looks like a fantastic way to spend your honeymoon

[@MVDBR]

Could be worse I guess :)

[@CrazyWhiteVanDriver]

Chinese work boots. Nice.

[@MVDBR]

Fkn Chinese my arse they got covid all over their feet this is Aussie work boot style 😎👌

[@CrazyWhiteVanDriver]

@@MVDBR nats?

[@CrazyWhiteVanDriver]

@@MVDBR covid can't ride bikes but lad.

[@thisisme7587]

Good work. Now if only you could go for a braap.

[@MVDBR]

I knowwwwwwwwww 😫

[@CrazyWhiteVanDriver]

(I can. Back onto to state forest). I'll ride for yas.

[@thisisme7587]

@@CrazyWhiteVanDriver if your in qld ya can't unless it's on a mt bike.

[@CrazyWhiteVanDriver]

@@thisisme7587 nope New seth.

[@JustTex]

What number wifey challenge was this? i'm guessing your not a fan of allballs hahaha. Cheers 4 sharing

[@MVDBR]

Have not had good experience with them! They're pretty over priced too especially when you can get top quality bearings for 1/3 the price at the bearing shop :) Thanks for watching Tex

[@JustTex]

@@MVDBR fair enough

[@quinnwarman5139]

You might find that freezing the bearings could be causing moisture to build up inside therefore causing premature failure heating the hub might be a better option just a thought as I have never had to do this myself with wheel bearing in my bikes not giving you grief just when you said about the failure of the bearings

[@MVDBR]

Good point mate yeah condensation could definitely be a factor. Just tapping them in with no heating or freezing of anything is generally no issue anyway so maybe we'll just do that. Cheers

[@mixalis6168]

Or buy a proper press, and not have to worry about ruing it all !!

[@MVDBR]

🤦‍♂️

[@T1M083]

The heat and cool method as people put it usually you'd heat up (around 170 degrees) the area in which the bearing is going into then, of course, the frozen or chilled bearing is literally just dropped into place. the heat will then sandwich the bearing into place as it warms up the chilled bearing. You usually only need a few hours in the freezer but I do overnight also with chainsaw bearings.

[@thisisme7587]

Sweat baby sweat. With the wheels it works a little easier not a huge diff but on big end and gear bearings in a case it's works like a charm. I put my son's mx cases in the oven at 170 and wait for the drop.