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[PVNRG]

The swingarm bearings are crunchy and I'm thinking it might be because I did a fair amount of riding in the rain. Thinking about replacing them with stainless steel bearings such as 6204-2RS1 made by SKF. Would that be worth it?

[ESokoloff]

I just changed my swing arm bearings (at 47,500 miles) as found them to be notchie.
I was not prepared to do this (rear tire & belt change) so ended up with standard USA made as I was rushed.
What I did do was to remove the shields, clean out the grease, & overpack with Aeroshell 14 helicopter grease. 
I have a BMW R1150RT as well & heard about guys having good results using this grease on the final drive pivot needle bearings.
Bearings are designed for rotational usage & the pivoting action of motorcycle suspension doesn't allow for adequate lubrication.     
Apparently helicopters have a similar situation & this grease is what’s used. 

Be VERY careful pressing the new bearings in. 
I drove out the old ones & fabricated a puller that consisted of silver soldering on an oversized 3/8” nc nut on a 1/8” plate slightly greater OD then bearing.
The oversized nut fit snugly inside bearing bore (after smoothing out the braze joint).
I should have put a handle on this plate as it spun when used on the new bearings and had to be held to prevent it from turning. 
I practiced pressing in the old bearings & all went well until I pressed in the new ones. 
The new ones ended up getting cocked in the well & I had a very hard time pulling them in. 
Ended up inserting a deep socket in the bearing bore & steering it.
It was not a fun time. Use lube.
Turns out the Chinese OEM bearing's had more of a radius on the edges & I assume that made them less susceptible to binding upon insertion. 

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I just changed my swing arm bearings (at 47,500 miles) as found them to be notchie.
I was not prepared to do this (rear tire & belt change) so ended up with standard USA made as I was rushed.
What I did do was to remove the shields, clean out the grease, & overpack with Aeroshell 14 helicopter grease. 
I have a BMW R1150RT as well & heard about guys having good results using this grease on the final drive pivot needle bearings.
Bearings are designed for rotational usage & the pivoting action of motorcycle suspension doesn't allow for adequate lubrication.     
Apparently helicopters have a similar situation & this grease is what’s used. 

Be VERY careful pressing the new bearings in. 
I drove out the old ones & fabricated a puller that consisted of silver soldering on an oversized 3/8” nc nut on a 1/8” plate slightly greater OD then bearing.
The oversized nut fit snugly inside bearing bore (after smoothing out the braze joint).
I should have put a handle on this plate as it spun when used on the new bearings and had to be held to prevent it from turning. 
I practiced pressing in the old bearings & all went well until I pressed in the new ones. 
The new ones ended up getting cocked in the well & I had a very hard time pulling them in. 
Ended up inserting a deep socket in the bearing bore & steering it.
It was not a fun time. Use lube.
Turns out the Chinese OEM bearing's had more of a radius on the edges & I assume that made them less susceptible to binding upon insertion.

Thanks for the writeup. I’ll queue this for the unofficial manual, as well as the bearing recommendations above.

[ESokoloff]

Thanks for the writeup. I’ll queue this for the unofficial manual, as well as the bearing recommendations above.

In a previous post I made a mistake by implying that these bearings are 6240-RS whereas they are “Manufacturer part number is 6204-2RS“.
RS is Single Seal (only one side sealed, the other is unsealed/open) & all 7 bearings on 2015+ (xx) platform use 6204-2RS (both sides are sealed).
Sorry for the confusion.

Use all information I have provided at your own peril.
It was shocking how easily the new bearings became misaligned in the wells.
It’s very easy to damage the soft aluminum frame (a Dremal with a flapping sanding wheel saved me).

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Thanks for the writeup. I’ll queue this for the unofficial manual, as well as the bearing recommendations above.

In a previous post I made a mistake by implying that these bearings are 6240-RS whereas they are “Manufacturer part number is 6204-2RS“.
RS is Single Seal (only one side sealed, the other is unsealed/open) & all 7 bearings on 2015+ (xx) platform use 6204-2RS (both sides are sealed).
Sorry for the confusion.

Use all information I have provided at your own peril.
It was shocking how easily the new bearings became misaligned in the wells.
It’s very easy to damage the soft aluminum frame (a Dremal with a flapping sanding wheel saved me).

Thanks that’s good to know, and I forgot about bearing designator details, too. I’ll try to write that up shortly while this is all fresh.

[ESokoloff]

Brian,
Sorry to be segmented but a few more details...

6204 is a given & consistent with all manufactures.
The dbl seal designator however doesn’t have an industry standard.

OEM & many other manufactures use 2RS to signify dbl seal.
Note that bearings also come shielded but these are not intended to be subjected to the outdoor conditions that the dbl sealed are intended to handle.

I really think that the point of failure (development of notches in the races) is due to the lack of lubrication. 
The manufacture's don’t put much grease in these to begin with & due to the lack of rotational movement, what little grease that is available doesn't get a chance to get redistributed were it’s needed.

It may be a worthwhile endeavor to pack these (swing arm) bearings proactively.
It MIGHT be possible (but tricky) to while still in the frame well.
The swing arm bolt would have to be removed.
A cheep pick https://www.harborfreight.com/mini-pick-and-hook-set-63697.html to (carefully) remove.
Grease needle adapter https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS630US630&hl=en-US&ei=bFkWX7X6IJzP0PEPq62ikA4&q=grease+needle+fitting&oq=grease+needle&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAEYATIFCAAQkQIyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAOgQIABBHOgQIABANOgYIABAHEB46BQgAEM0CUNG1IFjJwCBgztMgaABwAngAgAGsA4gBjA6SAQk0LjQuMi4wLjGYAQCgAQHAAQE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp will allow easy packing of the bearing.
NOTE: Not all greases play nice with each other https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en-us&q=Can+you+mix+different+greases%3F&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8pZWvr93qAhWoCTQIHdJxCzkQzmd6BAgMEAw&biw=1261&bih=878&dpr=2 so it’s best to stick with the same grease.
Maybe someone can add what type of grease is in the OEM bearings.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

No worries. It’s a bearing thread. More bearing information is helpful.

[PVNRG]

I'm wondering if the issue with my swingarm bearings is a corrosion issue. There is a kind of cogging when spinning them. Good grease should keep them away from oxygen and water but I'm also wondering if stainless steel bearings would help enough to justify the added expense. McMaster has them for $40 each and there are some on Amazon for $20 each but I question the Amazon seller supplier quality. Seems like if you are going through all the trouble of replacing them it probably would make sense to use the best parts available.

[dannsky]

Hi Ray,
Are you sure it is not the aluminium spacer being slightly distorted causing premature bearing fail?
I had to replace rear wheel bearings 3 times in 2 months, before realizing it is the spacer.
Machined a new spacer, and ever since no more bearing problem.



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Can you tell me the dimensions of this tube?

[odedmaz]

wow, this was so long ago.
I don't have the bike for so long.
the photo in this thread have the exact dimensions in milimeters for that reason (written on the paper drawing).
i would use these measurements.
good luck.