canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
0
Just put some Pivotworks bearings in my shock linkage. Found that the needles in their bearings have squared off ends..they are NOT retained inside the race as OEM rollers are.

That's kind of a low-rent deal!

Anyone else with an opinion of aftermarket bearings?
 

David Trustrum

~SPONSOR~
Jan 25, 2001
1,396
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Well the big thing on dirt bikes is to check out the seals cause if they are crappy then the bearings won’t last no matter the quality.

Note on wheel brgs
Someone pointed out to me the sealed brgs with 2 seals you get from every bearing shop. Many people leave both seals in place assuming this is better, but these are dust seals. The external seal is the only one likely to keep water out & when water does get past that, all the brg seal is doing is stopping water draining out.

Flick the inside seals out before you install them.
 

joe woj

Member
Oct 29, 1999
58
0
wow i didnt think pivot works made a kit for our bikes, at least last year when my brother needed swingarm bearings for his kdx they didnt have a listing for them, so he went factory kawi, i think it was like 67 bucks, we were amazed how rusty the old bearings were now every 6 months we take our rear suspention apart and grease the heck out of it with mobil 1 synthetic grease, and put plenty around the seals too to try to keep out water, also we no longer use a high pressure sprayer to clean our bikes beleiveing that it was most responseable for the water getting into the bearings and ruining them.
 

motochick

Member
Mar 10, 2001
122
0
There is a company called CBR Bearings that only deals in bearings and seals and he only sells the high quality stuff. He does bottom end bearings, also. If he can't get something for your particular bike, he will tell you. If the stock stuff is better, he will tell you. His name is Charlie and his # is 800-769-5388. He also has an ad in the back of some of the dirt bike mags.

Brenda
 

canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
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No, it's not for the KDX.....

I called pivotworks to ask them why there was no shock mount bearing in their 'kit' I got for my 200.

Got a call back saying, 'You are correct. There isn't one'. So much for that! Then he went on to say that they do NOT make a kit specific to the KDX..but mark their KX125 kits as useable for the KDX cuz the bearings in it do FIT.

..but you DON'T get all that you need to replace all the bearings in the shock mount assy (dogbonz, bottom shock mount, front frame mount).

Yeah..servicing is important. Still, it helps to START with a decent product. I'm not sure about the pivotworks stuff....yet. The bearing seals they supply seem considerably more 'positive' in fit to the sleeve. Maybe just 'cuz they're newbies......

Thanks for the contact, motochick. 'preciate it.
 

BRush

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jun 5, 2000
1,100
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Originally posted by David Trustrum
Flick the inside seals out before you install them.

:eek: Thanks, but no thanks! As I have learned to my cost, installing unsealed wheel bearings is just throwing money away. I've had both & I've found that water contamination always gets the unsealed ones first. A better solution is a double sealed bearing packed with waterproof grease. I agree about the importance of the external seals, though.

CC, I'm not getting a very warm recommendation about Pivot Works!. I second the CBR recommendation. They would be worth talking to. I just installed a set of their Pro Pack rear wheel bearings and I'm really pleased, both from a cost and quality standpoint. I called I talked to one of the guys out there. Very friendly and answered all my questions. The bearings arrived in three days and were well packaged and individually sealed. The bearings were a good quality, double sealed NTN bearing. The new external seals were a spring seal type and a much better design than the OEM KDX ones. The instructions were clear and they are willing to back up their product with "lifetime" (to original purchaser) warranty. The fact that it was slightly cheaper than buying two sets of OEM bearings and seals was icing on the cake.
 

someday

Member
Jul 10, 2000
163
0
Go OEM all the way. Find a dealer that'll give you 30+% off list and they end up costing about the same as aftermarket. I did EVERY seal, bearing, and sleeve in my son's '95 this winter and ALL the OE parts cost $160. Here's the list:
KAWA no. description qty. net cost ea.
92046-1216 bearing 6 6.28
92049-1402 seal 6 2.79
42036-1245 sleeve 2 6.59
42036-1309 sleeve 1 7.04
42036-1248 sleeve 1 3.00
92049-1330 seal 2 2.79
92046-1192 bearing 1 5.84
11012-1259 cap/seal 4 6.83
42036-1056 sleeve 2 8.04
92046-1118 bearing 4 6.77
total $159.54
 

willstyle

Member
Jun 7, 2000
24
0
I was wondering if anyone has installed grease zerks on some of the various suspension parts. I was thinking about installing them in the center of the rocker arm bearings where there is a little gap between the needle bearings. Zerks are available with a very small thread hole size so as not to require a large tapped hole. I know it would fit and I dont think it would weaken it structurally. I also thought about putting one on the end of the rear axle with a small hole down the center and small hole cross drilled to allow grease to hopefully force out water and junk. I am a machinist so proper equipment is not a problem. Does anyone have any thoughts? I am having FRP rework my shock so I thought I should replace all of the bearings, but I really don't want to have to do it very often.

Will
 

Jim Crenca

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 18, 2001
509
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Will,
I've been thinking the same about grease fittings but have not had to dis-assemble from wear yet. Do you think that there is an adequate venting area (past seals) in order to pump grease in & air out? Will you use synthetic grease or a "water proof" type such as Bel Ray?
 

willstyle

Member
Jun 7, 2000
24
0
:think hmmm,

I think that I would use a quality synthetic lube in my grease gun. To be honest I hadn't thought about being able to vent past the seals. I suppose that if they were designed to keep dirt out,they would keep grease in. I will do some more checking on that. Thanks for the input.

Will
 

canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
0
zerks and such

There has been a good deal of discussion about this on this forum..primarily regarding swingarms.

The one thing that seems to be consistently missed (or maybe I'M the one missing it?) is that putting a fitting in the swingarm bolt, drilling it and putting a groove in it's outer surface for grease movement does NOT get grease to the bearing, only to the inside of the sleeve. You would have to also drill/groove the sleeve to get to the needles.

That would be quite a bit of work.

The ability of the seals to vent is another issue. In the case of the shock linkage, there are metal parts smack dab against the seals that would hold them tight (the pull rods for example). Let alone putting a fitting in there somewhere.

Seems the swingarm is the only place a fitting would work..and it would be a good deal of that! (work that is).

Good luck trying it, though!
 
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