front wheel bearings

[moozaad]

I just destroyed mine and I have to replace them tomorrow - can I just whip the old ones out after removing the wheel , and then put the new ones in? or do I need to pack them with high temp grease etc?

(2000 ST2 btw ;))

[Glyn]

when i had mine replaced i couldn't watch!!

it's big hammer and chisel time

[FiscusFish]

They're sealed bearings so it's just a case of fitting them.

Darren

[HW]

THe trouble with ST wheel bearings is they are exposed and vulnerable. I would recommend plenty of grease on them even though they are sealed. On my ST2 the rear bearing had rusted inside and it had then started spinning in the wheel. The bearing seating ended up oval and the dealer had to replace the wheel on warranty. Mind you, it had been ridden through the previous winter ... which I did not know when I bought it. They cleaned it well ... until you looked "under the hood"

[Edited on 27-3-2005 by HW]

[moozaad]

OMG - I always thought it was my dodgy riding or suspension setup but I just replaced the bearings and ST now goes around corners like it was on rails.
I think it must have been dead since I bought it. The doctor who owned it before me must have been a wheely merchant or have had a mild front end bash- as the head bearing had been gone for a while but noone (3x services + 2 MOTs) picked up on the wheel bearings being shot.
When I wiggled the bars at speed, I use to get a 'knock', I honest believed it was the head bearings but now I know better.

I guess the side stand scratching moment on the way to scarborough the other sunday pushed it over the edge. The LH unit turned itself into a mangled knot on a low speed roundabout on the way back.

[Edited on 27-3-2005 by moozaad]

[HW]

Steering head bearings don't seem very robust on them either. I've had an ST4s after the ST2 and the steering head bearings were gone at 12k miles. Not ridden through a winter either on that one, although the first 5k miles of it's life it was a dealer "demo" bike.

[Jools]

Moozad mate, I've said it before but if you're grounding stuff out you're either using monumental lean angles or the suspension isn't set up right, sounds like you've got it set up too low or too soft.

My riding style is quite enthusiastic and I've never touched anything down except the odd grazed footpeg (I did once deck the centre stand down when I was two up and the suspension was compressed more). I would make sure your suspension sag is set up right and that your suspension settings are set back to standard factory settings (mine had almost no compression damping when it came from the dealers).

Another trick is to raise the rear ride height by lengthening the adjuster rod by two full turns, it will help ground clearance and help the bike turn in to corners quicker as well. You may find the bike handles even better!

You're right about wheelbearings though. I just replaced my rear wheel bearings. The old bearings had only been in there for 1000 miles but I guess I was just unlucky enough to fit a bearing that was defective from new, cos after that 1000 miles the bearing on the disc side had got loads of play on it. The effect on the handling was weird, it felt like the front was going to tuck all the while and if I backed off mid corner the bike would drop into the bend more rather than sit up like you would expect. I spent some time wondering if my riding had gone to pot but just replacing the rear wheel bearings sorted all the problems that I thought were at the front end.


[Edited on 28-3-2005 by Jools]

[moozaad]

On the issue of grounding out;
The ride height has been increased :) and the suspension is set to factory std as done by neil@cornerspeed. Very hard for road use but great for track. I probabily just need to hang off more.

BTW me grounding out is a very rare occassion, I've only done it once on the road on this bike.

http://www.fresh-orange.co.uk/dbs/upload/22-3-2005-10/Intermediate/Ducati%20ST4//tnl__DSC2034.jpg



[Edited on 29-3-2005 by moozaad]