Front wheel bearing seals?

[LAB3]

Well whadda ya know, my bike doesn't have sealed wheel bearings like I thought it did! When I was going through the bike last winter I saw what I thought where sealed bearings in the front wheel and a quick check on ebay for replacements showed them as being sealed so I figured that's what was in there from the factory.

Today I got on the interstate for the first time this season and there was a noise starting to come out the front wheel once I hit about 65mph. At first I thought it was tread noise but it's the same tire as last year so I quickly ruled that out. Having had the forks off to put some spacers in there (WELL worth the effort) I checked that the forks where in both set at equal height on the trees and all was good, tire pressure was right on, checked the axle nut torque and it was where it was supposed to be. Although the fender did get tweeked a bit last summer there didn't appear any rubbing, everything on the caliper was in place and the pads appeared to be where they where supposed to be.

Checking the manual it does indeed lay out the procedure for inspecting the wheel bearings and repacking when necessary so I seem to have non-sealed bearings, how it made it through 8k miles last year without a problem is beyond me! The manual doesn't mention any kind of seal being in there and the parts fische doesn't show one but clearly there are a pair in there. Another ebay search shows sealed bearings coming with an additional seal so I'm guessing I'm on the right track with the seal thing.

Here's my question: Can I expect to get these seals out in reusable condition? Hoping to take care of repacking them tomorrow but if I have to wait to get parts delivered I'll wait until they get here. There is no noise at lower speeds and I can still get around on the two laners for the time being until new ones arrive. TIA.

 

[Nessism]

I'm confused. First you say the bearings don't have seals and then you ask about "...get these seals out in reusable condition?"

If there is seals already you have a good chance of getting them out for resuse. Use an xacto but be careful where you pry. If the bearings are noisy the bearings may be toast now. All Balls kits are dirt cheap. If there is any doubt I'd just replace them.

 

[LAB3]

Thanks to the quick reply. Yeah, All Balls sets are like $11 so no big deal, it's just that if I can get this done tomorrow instead of waiting a week for them to show up it'd be nice. To clarify here's what the OEM part looks like (obviously made to be repacked)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-NOS...:USPSPriorityMailSmallFlatRateBox!48651!US!-1

Here's the All Balls set with the additional seals (Don't appear to be repack able)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-GS4...eNZXRKE:sc:ShippingMethodStandard!48651!US!-1

 

[fastbysuzuki]

I though the days of using non sealed bearings had long gone, personally I would go with the all balls kit, for info when a bearing has a prefix 2rs that denotes 2 rubber seals (water proof) if it has zz that is the cheaper tin seal (dust proof)

 

[Nessism]

I can't remember exactly but some of the OEM wheel bearings have a seal on one side and are either open or shielded on the other (inside).

 

[LAB3]

I can't remember exactly but some of the OEM wheel bearings have a seal on one side and are either open or shielded on the other (inside).

After looking things over I figured I'd also do the rears as well, the parts fische does show one seal like you mentioned and three bearings. With the bike being my only transportation (other than the local bus and Greyhound) and having been cooped up all winter (eight weeks with frozen sewer and water) I just wanna get out of this frozen hellhole and go! With two inches of fresh snow on the ground this morning and a seven day forecast not getting much above 45 degrees I ordered the bearings, it'll be nice to have peace of mind and not have to deal with it somewhere out in Bugtussle this summer when I'm living the wandering ascetic life.

 

[Nessism]

Manufacturers don't sell the seals that press into the bearing. Any seals you find will be those that fit into the housing the bearings press into.

There are typically three bearings for the rear: two that fit into the wheel and one for the sprocket carrier (which is much larger). It's unlikely to find a bad bearing in the sprocket carrier so I typically just clean and grease that one and replace the others in the hub. And be careful when pressing in the hub bearings. It's not a matter of pressing them in until they bottom in the housing, that's often too far in. All Ball's has instructions on what to do. And always press from the outer race, not the inner.