I seem to be chewing out alot of these on my 08 kx 250, about every 20 hrs , my suspension has been set for my weight and riding trails . Is this common or is there a better bearing than using All ballz ?

There's nothing that could cause premature bearing failure more than water and dirt. That would be my best guess, i tear mine apart and regrease them often, and with new bearings i regrease the new bearings with waterproof grease.

The shock bearings are very small and don't hold much grease. They need to be greased often and new seals help a lot.

On every bike I own, the lower shock bearing goes out quicker than the rest.

In my humble opinion --

The lower shock bearing does not need bearings. A nylon bushing seems to work just fine. Its total rotation and speed is just too small to truly require a needle bearing. After replacing this bearing several times, increasing the maintenance frequency, etc I finally tossed out the bearing and seals, and replaced it with a steel sleeve and nylon bushing. I retained the original large flat washers. I just take it apart and grease it up with the bel-ray waterproof blue grease every couple of rides. They nylon bushing is what tends to wear, so I just replace it periodically. I got both the steel bushing and the nylon bushing from the local hardware store. They were english inch sizes, but I dont recall what the dimensions are. I just took the pivot along with me, found a steel bushing that was close to the right size, heated the pivot and pressed the steel bushing in. Then I found a nylon bushing to fit the steel bushing. The ID was too small for the shock bolt, so I drilled it out to the correct size for the shock bolt. :thumbsup::ride:

I wish a company made a complete set of nylon bushings for this. Theoretically, the nylon bushings probably cant handle the load, but my experience seems to indicate otherwise?

i added grease fittings to my swingarm and link. when im done riding and after the hose-down, i pump untill new grease is oozing out of the bearings.
3 seasons and the bearings are still fine...

I thought about this, but was afraid I would knock off the grease fittings.

How did you orient the fitting so it wont get knocked off?

You also need to get the grease to the needles. So depending on how you did it you may need to put a hole in the outer race.

Thanks for the tips guys , might try a grease nipple or buy stocks in a bearing company ...

i have never had an issue. i grease mine about twice a year. have only had to replace lower shock bearing on 2 of 3 bikes for reasons mentioned above. i have a couple hundred hours on 2 bikes with hardly any wear on the suspension bearings. seems odd to wear em out in 20 hours. do you use a pressure washer, are the seals in good shape?

hi_im_sean said:

Some of us actually jump and crap. :lol:



j/k I know with mine, I ride in the friggin swamp so it's always getting wet and muddy. I save the top bearing as another spare for the bottom.

Grease is your friend. A pressure washer is NOT your friend.

My '02 has had the linkage bearings replaced twice, the lower shock bearing four times. Clean and grease them frequently and those bearings should last a long time.

Jeekinz said:

i think az climate may have something to do with it