Heads up for proud new owners

[cowboyona426]

For all of you out there who just recently or will soon be getting a new bike, I STRONGLY urge you to take that puppy apart and grease it first chance you get! I just pulled the front wheel off my 06 YZ 450 and there was ZERO grease on the axle... not even enough to leave a film on my finger. If you love your ride and like to ride more than wrench, grease that baby ASAP!!!

[02YZ426]

Yeah, I was kinda figuring I should get to that. Did you grease your swingarm and steering too? I'm going grease the wheel bearings tomorrow.. but I'm not sure I really want to mess around with the rest.

[rmz256]

I would break everything down. It can't hurt.

[kid on a 426]

My axles and bearings are good but I am starting to hear a faint squeak from my linkage so me and my dad are going to strinp down the bikes and grease them up and if there is extra time maybe the headset. And I'm gonna be working on the forks soon also and we'll see how that goes.

[cowboyona426]

02YZ426, I haven't greased anything yet, I just pulled the front wheel to put my new tire on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the wheel bearings sealed? How would you get grease into them? All I've ever done in the past is to grease the axles, steering head, all linkage pivot bolts etc. and both axles.

[jamiehughes]

bike manufacturers have been skimping on grease on new bikes since i bought my first new bike in 97 and i'm sure even before that. its always a good idea to check. plus then you get to know the ins and outs of your new bike a little better. change that fork oil too after a couple of rides, the manual recommends that you change it after break in. there is a reason for that. my 06's oil looked like crap after just 2 hours.. and the wheel bearings are sealed, a little grease on the plastic cases doesn't seem to hurt, if you use the waterproof grease and you wash your bike a lot, it will help keep some of the water out of the bearings. just don't get to crazy with the grease as all the extra stuff globbing out everywhere is just gonna attract dust and dirt, it is good to have a little grease on the axles as they will spin inside the center of the wheel bearings, don't need much though. if you put too much on it will just squirt out somewhere else anyway...

[Ga426owner]

These are race bikes - folks

break them down and regrease every bearing - simple as that....

otherwise they "the bearings" will soon be wasted - guaranteed...especially in wet conditions

On my 06 there was not enough grease packed into each bearing - just grease lightly applied......ridiculous

Don't be a lazy @$$............grease em or rebuy them soon.

The steering bearings need attention very often - do not get them wet or they will need fresh grease a lot.

[vh5150]

I took everything apart and greased it before riding and checked every nut and bolt I could get to. Today after returning from the track I discovered I had entirely overlooked the sprocket bolts. I lost one and the rest are loose. I assumed they would have locktite or something on them but I was wrong.

[FFRacing79]

The sprocket bolts don't come loose...they stretch! Locktight won't solve anything. Go for the GYTR Ti sprocket bolts and never worry about them again.

Grease an axle???? If your bike was maintained properly it wouldnt need grease on the axle. I have never done such a thing...but then I disassemble the bike more frequently than the average rider. Grease and lube attracts dirt and grime...if you maintain the bike on a regular basis, the way it comes from the factory is more than adequate. If you are lax on maintenance...grease the crap out of everything.

[barch88]

You should always go through a new bike and grease suspension linkage, steering stem bearings, and wheel bearings. I packed a ton in my 06 before I even started it up; yes, there was close to none. I used Amsoil waterproof high speed bearing lithium grease BTW.

...the way it comes from the factory is more than adequate. If you are lax on maintenance...grease the crap out of everything.

I strongly disagree with you on that, the grease from the factory is nothing, there is no grease, now I don't know what kind of experence you have with greasing bearings or whatnot, but there should be enough grease in them so you cannot pack in anymore; each time I go through my valves (20 hours) I like to re-grease.

Here are some articles that helped me out my first time greasing everything, the wheel bearings have dust covers on them that can come off with a flat head screw driver...

http://www.transworldmotocross.com/mx/how_to/article/0,13190,1084583,00.html

http://www.transworldmotocross.com/mx/how_to/article/0,13190,1012822,00.html

http://www.transworldmotocross.com/mx/how_to/article/0,13190,663693,00.html

[howard27]

You grease the axle to keep it from corroding after you wash or ride in the water. It stops the pitting and eases disassembly. Wipe the excess off after assembly. Half my bearings were dry on my o6. Rear spocket torque check is after every ride. no exception or else

[FFRacing79]

I strongly disagree with you on that, the grease from the factory is nothing, there is no grease, now I don't know what kind of experence you have with greasing bearings or whatnot, but there should be enough grease in them so you cannot pack in anymore;

That's fine...we agree to disagree Tdub

[kid on a 426]

Well today Me my dad and my brother stripped down all the bikes and greased up all the linkages. None of them had been done before (The plastic spaghetti gave it away) and they didn't seem all that bad but now we greased them up real good with water proof wheel bearing grease and they should be good for a loooooooooong time. The only weid thing was that the bottom bolt on my shock that connects it to the linkage is a hindjoint instead of needle bearings like my dad's bike and my brother's bike. Other than that the bikes were pretty much indentical to work on. Now when we do my forks we'll get the steering head bearings.

[Terrain Rider 4z]

Hey Chase

Definitely grease your wheel bearings. The seal pops right off with a small flat head screwdriver, pack them with lots of good grease and replace the seal. Even replacement bearings have very little grease, it is all part of the money making scheme. Those seals DO NOT keep water out, so the extra space needs to be filled with a waterproof grease.

[116CJ]

i just got mine last week and pulled it apart to grease it and one of the lingage bearings had zero grease on it

[DRH]

I know that greasing your AXLE seems to make sense, but why? The manual dosen't even suggest applying grease to either of the axles. Inside the wheel hub the only thing between the axle and the hub is open space. The axles sits on the bearings, and I think most bearings today are sealed. So I think, and I could be wrong, stuffing your wheel hub with grease seems useless except for keeping moisture from entering the area. When I dessembled my bike I thought the exact same thing, No Grease anywhere on either of the axles, dry as a bone, and then I refered to the owners manual and no refrence to applying grease to the axles was found. Does anyone out there know for sure? To grease or not to grease or does it really matter?

[barch88]

I didn't grease my axles, well I should say I didn't pack the axle full of grease. I just put whatever was left on my finger along the axles and slide them through the wheel. I greased threads of axles of course though.

[SureBlue]

DRH, you're right, axles sit on bearings and don't need grease. Still each time I mount the wheel I first wipe the axle clean, then spray a very thin coat of vaseline spray on it.

[cowboyona426]

How much grease is enough in the linkage? When I was doing mine, if I tried to put grease right onto the needles, they ended up popping out which was a huge PITA. I put just a dab on the needles of each bearing, then coated the "sleeve" (for lack of a better word) for each bearing with grease before sliding it back in. I'll have to yank the front wheel and try and hit the wheel bearings now I guess... at least the rear is still off!

[ben_suhard]

If you ride in water at all, especially salt water, it's good to grease a lot of parts, even the swingarm pivot bolt. Some people have had a real hard time getting bolts out if they haven't been greased. The best thing for your axle/chain adjuster bolts is anti-sieze, because the steel bolts can weld themselves inside the aluminium swingarm, from a chemical reaction with water; some people have had to buy a whole new swingarm because of this.