Removing a stuck bearing isn’t fun, it’s even worse when it’s a severely rusted swing arm bearing that won’t break loose. Professional tutorial in the works 😉.

This is what happens if you wait too long to grease or replace your swing arm bearings. It’s a simple few hours in the garage to grease your bearings. It’s just a few more hours of work to fully replace your bearings. Take your time, ask questions, and make your dirt bike maintenance a priority!

Hopefully your swing arm bearings aren’t as stuck as mine and you can easily heat up the metal and press them out. If you need to use a bit more force, fingers crossed my exploration helps you.

Severely Stuck Swing Arm Bearings
As the rusted parts came out

Heating up the Metal

The blue tank torch you saw me using in the video was propane gas. I found out from Adventure Moto guys during this process that the yellow tank, or MAP Gas, is much hotter. This allows you to heat up the metal faster, so you can get to work quicker. The MAP Gas torch is different than the propane torch. So make sure you grab a kit if you haven’t purchased MAP Gas tanks before.

I was wearing gloves because I knew there would be times I would forget the metal was hot. This saved my hands for sure. You’ll also want to continuously move the tank/torch to spread out the heat. You don’t want to directly spot heat a certain spot.

Delta Link, Vice Grips, & Rust; OH MY!
MAP Gas

Slide Bearing Puller & Socket Press

I had used a Slide Hammer Bearing Puller (or Bling Bearing Puller) before, but the tool is simple enough. There wasn’t a lip to push the Sherco’s dogbone linkage bearings out, so I needed to pull them out. I grabbed the one Harbor Freight sold for $69, but I Motion Pro tool has more collet options (also more expensive; $150).

I also tried the socket press approach to press the bearings out, but this just didn’t get the job done. By the end of the adventure, the bolt I was using actually snapped. I wasn’t using a Grade 8 bolt, but I’ll ahead a bit more if I need to go this route in the future.

Slide Bearing Puller getting the job done
Socket press before the bolt snapped

Die Griner & Carbide Burr Bits

Once I realized I was going to need to start cutting out the stuck bearing, I tried a few different burr bits for my Dremel tool. These rotary tool burr bits just didn’t have the cutting force needed to cut through the shell of the Sherco bearings. Luckily, Morgan at Highland Cycles has a video where he needed to use a die grinder and carbide burr bits. I made another run to Harbor Freight to gather my first pneumatic die grinder and carbide burr bit set.

Slight nick in the swing arm
Pressed in swing arm bearings

All in all, the experience was a learning one. As a dirt bike rider, I need to be better at taking care of my machine. I love riding dirt bikes, but if my swing arm seized or cracked, I would be sitting at home, because that’s a lot of money! I did nick the swing arm a little with the dir grinder, but I sanded it smooth and the bearings pressed in just fine.

Hopefully this was helpful and you’re heading to garage right now to grease all the bearings you’ve been neglecting. Enjoy #GettingSeattime & Stay #Stoked! 🤘🏻🤙🏻

Harbor Freight Tools Used (non-affiliate links)

Motion Pro Tools I WANT (Affiliate Links)

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