Rear wheel bearings re-grease on R65LS

[youngjohn]

Is it possible to remove the seals from either side of the rear wheel and just take the outer spacers and roller sections of the bearings out to clean and re-grease?

Obviously I'd fit new seals afterwards. Presumably this would not interfere with the complex looking bearing/pre-load arrangement.

If so, any hints or tips would be appreciated.

Bearings seem pretty good and i'd like to keep them that way.

Thanks.

[AlfromNH]

That's exactly what I did, just pay attention to the order and orientation of all the parts.

[nhmaf]

The seals and the little tophat spacers (brim of the "hat" is supposed to go inside the seal, though some put them in reversed for whatever reason) are all inexpensive maintenance items that your dealer should have.   If you don't have a good local dealer, order from MAX BMW.    I find it is good to bring in the top hat spacers as sometimes what shows up on the order list isn't the exact same width as what was on there/what it should be..

IDeally, one is supposed to remove, clean, inspect, regrease and replace the seals and spacers on the rear wheel every few years.

[Barry]

Is it possible to remove the seals from either side of the rear wheel and just take the outer spacers and roller sections of the bearings out to clean and re-grease?

Obviously I'd fit new seals afterwards. Presumably this would not interfere with the complex looking bearing/pre-load arrangement.

 

Yes it's very straightforward and you would be wise to do it if the history is unknown.  It wouldn't change the pre-load but don't assume the pre-load is correct. You might get lucky and someone has been in there before and done it properly. If they haven't many left the factory with far too much pre-load.

Some indicators that it's never been touched: -  The wedding band should be on the left side and there would just be a wedding band and no shims which are an aftermarket solution for making the adjustments without carrying an expensive stock of wedding bands.

[Bob_Roller]

It hasn't been mentioned yet, but the front wheel on the LS bikes, has sealed bearings .

[youngjohn]

Thanks for the info - it's the rear wheel I'm going to grease, I'll just replace the bearings on the front.