Grease zerk in axle/swingarm

    I wanted to post these pictures on this forum. I took out the roller/needle bearing. It was pressed in .611 from the outside surface of the axle hole. End result center of the bearing for drilled and tapped hole was 1 1/16" from the outside surface of the axle hole. Replaced bearing and tried zerk. Grease went right where it was suppose to. I did place the bearing hole directly over zerk hole. This is what I plan to do. Jack up rear end put in 1st gear so tire turns slowly. Then one trigger pull of the grease gun. I plan to do this every 5000 miles. No down time during summer riding for me! Thanks Polaris for the expensive ass piss poor bearing design! :00000014:

    How long did this take you? And can I swing by and have you throw one in for me? Nice job. It was to much to ask for from Polaris. They might of had to raise the price another $2.50 for that option.

    Quote from Travis

    I wanted to post these pictures on this forum. I took out the roller/needle bearing. It was pressed in .611 from the outside surface of the axle hole. End result center of the bearing for drilled and tapped hole was 1 1/16" from the outside surface of the axle hole. Replaced bearing and tried zerk. Grease went right where it was suppose to. I did place the bearing hole directly over zerk hole. This is what I plan to do. Jack up rear end put in 1st gear so tire turns slowly. Then one trigger pull of the grease gun. I plan to do this every 5000 miles. No down time during summer riding for me! Thanks Polaris for the expensive ass piss poor bearing design! :00000014:

    Great idea - well executed - Hell of a good job!

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    Quote from JimM

    How long did this take you? And can I swing by and have you throw one in for me? Nice job. It was to much to ask for from Polaris. They might of had to raise the price another $2.50 for that option.

    It really doesn't take to long. I would say two hours. I was going to say I recommend. No, make sure you get a new bearing beforehand. $75 at Polaris. Of coarse it wasn't in stock had to wait a week. It was hard getting the original out. It was pressed in the aluminum good.
    My garage is always open. Note, the OME nut was 41mm or 1 5/8. I had my dealer sell me the double nut conversion which is 1 3/4". $30 I believe. Polaris wouldn't want to just give it to you to prevent K$ of work they might have to do while the SS is still under warranty. They would rather to roll the bones and hope it will surpass the warranty. Again :00000014: Polaris

    I plan to do this in the future, but I have one concern. Without some type of seal on the inside there may be a chance of grease fouling the ABS sensor down the road. It's only my theory at this time, but @Travis has done a great job giving us the info and being the first guinea pig. :D

    The swingarm/axle cavity is big enough to hold a couple tubes of grease! The key will to be just a little grease every 5000 miles. Purpose is to not let it get dry. As long as the nut stays at 250 lbs. and the wheel is turning while a quick shot of grease is added you should never have a bad bearing the life of your SS. Bullet's swingarm is sweet ,however why spend a couple K on a major component after purchasing it for plus 23-26 K! To many other mods :00008040:

    Quote from Solow

    Great idea, I'm curious though, how hard was it to get the pulley off. And did you use any thread locker on the nut. Thanks

    My pulley came off pretty easy I thought. Tapped the axle a little and out it came. When my dealer did the double nut conversion they did use loctite. The inside nut was good and secure. I used the green loctite on the pulley and nuts when reassembling.

    Quote from Travis

    I wanted to post these pictures on this forum. I took out the roller/needle bearing. It was pressed in .611 from the outside surface of the axle hole. End result center of the bearing for drilled and tapped hole was 1 1/16" from the outside surface of the axle hole. Replaced bearing and tried zerk. Grease went right where it was suppose to. I did place the bearing hole directly over zerk hole. This is what I plan to do. Jack up rear end put in 1st gear so tire turns slowly. Then one trigger pull of the grease gun. I plan to do this every 5000 miles. No down time during summer riding for me! Thanks Polaris for the expensive ass piss poor bearing design! :00000014:

    Great work and Great idea . Thanks Travis

    Quote from Solow

    One more quick question, did you also replace the bearing bushing when you replaced the bearing. And, in your opinion, does the bushing need to be replaced at the same time? I have the bearing but not the bushing

    Never did the bushing. It looked fine. Unless the axle became loose I wouldn't think it would wear enough to replace.

    Quote from rydahog

    how far in is this zerk hole drilled? and is it 1/4"? ..used with a standard bottom tap.or tapered tap? thanks

    The hole is drilled from the outside of the axle to the inside of the axle hole. Depending on the thread of the zerk will determine the drill and tap used. There's a couple different sizes. Use a scrap piece of aluminum at least a 1/4" thick to make sure the drill and tap will work correctly. I don't believe a tapered tap is necessary if you use a bit of thread locker.