May be jumping the gun here, but.........my F2 has gotten hard to roll in last couple months sitting up in Winter. Figure at 54k miles, the wheel bearings may be due for service.

Are they able to be cleaned and repacked or is this a replacement item on this bike. Service manual leads me to believe they need to be replaced. Do new ones come already packed with grease?

Going to check it out further next week when I'm off from work but starting research now.

 

Wheel bearings are sealed bearings - they come with grease and seals installed. You just remove the old ones and put the new ones in.

However, if your bike is hard to roll, just because it's been sitting over winter, it's not your bearings.
It's probably your brake calipers being dirty, attracting moisture and sticking.
I'd start by just cleaning the calipers and make sure the brakes aren't sticking.

Second, this can also happen because of clutch drag, it's a wet clutch and when you don't run the bike for a while it can stick.
This clutch drag can making the bike hard to move with it in gear and the clutch pulled in. Put it in neutral and then push, it should roll easier.
This is NORMAL, you do NOT need to start the bike though out the winter.
Just pull it out in the spring and when you start riding it, the drag will go away.

Finally, at 54k it's worth checking your bearings anyway. There are 2 in the front, spin them and see if they feel gritty.
There are 3 in the rear, 2 in the wheel and 1 in the sprocket carrier.
The sprocket one always seems to wear out faster. It's worth replacing if it's questionable.
It can cause chain noise and wear if it's loose or worn.

More than you wanted to know, right.

 

Thank you for the detailed response. Yes, I was pushing it in neutral. I'll be sure to check out the brakes before I condemn the bearings. I'll report back.

 

Well, 18 months later, finally got into the front brakes. Cancer, chemo, Covid got in the way. Seems it was sticking pistons in the right front caliper causing most of my problems. Got them all cleaned up and bled the brakes good. The lever feels good, just need some dry weather to try it out!

Thanks for the help!

 

Wow. Glad you made it through all that. Cancer blows.

Saw on your profile that you are in Newnan. I’m just a little to the west. It’ll be dry in a few days, but colder. Or I should say cooler.

 

I've got a brother-inlaw in Newnan. His kids go to the high school there. Was there in July 2019 LOL.

 

Good video on the July 4th parade. That seems like the olden times now, pre Covid-19 anyway. As you probably know, a tornado ripped through the middle of Coweta County in March 2021 and destroyed the high school. Fortunately it was about midnight when it struck so no student injuries etc. In fact the only fatality we had was a man trying to get through the debris/aftermath to check on family members that suffered a heart attack. Lots of early warning by the local news outlets saved lives for sure.

I was on the bike yesterday, rode about 15 miles and the brakes worked great. Hope to put some miles on it this year.

Next issue I have is there seems to be a little rust in a patch on the bottom of the tank. I'm going to pull the tank so I can assess it better and see what I need to do to eliminate it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.