It is good to see someone owning and servicing their machinery the way normal people do. We all watch the "sponsored" channels where they use the most expensive tools, technical literature that comes at a subscription rate, replacing every part that comes on the parts fiche, etc. If there is no technical reason to replace all of the bearings and the "top mechanic" at the part supplier can't give a legit reason or technically viable answer to why all associated parts need to be changed, then don't change them. Joe Blow on Main Street isn't spending that sort of coin. We just want to ride and get back home at the end of the day. This non-sense about spend, spend, spend is making the sport unpleasurable.

I appreciate you not selling out and giving us useful information. Subscribed.

You did the right thing, You never let the big companies tell you how to run your life, Thats why we like you so much, keep it up.

You can use a large bolt and nut with larger washers to draw the bearing in. Its much easier on the bearing than a hammer and you can still heat up what you want.

No only do I agree with your approach to saving cash, but even better you showed me that it is relatively easy to complete a task that I have always been afraid of. Thanks for the video.

I watch you because you do not try to market us. Thanks Romaniac

I like your honesty! Your videos are what I usually check out first if I have a problem, because you don't do unnecessary repairs, which has saved me a buck or two

If it ain't broke don't fix it. That was the old saying I was raised by. Good job!

Great tips and advice! I have had to do too many linkage and swingarm rebuilds for my liking. I did one with the hammer, some vice and sockets like you did and found it extremely frustrating and exhausting, although mine was off the bike and on the ground. I also had damaged a new bearing or two trying to hammer it in. You have to be very careful! I finally had enough and bought a Tusk Swingarm bearing installation tool and it has saved me so much time, energy, headache, and frustration! Totally worth the money!

A year later and your video is still making a difference! Thank you

First time watcher, now a subscriber. - Big respect for not selling out.

You were right in replacing only what is needed, good job! No need replacing parts that are not broken. And thanks for posting the video!

I see all these guys on youtube just installing new parts all the time. I have a hard time paying for new parts, so I appreciate you doing things this way. It's great to see that you don't have to replace everything all the time. Thanks for sticking to your principals. Sure free parts would be nice, but you got it fixed, and that's what matters.

OEM bearings usually cost more but the quality is worth it:)

Glad you aren’t a push over for the free stuff. Smart to buy so no one can tell what to do

Well done brother.....keep it up.....I appreciate you for your decision 👌

Your honesty is appreciated!

Hahaha glad to see another sock user. Used socks for mink oiling my boots and baseball gloves as a kid so when I started working on motors it was naturally the 1st thing I grabbed when trying to clean grease, oil, and dirt off things.

Well done for being honest mate. You need what YOU need, not what a company needs. I respect you a lot for your decision. Keep it up, you just earned a new sub :)

MAD RESPECT Keep up the best work my friend!

You are obsolutely right, too often we change parts too soon. Nice video, like always.

Thanks for the video. On my FX I refused to buy the whole kit and just bought the bearing I needed. On my second bike, it’s a 2 stroke sorry lol, I have replaced one linkage bearing but it still has play. Just ordered the other bearing I needed and I am happy that I have not bought the kit. Thanks again!!

You good sir are man of principle a quality that is getting more rare to find and I applaud your decision to speak truth to your viewers.

I agree with most, Butt!! Take it all apart and pull all the seals. Clean and re-grease all the good and new bearings. Clean the spacer washers that the seals (replace seals) ride on. Boom!!! You good for a while. When your in Rome visit the Collosseum.

Thank you for all your videos it helps me alot. ABEC SOUTH AFRICA

That says a lot of the person that you are. Keep up the good work.

Bud. I’m not even gonna finish the video because this just happened to start playing while in my pocket but… the intro… WELL EFFING SAID SIR! It may not be by the book but YOU can do it and feel pride in what you’ve learned along the way. Make use of what you have around you and stop relying on others to get what YOU need. 🤘🤘 if more people could apply this to their everyday lives. We’d be alright

Good decisions on your linkage kit. Well done, I have used C-clamps , and large sockets to press out old bearings, and new rollers in.

Super helpful great decision man. Got yourself a new sub. Love how you keep it real!

You did the right thing, no second guessing on your decision cheers

I didnt know how to change an oil a few months back and now im doing a full rebuilt on a crf250r. Very informative videos 👍👍👍

You’re the man. Subscribed.

you did the right thing mate i only need to change that one bearing on my Yamaha DTR

I ended up going over a log going too fast and now I've got play in my swing arm just like you did at the start of the video. I've saved this video for when i get the parts

Hats off to you good sir!

My man, we love you very much. I really think you have the potential of reaching 100K and 500K subscribers.

Good job vegas! I totally agree with you on only replacing what needs to be replaced, however in many cases when changing the linkage bearings the other important thing you should do is regrease the other bearings, just take a glob of grease and put it inside the bearing.

Thanks for staying honest.

Values are worth more then money you did the right thing man keep up the great videos

I did what you did when I fixed my linkage. Replaced what need to be replaced. Save the rest of the bearings for the future

If its not broken don't fix it! I appreciate you sticking to your guns and not selling out! You sir are a real one! Great video like always.

Thanks for your video

Everyone has a budget in any hobby and you explained it well by dealing with a $400 set up vs $80... save money to replace what you only want to a good way to stick to your guns. My story on bearings: Since I purchased my yz426f 5 years ago for $1400 and not knowing what was done to her so yearly in the winter months here in Connecticut I put the bike in the basement to tinker away with repairs and/or upgrades as 2 years ago I needed to rebuilt the rear shock which was adventure because I never did one as it was kinda simple (I even painted the spring) while I was already in the meat of the bike I tackled doing all the linkage bearings, thought about just re-greasing them and putting it back together but what the hell I replace them all with new parts yea kinda pricey but it's winter time and I need a something to keep me busy so I went price hunting to find good deals on the internet and found many parts at a great price from eBay sellers selling sealed brand name parts at a great price, here is a few: Pivot Works Shock Repair Kit US $39.99 Bearing Connections Upper and Lower Shock Bearing Kit $14.31each Linkage Bearing Kit Factory Link US $40.00 Swingarm Bearing Kit Pivot Works US $35.00 Pivot Works Shock Thrust Bearing Kit US $21.70

beautiful work, thanks for the explanation. What bearing size did you use?

You’re certainly correct in your logic not to throw money away. There is a school of thought though that whilst you have it open change out everything as the new strong item will. Weaken the items you didn’t change. Father taught me that. But the average bike owner may well only have $80 bucks. Good post.

YES!! You are right mate!! Thank you! /João

I bought the Tusk linkage rebuild kit. Comes with all bearings, washers, collars, pins, seals, and also cost me even less $80. Because it was relatively low cost, I did replace all three bearings, so I don't need to take it apart again and again to fix one bearing at a time.

I'm with you, it's just a dirt bike. Keep it running good and have fun. The only thing I would have done different would be grease the other moving parts of the linkage. No more cost just time. Good video thanks.

hia budd,,, definitely the right choice of sticking to ur guns,, u represent the normal working man that has to budget our pennies,, not all of us can afford jist to go buy everything new all the time thats why i appreciate ur honesty and love ur how to vids,,, just a little tip on the bearing press,, have u seen the video of the d.i.y way of making a bearing press just using sockets and a threaded bar,, i made one out of wot i had in the garage and worked great for pressing swing arm bearing in,, definitely worth having a look for ur next time,, no hammers involved at all 😉👍

Thank you Romaniac. I take what you say just like my brother gives me. Just a poor man trying to participate in an expensive sport.

As a mechanic I know the reason for replacing all the adjacent bearings and bushings in this case. But it still comes down to the fact that it is your bike and you do as you please with it. If you only want to fix the one bearing do to cost or whatever the reason maybe, it is your bike. Now the reason for replacing everything adjacent is do to that the new bearing being combined with the old ones. The old bearings and bushings are not likely to last much longer and means that you will be back in there replacing them soon so you might as well do thim all at the same time. It still comes back to it's yours do what you fill is right for you! Keep up the good videos! Very helpful for those who are thinking about doing it themselves and are not sure.

You were absolutely right to buy that bearing :)

Hello .I using motip freezer to cool bearings,but I will try yours method as well.,👍

i did linkage bearings on my triumph 765. on the parts diagram it had the sizes of the seals and bearings, so i just got them from a dedicated bearing shop for half the price of triumph bearings haha. sleeves and spacers i got from triumph still. but bearings and seals are the exact same as OE ones, but half the price

Man of his word. I like that..

First ever video watched, 2 mins in and you had a life subscriber 👍. A man should always stick to his morals

I'm glad you did it your way.

Well done mister, you do exactly what you want to do, yep people always telling you to replace everything ££££ only do that if it’s easier for you & maybe save you time.

i think you did the right thing. if you had to do something like drop the motor to replace 1 of 4 bearings i would have suggested replacing them all while you’re at it. but this job looks like a one at a time deal

Thanks for equipping the rider to maintain there horse 👌👊

Great, keep doing that!!!

You did it right. If you had to disassemble the entire linkage than I would say while you are that far replace them all. but if you were able to just replace what you needed as you were than that is a lot of money saved

Vegas I'm digg'in my old dated XR650/600XL'S I got grease fitting on all those articulations en I keep um lubed oldest one I have is right at 40 yrs. Still tight en work smooth as silk the o'l bike has had a rough 80000 mi. On it

Great advise!!!

Great video!

It's nice that you are demonstrating how to perform the replacement of the bearings. The question as to whether it's necessary to replace all of them remains to be seen. Time will tell. The fact is that each bearing experiences a different loading and wear rate. If the wear rates are significantly different, then changing only one of them will save you some money on parts, but not necessarily save you labor. You may find that the other bearings wear out shortly hereafter and will require you to perform the maintenance task all over again. The labor cost/time may justify why the manufacturer suggests replacing all the bearings simultaneously. Obviously you are not paying for labor, but your time is worth something. Ideally, if the manufacturer has accurate engineering design information about each bearing's load cycle or actual field service data to suggest that the all the bearings wear out close to one another in time, then they will be correct that it is wise to replace all of them simultaneously. Manufacturers are not always trying to make profits on the sale of components, but sometimes they are more concerned about safety and legal liability. I like that you are acting independently and therefore not subject to their coercion and ability to manipulate public perception. On the other hand, I have to thank you because you may be working extra in order to independently verify things. Ideally you are keeping a log of hours and miles on your bike for the intervals of these maintenance activities so you can come back and review when the other bearings require replacement, if you have the bike that long.

Great job! I do that also.

You did good👍🏼🇺🇸

I agree with your decision. 👌

I did on mine WR450 all my linkage bearings about 4weeks ago.I used 10-12mm bolt,about 20-25cm long and put on one side bigger wrench socket than linkage bearing and on other side same diameter socket as new bearing,close it with bolt nut and used two ratchet spaners on each side and just tightened up and new bearing goes in or old one out. Easy press for nothing and you don’t risking damage of new bearing to hammering it in!!! Just little more safe trick for next time! ;-)

Good for you thanks

Great video.

If I had a cash flow issue then I’d just replace the one bearing, otherwise while I was working on it I’d go ahead and replace them all. But, I don’t want to be manipulated or forced into anything, you made the right decision IMO.

I am too changed the bearings of linkage of my WR250Z. To insert the bearings, i used a bolt, washers and a nut to press these.

Nice Vid man, keep it up. I would like to ask the link from the valves that you mentioned on an older video..!

You know your bike better than anyone else Vegas.

Good that you did stuck to what u believe in👍

Sorry to say...you fitted those bearings the wrong ends first. The flat end with the writing and numbers on goes to the outside on a bearing. This end has a flatter profile in comparison to the other end which has a better chamfer to help press the bearing into it's receiving housing.

good job..

What in the world were they selling you for $400?!?! I grease my linkage bearings twice a year or every 6 races. Once the OEM wear I replace with aftermarket. Usually about $70-$80 for a whole kit. Takes me about 1.5 hours to tear down, clean, grease, and assemble including the swingarm bearings.

Great Job! You do the right thing for me :)

Good job not selling out...only fix what needs to be fixed..only thing i would do differently is not put my new bearings on ice...water in side new bearings is only going to cause problems...next time i would just put them in the freezer for about a hour...still gets them cold to shrink but minimize the moisture inside... but thats just me....ride on buddy great videos

You did the right thing.All of this is manufacturers trick to spend more and more money for parts!

🫡🫡🫡 respect bro. Never sell your soul 💯

I usually lift the bike up on the stand and put a rachet strap around the wheel and the seat and it keeps the swingarm in the same position when it comes to reassembly. And i dont judge you by just replacing the nakerd one but all the bikes ive worked on the rest of the bairings are fairly worn out at the same time any way. So i just replace the lot and it just saves me a job later on.

It’s not a huge project to take everything apart, but your way is definitely very easy. Working on dirtbikes is a dream compared to cars anyway :) Props for using quality bearings too! So many of those cheap kits are garbage.

Integrity is everything 👍

How much you tighten these bolts?

Always stick to your guns, and what you belive in, thats what i like in your videos. Thanks!!

Definitely worth it.

Good for you.i would have done exactly the same Keep it up and keep ripping✊

good job fix only the broken parts.

Awesome 👏 👏👏👏

I think you did the right thing.

Only fix what is wore out I would’ve did it the same way to save money good job Vegas

I had the same problem on my HJ (Hengjian) 450 sumo KTM replica. I could feel the play by putting my finger on the ''rocker linkage''. Takes 5 bearings total and cost me just $28.00. No need to replace anything else but the bearings. Unless your bike is 20 years old or so, I'd say yes replace everything. Not yet done as I'm waiting on the bearings to arrive to reassemble.

Your making America great again 🇺🇸👍

It's a tuff call, but I really enjoy your video, because am kinda like you too always trying to save a dollar

This is not the "useless bling waste your money on what you don't need" channel!

Nice job brother :)