Are wheel bearings generally universal between many bikes or do they get pretty specific per bike? Basically, I'm looking to see if I'm going to have trouble finding new front and rear wheel bearings for my GS. I'm seeing people saying an entire set of new bearings should be about $16. Is that still right?

Also, is there an easy way to remove the bearings from the front wheel and NOT damage them? I don't have that special "wheel bearing removal/installation" tool talked about in the service manual. Been using a flat head screwdriver and hammer to gently try and tap them out, but I can't seem to get enough leverage to get a good tap going. Any advice?

Search.

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19408

Generally you're not supposed to re-use the bearings.  If you tap them on the inner race to get them out you end up peening the balls into the inner and outer races making little dimples on them.

Bearings for the wheels are pretty generic.  You can even get them from a regular bearing supplier.  I was able to get sealed ones the same size for my bike.  Cheaper than OEM too.  Although OEM ones aren't that expensive either.  The bearing race should have the part number stamped on the side.  

I did make a mistake intalling the bearings in the wheel of my Kat.  I got them a little too tight against the spacer inside and had to get one side out again.  I hope they will forgive me.  I pulled them out as gently as possible.

Tell you how I did it.  I have a drift punch which is a hardened piece of hex bar and machined down to a taper at one end.  You can buy these at a place that sells auto tools usually.  Next, I had a piece of copper tubing that was just smaller than the bearing ID (just lucky).  I cut 4 slots in the end of the tube about an inch and a quarter along its length with a hacksaw so it could expand as I pushed the tapered end of the drift punch into it.  So, to get the bearing out, insert the tube into the bearing side of the wheel (the one you are removing); next put the dirft punch in from the other side of the wheel.  As the drift punch goes into the copper tube it should expand it up against the inner race wedging it there tightly.  Then, pound out the bearing by hitting the drift punch with a hammer.  I had to grind down the outside of the copper tube a little bit to get the perfect amount of wedge action.

When installing new bearings you have to be careful to only press on the outer race.  You can make a bearing installer tool by taking your old bearings and grinding the OD down with a bench grinder a couple thousands of an inch.  This will let them slide easily into the bearing pockets.  You can use a 1/2" threaded rod with a couple of nuts and large thick washers and the ground down bearings to press in your new bearings.  If you want more details let me know.

After going through people's previous posts and experiences (which I did before I made this post RG), it's quite amazing to me how much of a pain it is to remove bearings from a wheel. Looks like for the most part I just need to force the little bastards out and just grab new ones. This was something I was trying to avoid due to time, but it looks unavoidable if I want to be completely safe.

And thanx for the completely useless, yet totally predictable, "search" response RG. It's always helpful.

You might get a kick out of this, Rogue.

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21641

hehe I saw. Dane Cook explains on one of his comedy CDs how there's always that one sound that drives you crazy and makes you want to punch a baby. I think "search" is my baby punching word. "Oh god! It's the word that makes me want to punch infants!!!"

Replacing bearings is easy with the right tools and knowing how to do it.

Weaslenose obviously did not know what he was doing (which is fine because we all have things to learn).  His frustration was from the fact he wanted to ride ASAP and was having problems.  I know that's when I get the most frustrated too.

Sometimes searching is a PITA because the answers are not always concise.  There was some good info in that thread but you had to sift through it.  Sometimes it's nicer to just ask.  BTW why is this called a forum and not a library?

Its been mentioned many times that good quality replacement bearings   (nancy boy SKF etc) for wheels, headrace, suspension linkage and gearbox internals are available from Bearing factors for much less than the cost of the OEM part. All bearings are made to ISO standards to allow for interchangability between makers (like nuts and bolts!) and are used extensively in industry and automotive applications, they carry a code that identifies the size or can be measured and cross referenced in listings. What we as a forum dont have is a data-base that lists the relevent sizes against the application, I am sure many would find this a useful addition to the site. You could go out,  quote the ISO designation (Example 6203 2RS) to the supplier get replacements and do the job in one hit without having to take the old ones in as a sample. I dont have a clue as to how to set a list up but I am sure someone does. In the meantime can anyone  quote the ISO sizes for  the bearings used on the GS?  I replaced  all the needle rollers in the suspension/swingarm last year, I got them for a fraction of the OEM price from a local factor  but didnt make a note of the designation...DOH. I guess the wheel bearings will be a combination of a standard 62 or 63 series and most likely  2RS