Needle bearings.

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

I fitted some £6 needle bearings to the swing arm linkage, packed them with grease and then slid the sleeve in, but the needles kept getting dislodged. I tried using a rubber hose ahead of the sleeve to support the needles as the sleeve goes in, but still no good. Next I paid £17 (£12 elsewhere, I've since learned) for Kawasaki bearings and noticed that the needles are retained by a cone added to the length of each needle, so they won't fall out.

In the picture the flat-ended needle on the left has fallen out of the bearing. The bearing on the right has cone-end needles which means they are retained in the shell. I'll be fitting it later. The cone-end needle on the right came out of an old bearing but only by hammering the shell, and is shown just as an example.

Now I just need to remove the cheap bearings and fit the decent ones. Lesson learned.

[Meatybeaty]

Hi , I'm a bit cheap myself so I always look around like these
https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p8257/HK1816-Drawn-Cup-Type-Needle-Roller-Bearing-With-Two-Open-Ends-18x24x16mm/product_info.html

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

[Raffles]

I've never understood why so many people worship at the alter of Wemoto and similar outfits. They're no better than snake oil salesmen.
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A good loser will always be a loser.