Road Glide Neck Bearing Grease Zert Fix

[ironmark]

Went to lub the neck bearings today so I removed the outer fairing & to my surprise :newsmile070: the grease gun would not fit on the grease zert , I tried the strait & 45 degree tip on the grease gun . The grease zert that was installed on my RG was a strait fitting & there was not enough clearence between the grease zert & the fairing mounting bracket . A blind man could see that this would not work so I decided to replace the grease zert & install a 45 degree zert , I struggled to removed the HD grease zert & again to my surprise:small3d031: I discovered that the neck bearings had never been greased @ all because the grease zert was dry & had no grease in it . I knew I had a project in front of me to replace the new zert but before I started I tried to install the 45 degree zert without taking anything else apart :wall, after nurmerous cuts to my hands & alot of words of frustration I decided to remove the inner fairing but I would not remove it completely , I then took out the bolts that hold the fairing mounting bracket , I then pulled the fairing mounting bracket up & forward as much as I could & then I had just enough room to install the new grease zert & WA-LA:small3d026: . Now all I had to do is put it all back together . I dont know if HD or the dealer was the cause of this problem but it is a issue that should be presented to HD , to begin with if you have the dealer do the lubrication on the bike do you think the mechcanic is going to tear down the complete front end to get to 1 grease zert or is he going to smear some grease around the zert just incase you look & If the mechcanic did do the tear down would he replace the grease zert with a 45 degree zert . Taking all of this into account I decided it was better to do this myself .

 

[hntwrobin]

Just because the zerk fitting is dry does not mean those bearings are not lubed. They would have been lubed on install and not through the zerk. If you pull the front end apart and look you'll realize that the zerk is almost useless anyway. You end up filling that whole cavity with grease and it's not always lubing both bearings.
Just my 2 cents:wall

 

[glider]

hntwrobin posted what happens on assembly. The bearings are greased by hand on assembly and not using the zerk fitting. Did you try turning the bars all the way to the right to access the zerk?

Also the first time you grease the front end, it takes about 1/2 tube of grease to fill the neck before it starts to ooze out the bearings, then expect it to drip on the left fork leg when it gets hot parked in the sun. You may also find the grease on the front of the motor when you drive it after greasing it.

 

[T-Bone]

I bought an extra fitting for the grease gun and made a flat side on it. Worked great.

Put almost a full tube in it.

 

[ironmark]

Turning the forks will not help on the RG or at least my RG because the fitting is inside the fairing mounting bracket not on the outside of the bracket for easy access , the only access to the fitting is through the hole in the inner fairing that the wire bundle runs through giving you no room to get your hands in there even moving as many wires I could I could only get 2 fingers inside the opening & they would not even reach the fitting or the neck . The room between the the end of the fitting &the fairing mounting bracket was less than 1/2 inch . I know the first pic is not very clear but the lower line is the fairing bracket the gray above the new fitting is the inner fairing & that is after I move everything . I agree that the bearing are pregreased but HD factory or dealer should grease the neck no matter what . Also the placement of the grease fitting should be relocated for easier access on the RG . I know this pic will not help much but that is as far as I had to move the inner fairing .

 

[glider]

My bad! I forgot the RG had the stationary fairing

 

[ironmark]

This is a better pic of the area I had for access to the grease fitting . That is the inner fairing as it came from the factory . The hole under the radio is the access point .

My bad! I forgot the RG had the stationary fairing

No problem , I dont even know how to spell zerk right :laugh but it was late & I had a few beers to ease the pain .

I had to do some adjusting on the inner fairing this morning . It was getting late & it was getting dark so I rushed a little so the inner was a little out of adjustment . I took a few more pics this morning , if you look just @ the bottom of the hole you can see the new 45degree grease fitting it is brass in color & points to the front of the opening .

 

[NHROADGLIDER]

hmmm wonder if this is the same on the 09, I am taking it to HD for the 1000mi service soon. Do you think if I ask them to show me how to grease the neck bearings they will show me?

 

[glider]

They'd probably have to look it up first.:laugh

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

Just be happy there is a zerk fitting there, Sporty does not have it , so take down is the only way "--to be sure..."!!!