I noticed some play in ft wheel axle recently:

despite the front wheel is well fitted with required torques settings, there is some lateral play around the axle. And I can feel a little bit it when I ride the bike, when I lean it on sides.

What cause could this be ? Tired bearings ? The bike is now 60'000 km.

Open to any good suggestion

Yes, probably the right hand front wheel bearing. The reason the right hand bearing fails more often than the left, is because when the bike is on the sidestand, the right hand bearing is exposed to any moisture, whether it's dew or rain, this causes the bearing to rust and fail. My right hand bearing failed at 93,234 miles, the left side bearing is still the original at 196,000 miles.

Thanks Daily,

is this something I could replace myself w/o too much hassle ?

I have tools and will, but I don't have any map of the front bearings mounting, nor any clue of the procedure...

Or I can simply undo the ft wheel and bring it to a bike specialist with the relevant parts.

Yes, you should be able to do it yourself. First, take a screwdriver or a tire iron and pop out the outer dust seal on each side. The bearings have a collapsible ring around the inner spacer, it doesn't collapse much, just enough to get a drift on the bearing. I use a 1/2" round bar to both collapse the ring and remove the bearing. You just put the bar where the axle goes, and put it in so it's just short of the bearing on the opposite side, you then take a mallet and whack the bar on the free end to cock the bearing spacer sideways. This might take a few tries, because the collapsible ring is pretty stiff. After you get the spacer cocked enough to get your 1/2" drift behind the inner race of the bearing, you're ready to remove the bearing. A MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!!! Use a heat gun and warm up the wheel hub, this takes a while, because the heat radiates out into the entire wheel, heat it until the center of the wheel is nice and warm. After it's nice and warm, start tapping out the offending bearing, tap it out a little at a time and move around, so the bearing comes out straight, tap in one spot, then go 180 degrees from that spot and tap there.

If you're only replacing one bearing, after you get the bearing out, clean out the center of the wheel before installing the new bearing. After the hub is clean, put a light coat of grease on the bearing seat, straighten the little collapsible ring on the bearing spacer and drop the spacer in the hub. Heat up the hub again with your heat gun, after it's nice and warm, slide the new bearing on the front axle, hold the bearing on the axle and stick the axle through the spacer and the other bearing, until the new bearing rests on the wheel hub. At this point, DON'T knock the new bearing in with the axle, instead, find a driver just slightly smaller than the outer bearing race and tap the bearing in place. The axle serves to keep the bearing from cocking and damaging the wheel hub. Once in awhile, you'll find a hub that's a little loose, and you can push the bearing into the hub by just pushing on the axle, that's OK, just don't beat it in that way, because you'll damage the new bearing.

Now if you're doing both bearings, the procedure is a little different. You knock out the first bearing the same way, but leave the other old bearing in place. When you go to install the first new bearing, leave the bearing spacer out and use the axle to align the bearing the same way and tap the new bearing in place. Now, take your drift and knock the other old bearing out, it's much easier now, because you don't have the spacer in your way. When installing the second bearing, don't forget to install your spacer first and then install the second bearing with the axle the same way, you did the first one. Install some new dust seals and you're good to go. A HEAT GUN IS A MUST FOR THIS JOB, don't even start the job without one, DON'T use a propane torch or anything like that, you'll end up damaging the wheel, it must be a slow even heat. Any questions, just yell and I'll try and make it a little clearer. Have fun! It's really an easy job.

Thanks Dailyrider,

bearings were replaced with the good help of a bike mechanist and his tools next door.

Like you mentionned the right bearing, the most exposed when bike sitting on the side stand, was out of service. But I changed both sides in the end.

Cheers.

You're welcome Nicolas, glad to hear everything went OK.