Rear Wheel Bearing Retainer Tool

Rear Wheel Bearing Retainer Tool | Honda CB350 / CB360 / CB450 / CB550 / CB750

When your Honda's rear wheel has a shimmy, lateral play, or a side-to-side wobble, you are in need of a rear bearing change — and the bearings are held in by a threaded retainer that is often destroyed when attacked with the wrong tools. We made our own rear bearing retainer tool to get it out clean, cutting down your frustration and your maintenance time.

Features

• Prongs machined to fit the bearing retainer holes and grooves exactly, so the tool seats square and turns the retainer without chewing it up
• Three versions sized to the retainer diameters of each model family — pick your bike in the options above
• #9065 attaches to a 3/8 ratchet; #9062 fits a 1/2" ratchet
• Works for removal and for tightening the new retainer back down

Specifications

Note: Check which tool fits the model you are working on:

• #9065 — CB350 / CL350 / SL350, CB360 / CL360 / CJ360, and CB750F* — removes OEM 41231-286-000
• #9062 — CB450 / CL450 / CB500T, CB750 K0–K5* / CB750F* / CB750A* — removes OEM 41231-283-000
• #9063 — CB500K / CB550K / CB550F — removes OEM 41231-323-020

*The CB750 K0–K5 / CB750F / CB750A has two wheel bearing retainers — the #9062 tool handles the rear wheel retainer, including the inner sprocket-side ring.

Note to CB550 owners: The 550 wheel bearing retainer is reverse threaded, as indicated by the arrow on it — turn it the direction the arrow shows, and let the tool do the work.

Installation

Difficulty: Intermediate

1. The factory peened the retainer into the hub to keep it from backing out. Drill the peen marks with a new or sharp 1/8" drill bit — ever so slightly, just past the peen mark.
2. Soak the retainer with penetrating oil and heat the hub thoroughly with a heat gun. Heat is what gets this stuff apart — not muscle.
3. Seat the tool squarely in the retainer holes and back the retainer out. This is a hand tool: if the retainer still will not budge, go back to the oil, the heat, and the drill bit rather than reaching for an impact gun.
4. Once the new bearings are in, use the tool to tighten the retainer back down — with anti-seize on the threads it should go mostly by hand — then peen it back in place with a center punch.

The below video was made before Common Motor made our own bearing retainer tools, so have a chuckle while you use the proper tools and follow the step-by-step as needed.

Our wheel bearing replacement video covers the whole job, front and rear, on this family of bikes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which tool do I need for my bike?

Match your model in the list above: #9065 for the 350 / 360 twins (including the SL350), #9062 for the 450 / 500T and the CB750s, and #9063 for the CB500K / CB550. Riding a CB400F? It shares its wheel system with the CB360, so the #9065 is your pick.

The tool will not seat in my retainer — what now?

Check the retainer holes for burrs. If a previous owner went at the retainer with improvised tools, the holes are often deformed — deburr them and the tool will seat square. A tool that is not fully seated will gall the holes when you put force on it.

The retainer still will not budge — can I put an impact wrench on it?

Do not — this is a hand tool, and hammering a stuck, peened retainer just tears up the holes. A stuck retainer means a peen mark is still engaged or the threads are seized: drill the peen marks a touch deeper, give the penetrating oil time to work, and put real heat into the hub. On a CB550, also double-check you are turning the direction of the arrow — that retainer is reverse threaded.

My CB500 / CB550 retainer has no peen marks — is that normal?

We have seen it — some 500K / 550 hubs show little or no factory peening. If you do not find peen marks, skip the drilling and go straight to penetrating oil, heat, and the tool.

Does this work on front wheels?

No — this is the rear tool. Disc-brake front hubs use the separate front disc brake wheel bearing retainer tool.

You Might Also Need

• Rear Wheel Bearing Retainers — a fresh retainer if the old one was butchered before you got there
• Rear Wheel Bearing & Seal Kit for CB450 / CB500 / CB550 — the bearings this tool gets you to
• Rear Wheel Bearing & Seal Kit for CB350 / CB360 — the twins' bearing kit
• Front Disc Brake Wheel Bearing Retainer Tool — the front-wheel counterpart
• Anti-Seize Lubricant — for the retainer threads on reinstall

Last updated: June 2026