But Loz, the op was complaining that his brakes were red hot and dragging, so surely it has to be brake related, not wheel bearings. :/
I know. I need to stop posting from work The juddering and the hot brakes may possibly be unconnected. Hot disks = lots of friction from pads, which means the OP is using the brakes a lot or the brakes aren't disengaging. The brakes aren't disengaging because the master cylinder isn't doing its job or it cannot do its job because the pistons are sticking. Juddering upon releasing the brakes is a lot harder to diagnose. Are the forks working correctly, are the pistons in the brakes releasing in equal measure and at equal rates, is the wheel wobbling once the braking forces are removed? There are a lot of things to try here, I'm just suggesting them in an incoherent fashion because I should be working, not posting
Once you've done everything you've done to this point, why not ride it and see how it is now? As someone else mentioned, the wheel is unlikely to be completely free once the calipers are back on and the pistons/pads pumped out, so it becomes a question of degree. A very small amount of friction will not cause any issue and is likely to reduce once the pads have been pumped in and out a few times.
I went for a ride yesterday, it's the first opportunity I have had since I last rode. The juddering has gone away but the discs still get hot. I am unsure if the temperature of them is just part of their normal function but I didn't have any trouble yesterday. I stripped and cleaned the callipers, changed the pads and the fluid. I am still bedding in the new pads so can't brake quite as hard as I was but if the behaviour comes back I shall report again.
another thought - are they cast iron discs? if so, these run hotter to the touch than standard discs plus can acquire plenty of play in bobbins early on if fully floating type.
There is no play in the bobbins at all, think I should give them a clean? I assumed they were semi-floating as they don't move
Is your fluid level too high? leaving the fluid nowhere to go. Could also be m/cyl not letting the fluid return back . Are the pistons moving back with ease, if you squeeze them in? Have you used wd40 on the seals/pistons? As this expands the seals and binds the pistons.
If you're discs really are over heating and you're confident the calipers are spotlessly clean, and all pistons move freely and equally. And that the discs aren't warped. The only thing left is master cylinder as F_E said. So that's one problem solved. NEXT!
Sounds good to me. Disks getting "red hot" that quickly is crazy and would suggest a problem with constant friction as suggested in the above quote.
crack the bleed nipple when the brakes are binding, if there's a blockage or faulty master cylinder the brake fluid will initially spurt out under pressure and your brakes will release. if they stay tight to turn, partly seized piston and or slides or pads tight in the carrier
