| Author | Message | ||
     Okc99 |
I'm a little scared to take my 08 up to Maine this summer because if anything goes wrong I'll be stranded 100s of miles away from the nearest dealer. Imagine that tow bill?!?!? Has anyone replaced this as preventative maintenance? I wonder how many 08/09s have even ever had a bearing fail. To date, I think only 1 08XT reported to have it happen. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
I replaced mine w/ SKF's @ the first tyre change. Nothing wrong with the old ones, though, it seemed. | ||
| Okc99 |
What is the approx cost of a rear bearing job? It's just the rears that fail right? | ||
| Pso |
I got my new bearings from Buell (black rubber washers) and a local MC shop will rapleace for $30 if I bring in the wheel. I am going to do it next tire change. Last change the rear were smooth as silk. Now red sploog on the rear. I have only read that the rear is the one that fails, so do not know about the front. Also might want to fix the #77 coonector if you have the old version of VR. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Remove your wheels. Without removing bearings just pop the outside seals with a very small flat blade screwdriver. Use your finger to wipe in some grease into each bearing. Finger push the seals back into place. Torque your wheels back on to spec. Good to go. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours from start to finish. Easier to learn how to remove wheels in the garage than doing it for the first time on the road.  | ||
| Cyclone8u |
David, when are you coming up to Maine? I'm taking the '08 X to South Carolina in a few weeks on the stock bearings. I'll have an up to date printout of the BRAN list with me and a cell phone. No worries, the best part of owning a Buell is the open willingness of your fellow riders to help you out when needed. I'm putting my contact info up on the BRAN list when we get back - I have 3 dealers within riding distance, a well stocked garage and a well stocked fridge - so we'll have you covered. Enjoy your trip to Maine. I'll be posting more details of my trip to SC in the upcoming days, so follow it and see how my bearings hold out - already 5200 miles on them now. (Message edited by cyclone8u on April 25, 2009) | ||
| Od_cleaver |
I was replacing my front tire Friday. I put the wheel on my balancing stand, held onto the axle cones, spun the wheel and felt two notches or rough spots as the wheel rotated. I took the wheel down and repeated with my thumbs acting as the axle. I felt the same thing. I have ordered front and rear bearings. When they come in, I will decide if I should have the dealer replace both sets or not. My '07 bike is out of warranty. The bike has 10K miles on it. The decision is mine. | ||
| Okc99 |
John, Thanks. I didn't even know about BRAN. My summer is wide open so it's really up to me to decide. Do you have any recommendations for Maine weather? I'm taking her in for service this week for a stuttering problem (speech classes didn't help) and will probably have them replace the rear bearings because I don't want to risk it on future trips. | ||
| Xbimmer |
Feel free to follow Electraglider's advice above. I did for over two years and finally replaced my original NTN's last week with 56K and almost three years of riding on them. Since there has been info posted here that the NTN's are packed with non-vehicular grease (although other factors may be in play) the addition of high quality grease into my bearings periodically did nothing but good for my bearings. The only drawback was worn out seals from normal mileage and the R&R, but my benchmark was 50K for replacement anyway. Be wary of local MC shops replacing your bearings, they might simply bang them out and in and roach your wheels. When I replaced mine with the Korean KBC's (black seals) I also did Treadmarks' drilled hole mod:  Many times while doing the bearing regrease the first seal I popped would "fart" a little pressure, in or out I couldn't tell but it seemed to me there was a pressure differential in the hub. Tread's weep hole might have been to drain water but to me it's a way to keep a heated hub from sucking in water vapor past the seals as it cools with no place to go later. My left rear bearing had rusted inner races, the right was beautiful and clean, due I guess to condensate over three years pooling onto the bearing while on the side stand. But I'm doing a lot of assuming here. Pull your seals if you feel mechanically confident, I use a flat dental pick. A fingertip of new grease is insurance, and you may even find as I first did that all four may have different amounts of original grease in them. Personally I'm betting on BMC getting it fixed with the KBC's. | ||
| Nutsosane |
I have an 08X and will be taking it in for the 10k service next week. My dealer has a 25% off of total work order going on until 16 May and I thought I might as well take advantage. We will be replacing bearings front and rear, as well as a belt. I have inspected the rear bearings once before and added a little grease. The belt is fine, I want an extra for my travels this summer and we all know a used belt is easier to install on the roadside. This maintenance might be a bit excessive but I have a big summer planned. Heading to Maine in a month and the west coast in August. NUTS | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I've used a dental pick also. Even if the bearings feel notchy and hard to turn you should still remove the seals and look at them. If they aren't rusty then they are probably just a bit dry of grease but very serviceable. Lay in some wheel bearing grease and they'll just be fine. Feel free to change them out but they probably really only need some grease. Keep in mind that even if the improved black seal bearing are better they still could use maintenance everytime you change the tires or remove the wheels for whatever reason. Popping the seals and adding grease is such a no-brainer. Who wants to have bearings go south on any trip when a little very easy maintenance would have prevented it. Last year before heading to Buell Homecoming I pulled both wheels just to grease the bearings. Worth it. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on April 26, 2009) | ||
| Ourdee |
Can you grease them without pulling the wheels? | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
No. You would have to remove the wheels. That is easy to do given that you have a means of getting the bike lifted and a torque wrench to get snug everything back up to spec. If Dr. Greg, Maximum, Treadmarks and others can rotate ULY engines, then removing a wheel is nothing. Craftsman torque wrench is a good investment and gets much use. | ||
| Xbimmer |
Craftsman torque wrench is a good investment and gets much use. All the investment in greasing and/or replacing your wheel bearings won't mean squat if you over torque the spacers and squash them, or under torque and let the bearings shift around. A guy on another thread wisely asked the rear torque value guessing at 60#, he was corrected lucky for him. The first tool one needs to get is the appropriate service manual, the parts guide is good too. | ||
| Arcticktm |
My opinion is that changing out parts that are still in great shape, with no clearly proven reason, is a bigger risk than leaving them as they are, and just paying attention during all wheel changes. Many theories can be read here, but they are all just that: theories. True, I replaced my rear bearings at about 9K before the were completely failed, but they had clear signs of rust and water intrusion, and felt rough, so I was on borrowed time. I just checked the front, and carefully popped the seals (this can be a delicate operation, as a damaged seal is worse than not checking them at all, IMHO). If you are really concerned, might I suggest the following: 1.) Take your wheels off - you should do this for knowledge before a big trip anyway - and check the bearings for smooth feel and no signs of water in them or a lot of grease coming out. You can remove the seals if you are comfortable, but that is personal choice. 2.) If all looks good, put it back together (per the manual specs with torque wrench) and let it go. 3.)If still uneasy, buy a replacement set of bearings and take with you. they are small, not expensive, and you can get them replaced almost anywhere in the world that had basic mechanics (and a press, ideally). I would be more concerned with a spare belt, since that is tough to get in a hurry, and seems to be hard to predict. I went the "install a new one and carry the original as spare" route. I STRONGLY suggest doing any thing in your garage that you expect to do yourself during a trip. I am glad I won't be replacing a belt on the road for my first try. it also makes you sure that you have the right tools, if you only work out of your road tool kit as a test. | ||
| Pso |
+1 on doing in garage and seting up road tool kit. | ||
| Thetable |
My rear bearings (08XT) were finished at 7600 miles at my first tire change. I felt a little roughness in the bearing and pulled the seals. The brake side was black and nasty looking, the sprocket side looked good, from a grease standpoint, but still felt like crap. The fronts were a little notchy, but probably still serviceable, I replaced them anyway. As to the trip to Maine, two words: "Travel Insurance." Until last year I never knew it existed, but last year I got to see it work, and work well. A friend lunched his motor at Deal's Gap, and they covered a one way rental car to get him home. It is surprisingly inexpensive if you play with the options a bit. (Mostly cancelation cost IIRC.) And how's your AMA membership? Autorenewal gets you roadside assistance now. | ||
| Cyclone8u |
John, Thanks. I didn't even know about BRAN. My summer is wide open so it's really up to me to decide. Do you have any recommendations for Maine weather? I don't want to hijack this post from it's original subject, so feel free to post a new thread or PM me. But here's my 2 cents... Unfortunately, in my opinion the best weather in Maine happens after summer. Usually from Labor Day towards the beginning of October. Cool dry air, little rain, 70's to low 80's during the day (increasingly cooler at night toward October) and no bugs. (And a substantial decline in tourists rubber necking in cages.) As far as summer peak season, I would say any time from the 4th of July on is usually pretty good. It can get very hot and humid so be prepared to sweat - a lot. The coast is really nice, but very crowded - and inland can yield some truly memorable rides but be prepared to travel a bit from stop to stop. So it's easy to mix it up a bit, and have a truly great time - it just depends on what you are seeking. A good resource is RideMaine If you find yourself in Southern Maine, do your self a favor and check out Bentley's Saloon, a truly great mix of people from all walks of life and a kick a$$ atmosphere. PM me before you come up, and I'd be happy to hit the road for a day with you showing you some local "flava". Are you coming out all that way solo, or are you riding with a SO? That could weigh in heavily as to what areas you might want to ride in. | ||
| Jb2607 |
I replaced the rear seals with KOYOs as a PREVENTIVE measure when I mounted Distanzias. My dealer did the swap for me with less than 2K on the ULY. |
