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Hughlysses
| | Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 12:47 pm: | 
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They also said that almost every rear wheel bearing failure they have is left side. I think it's because when the bike is on it's side stand, all the water inside the hub settles on the left side bearing.
Hmm- interesting theory. That does make sense. |
Sprintex
| | Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 01:32 pm: |
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So why no recall? Clearly a safety issue. |
Hughlysses
| | Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 01:45 pm: |
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There are very explicit criteria for what merits a recall. I don't know what the criteria are, but if the bearing issue met them, there'd be a recall. |
Florida_lime
| | Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 09:18 pm: |
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They also said that almost every rear wheel bearing failure they have is left side.
Right side for me both times. |
Xb12xmike
| | Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 10:04 am: |
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I have an appointment to get my bearings and front rotor looked at on tuesday. Told them its my only transportation (fact). They said they have all the parts in stock and would (might) even install my lyndall golds. I hope they hook me up. we'll see.
The only real bummer is, I am broke and will be needing a new rear tire soon and the 10k service is due soon... worst case I'd have to remove my rear wheel 3x...once for the bearings,... a few weeks later for the 10k service...and then the tire. I guess... that could be a good thing mabye ... if anything else is found under warranty. (expires Jan 2010) |
David_e
| | Posted on Monday, June 01, 2009 - 10:48 pm: |
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Just lost my second set of rear wheel bearings. the first time an H/D dealer replaced the first set with the orange sealed ones and this is the set that just failed today. This really sucks. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Saturday, June 06, 2009 - 01:05 pm: |
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So, I keep going back and forth in my mind. I took it to the dealer this morning and went out back to have them do a walk around. Pointed out brown muffler, and the brown squiggly lines on the rear pulley sides coming from the wheel bearing. I asked if that meant the hub was full of water and if the bearing was going to fail. I let them know I planned on going to HC on it next week. Warranty guy said he would order the windscreen mount kit for the recall. Said he would check into getting me a new muffler if warranty would cover it. And that they would check the bearings when the I scheduled it in after HC. I'm at 4800 miles now and plan on doing the 5k service myself. Are there any hidden fees on the warranty work I should be aware of?
That was in my previous post. On 6-4-9 I took off to HC. I almost got to the Buell factory when the bike started to feel weird. Rhythmic feeling through the foot pegs. I moved to the side of the highway at 65 mph. As I get to the stripe on the right the bike gives a little squirm like the rear tire was low. 4900 miles and I know what it is. I stop and look at it. A seal on the right rear bearing is out. The balls are still in there. I think it's only a couple miles to the factory and that is the best place I can think of going. I start the bike and move less than 100 feet when I hear the metal on metal screech. I shut it down.
I had Steve Makay's #. So I give him a call to ask advice. His truck is down and he gives me Hal's number. WOW, Just a few phone calls and the "TEAM" is put in motion. I met the nicest most professional (did I say friendly) people. Sure I sat on the side of the highway in a lawn chair sippin' iced tea for a while. Hal's truck was on a run and I got put on the list, my number was next. I apologize for forgetting so many names (I am rotten at names) But everyone from the truck driver to Erik Buell was just great to me. I wound up with a rental xt same as mine but a much slower black. For the next 2 days I lost track of all the Bueller's that checked in on my bike and me, Thank you, everyone. I had a great time at homecoming and most likely had a better time as a result of the bearings bringing so many people into my path.
Both rear bearings failed. The one on the right was so bad that the inner race came out without the outer and the outer had to be welded and pounded out. Hals' service department went the extra miles for me. Thank you Kevin for working past closing time. Erik snuck into the service area with me and signed my bike. First broken one he has signed in service. After he signed it he took the time ( I didn't ask ) to look at the failed bearing. He may not know, but that really meant a lot to me. Thank you Erik.
There were so many kind acts from BadWebbers, Factory Personnel, and Hals' Staff That I was totally floored. From simple condolences to offer's of a place to stay. Thank you to everyone that said hi. I want to say thanks to Court but don't want to get him in trouble seeing as how he is retired and all. Thank you Gforce and crew for making me feel welcome in Buell-Land.
I think I'm hooked on Buell, Thanks, R.D. |
Dirtysouth
| | Posted on Saturday, June 06, 2009 - 06:50 pm: |
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I just had a set of rear bearings put in this afternoon. I ordered them offline and was going to have a buddy at the local Suzuki shop do them but lo and behold, it requires a special tool. I took the rear wheel and bearings down to a Buell dealer and they refused to put the bearings in at first because they were black and there was a recall on black bearings in 03 and the newest ones are orange. After a lot of #@%$ and talking with 4 different people, I ask them if they had any 09 bikes on the floor and luckily they did, all of which had the new black bearings. I pointed out to them that if they pull up a part number and it references or has another part that supercedes it, the original part number that they pulled up can't be the latest and greatest like they claimed. Of course they blamed it on HD/Buell for not letting them know, when in fact they were let know as soon as they pull up a part number and there is one that supercedes it. Be adamant when going to a dealer for the rear wheel bearings. |
Dirtysouth
| | Posted on Saturday, June 06, 2009 - 06:53 pm: |
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Forgot to mention that the guy who was giving me the most slack, finally admitted that he has seen a lot of the orange sealed bearings fail once they agreed that the "new" black ones were in fact the latest and greatest bearings. Apparently the recalled ones prior to the orange bearings were black, hence the confusion which I can understand. I never once told them my information came from the internet which you all know is a cardinal sin when talking to a dealership.  |
Froggy
| | Posted on Saturday, June 06, 2009 - 07:14 pm: |
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Yep the 03's had the black bearings that would fail if you fart on them. A small panic was raised on here about a year ago when the new black ones starting showing up. I guess they couldn't make them purple or something. |
Hmartin
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 11:20 pm: |
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Well, rather than hijack my other thread, I thought I'd post here. Pso's post to me on that other thread made me think twice about keeping those orange bearings, so when I got my new tire & wheel back, I inspected the bearings a little more closely. Here's what the bearing on the belt side looked like.
As you can tell, it's no longer installed in the hub. You can see some corrosion forming, and when I checked the old bearings, I noticed that the belt side felt kind-of thick in its movement, while the brake side still felt as good as new. Not a bit of play in either one, though, and no leaks. However, the orange bearing's lackluster history and the prospect of a quick and easy replacement compelled me to rethink my prior decision to keep them through this tire change. So, I used this blind puller I got from Harbor Freight.
This tool is AWESOME. So worth it. I had both bearings out in, I kid you not, 10 minutes. Each side was out within 2 dozen hits with the slide hammer. No heating the hub (although it sat in a hot garage all day). The local dealership had the new bearings in stock, and I was off to the races. I used a block of wood and one of the old bearings to tap in the new ones. That was the hardest part, as each one wanted to start crooked. You can't take too much time for this part of the job.
When I was testing the old bearing, I thought I felt a flat spot forming. As I went to turn the new bearings inside the hub, I almost panicked as I felt the same flat spot in the new bearings. Turns out I was trying to turn the bearing against the spacer. Turning the spacer with the bearing, it's smooth as silk.
So now I won't have to worry about this again, hopefully, for a good long while. Part of me wished I had seen how much longer that bearing would have gone, but in the end, like someone else said, it's just not worth saving $30 now to possibly have to spend $300+ later replacing all the parts that a failed bearing could tear up.
One final Thank You to all the other people who have posted their experiences on this board and this thread.  |
Pso
| | Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 12:25 pm: |
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Hmartin: I wish I had been so prudent. I am now awaiting some free time to take my wheel off (again) so I can replace my bearings. |
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