| Author | Message | ||
     Boogiman1981 |
So i replaced my rear wheel bearings i think back in 2011.... about this time.... the right one fell apart. there was some notice in the form of rust. I got lazy and didn't look into it further... big mistake. now the bearing is shot half the balls are gone. the swingarm is all ate up. unknown damage to wheel or axle none visible at this point. still need to pull it apart and inspect. now part of this bad of failure is my fault for not getting into it when i saw signs that could've meant failed seals. the rest though in my mind at least is inadequate bearings for the task at hand. new SKF bearings on order from local industrial supply house. will be in tomorrow. hoping i will be able to clean up the swingarm with a file and call it done with replacement bearings. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Wheel bearings are not to be ignored. Sorry you found out the hard way. Don't forget to check the spacer as well. Lots of good info on rear wheel bearings in the Uly new owners sub-forum thread here; all of this applies to 2008-2009 1125's: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/442488.html?1345399487 | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
Yeah hence the frustrated part. I knew they needed attention and didn't provide it. It's also frustrating the bearings that are spec'd out are really not up to the job. | ||
| Froggy |
The SFK bearings won't do any better, I ate a set of them on my XB a few years ago. The only permanent solution is the 2010 rear wheel upgrade, but it is a bit spendy. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
that or a shiney new R1 in 2014  yeah the 2010 wheel would be great that's for sure. are there even any left? | ||
| Jbarron |
I noticed the rust the last time I changed bearings. They had not failed yet, but were so ruff from the rust they would not have made it long. Looks like water must get behind the bearing. Don't know if the water is from rain or washing. Been in some good rain storms. I also noticed that when I put in my new slick as a babies bottom bearings that the spacer seems to push to much on the inner part so they are not smooth anymore. I'm not happy about that and figure those bearings will not last long either. Next time I will measure the spacer, but I would not expect it to be too long. | ||
| Hughlysses |
People seem to have pretty good luck extending the bearings' lives by periodically popping the seals out and adding more grease. | ||
| Froggy |
Yep, I just got one for my XT right before Buelltoberfest. I now have at least half a dozen spare 2-bearing rear wheels laying around in my garage.
This may be a result of over-torquing the axle, which can crush the spacer or over-stress the bearing. | ||
| X1brett |
how many miles have you guys gotten out of your stock bearings? I wonder how often the bearings should be changed if you don't have the 3 bearing wheel. | ||
| Rogue_biker |
I haven't had ANY bearing failures on my '08 after 27k miles. I wash regularly with hose using low pressure water. Don't ride much in heavy rain. | ||
| Hughlysses |
The best you can do to get maximum bearing life is to ensure you install new bearings properly (see info from Al Lighton in the post linked above), inspect the bearings every time you have the wheel off, and ensure you torque the axle properly every time you reinstall the rear wheel. I don't think there's any good/safe rule-of-thumb for mileage for bearing replacement. Some guys have gotten 40-50k miles out of original bearings while others have gone through 3 or 4 sets in that mileage. | ||
| Jbarron |
I could understand the over torque problem, but this seems to be the opposite. I always torque properly and nobody else has changed a wheel on this bike. When I put the new bearings in all the way to the bottom of the cups the spacer seems to be too big causing the bearings to drag. Might be designed that way so when torqued they will be ok. Too hard to tell when installed on bike. I'm running my spare wheel now so I have not had any time on these new bearings. | ||
| Hughlysses |
When I put the new bearings in all the way to the bottom of the cups the spacer seems to be too big causing the bearings to drag. That might be your problem. You're supposed to fully seat the disk rotor side bearing in the wheel, and then press the other bearing in until the inner race just touches the spacer. If you're fully seating the bearings on both sides in the wheel, they're too close together and they will fail much quicker than they should. (See info from Al in thread linked above!) | ||
| Motorbike |
+1 to what Hughlysses said. You are not installing the bearings correctly and will cause your own failures by doing it that way. You cannot seat the outer race of both bearings and expect them to last. | ||
| Jbarron |
Well that sucks. I will have to buy a replacement for one side. | ||
| Ratbuell |
...maybe, but at least you won't have another failure... | ||
| Cataract2 |
I ended up upgrading my rear wheels for both bikes to the 2010 design with the dual bearing. So far no issues. | ||
| Jbarron |
The bearings never failed due to install problem. They were rusted out from the back side. | ||
| Redcrrider |
Drill two holes in the wheel hub opposite each other. Many a Uly rider has done this to allow water to drain. It also allows condensation to evaporate. | ||
| No_rice |
how many miles have you guys gotten out of your stock bearings? all of them. still running stock original bearings in everything from my 03 xb's up till my 08 1125r... they have been beaten their whole life and submerged under water many times. and my 09cr still had the original stator and rotor in it and 5k on it when i traded it for my 70 gmc shortbox a few weeks ago... i must just be lucky... ALL the time?! | ||
| Zac4mac |
It's the backpiece(tat), Tim. The gods watch out for you.  | ||
| No_rice |
lol, i suppose! | ||
| 1313 |
how many miles have you guys gotten out of your stock bearings? Over 17,000 miles, so far... Now my XB12XT is/was a completely different story, 1313 | ||
| Bextreme04 |
I'm at 11,000 right now and no issues so far | ||
| Zac4mac |
I put a set of amber wheels from a Lightning on Loretta at 3-4k miles. orange dust seals. She now has just shy of 29k miles. still OEM bearings. 30k on the 09 Uly, also original bearings. Z | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
Well I finally got it I'm the air. Swingarm is arguably toast. Spacer is toast. Wheel is toast. Pics to come. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Sounds like a good excuse for a 2010 rear wheel conversion. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
What I really want is chain drive with the 3 bearing wheel | ||
| Jdugger |
Chain drive doesn't really need the 3 bearing wheel.. It's the belt's tension that adds to the problems of drive side bearing failures. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
I know the 3 bearing isn't required for chain drive. I am just tired of rear wheel bearing issues. |
