| Author | Message | ||
     T9r |
Over this past winter I take my 2003 XB9R rims into a local dealer to get the wheel bearings upgraded (at Buells expense) to the new Orange bearing seals. Not more than 6 months later and probably 3,000 mi. one of the front seals is leaking. I call up the servicing dealership and talk to the service guy. He calls Buell Factory and they reply with it's not covered under any warranty we won't do anything(how I interperate that "TUFF LUCK"). What kind of CRAP is this??? | ||
| Fullpower |
that is a 6005 bearing, available at any bearing supply house in the world. just a normal item to stock if you ride. The real question is do you MAINTAIN the bike, or do you repair it after it breaks? do you wait for your clutch cable to break, or do you put the new one on and hang the old spare on the garage wall? I have replaced my front wheel bearings, with the last tire change, and will do the rear wheel bearings at the next tire change. I ride in sand, gravel ,and rain a lot, and wheel bearings and fork seals just have a tough life around here. I consider them maintenance items, just like oil filters, drive sprockets, and light bulbs. | ||
| Fullpower |
In further consideration of your experience, it is likely that the "technician" used improper procedure to install your bearings. I recommend that you install your bearings chilled, leave them in the freezer for an hour, and immediately before installation warm the hub up (carefully) with propane, hot air, or what ever you are comfortable with. the bearings are gently nudged in place, with pressure applied only to the OUTSIDE RACE. with the bearings at 5 degrees and the hub at 210 they should go in very easily. | ||
| Socalbueller |
Nice tip Fullpower. What kind mileage should you get out of a set of bearings? I would hope it would be at least 10x the 3000 miles T9r got. Obviously they were junk or not installed properly. | ||
| Hogs |
FWIW.. I have heard on here that the more times one changes the wheel bearings and Not sure IF they are doing it right or if there is a better way of doing it or not or it just happens is... That with the more times you remove the bearings chances are that you also have a change of wearing out the holes that the bearings fit in and after times of doing this your wheels will no longer accept standard wheel bearings as the ID. of the wheels will wear out from doing this.. Now this is just what I heard , who knows how many times this has to happened, But perhaps the old saying ,IF it AIN`T broke don`t fix it... | ||
| Spiderman |
First off. You do not need to maintain sealed bearings. Second... If you keep replacing bearings at every tire change you will eventually screw yourself. Those bearings are steel pressed into aluminum. Continuous removal and instalation will eventually cause the outer surface of the bearing (the one that contacts the wheel) to "walk" inside the wheel. T9r, Call Buell customer service and make sure that the dealer called. It is a popular thing for some dealers to say they called when they never did. If they did call, try (Nicely!) to get your claim fixed. I have done this before cause of my updated shock was leaking and they replaced it. Be patient and things will get fixed. If not contact Court. | ||
| Spiderman |
BTW. If you wanna check your bearings after every ride you can do like i do. When pullin up to the house pop her into neutral, shut her down and roll into the drive way. If you hear a metalic clicking more than likley you need to replace your wheel bearings... | ||
| Xb12rdude |
As Spidey said.  | ||
| Xbduck |
If you want to get a real bizarre look at the harley shop, hand them frozen wheel bearings. | ||
| Diablobrian |
FWIW dry ice works very well for chilling bearings prior to installation and allows you to keep them down to temp until you are ready since it is more portable than your deep-freeze. It does have it's own hazards though.  It can also help to gently heat the wheel hub area to expand it. | ||
| Skyguy |
hmmmm, I I have never seen the freezer in the service bay used to freeze the bearings............... I wonder how they do it? | ||
| Blake |
Likewise, to aid removal, heat/warm the hub and then spray the bearing with contact cleaner but do so with the can turned upside down and using the red tube inserted into the spray head for accuracy. Direct spray onto the inside of the outer race after removing the seal. | ||
| Davy_boy |
I've owned jap bikes my whole adult life and never once replaced a wheel bearing .  | ||
| Spiderman |
hey since we are already planning to ruin your rims, Lets just remove them the easy way! Spray the bearings with freon, than hit with a chisel. It is way easier to remove fragged metal than use the right tool! | ||
| Xbduck |
I was just saying that after I realized I couldn't do the job correctly that I went to the Dealer. The bearings were in the freezer from me thinking I was going to do it myself. When I handed them to the service guy he looked at me as if I had three heads and asked why they were cold. I should have known then to take my rim and found another dealer, but I let them take two tries to get it right. They gouged the inner spacer REAL bad the first time. | ||
| Skully |
I've owned jap bikes my whole adult life and never once replaced a wheel bearing . I have on several different makes and models. How many miles did you have on the bikes? | ||
| Blake |
"I've owned jap bikes my whole adult life and never once replaced a wheel bearing." You want a medal for that or what?  | ||
| Ulendo |
I've owned jap bikes my whole adult life and never once replaced a wheel bearing important note for all, never buy a used bike from davy boy!! (oh, and thanks for warning us all davy....but could you please provide some hip waders for the dark matter next time!) |
