| Author | Message | ||
     Sifo |
I was hoping this problem would miss my bike but my front wheel bearing failed today. Good new is that it should be taken care of under warranty. I won't be able to talk to the dealer until Tuesday though. 06 XB12Ss @ 21K miles. It's the orange seal bearings. | ||
| Hotdog271 |
Don't feel too bad, I have 12,000 miles on mine, this is my third set of rear bearings, second set of fronts. Had my wheels powder coated by the dealer (they subbed out the powder coating) and they must have ground too much of the coating off, now the bearings spin in the wheel. There repair, locktite them in... that didn't work! | ||
| Drkside79 |
Excuse my ignorance but how do you know this has happened and does this plague the 08s as well? | ||
| Sifo |
Excuse my ignorance but how do you know this has happened and does this plague the 08s as well? I could feel and hear it in the front end. Sounded like something rubbing the rotor at high speed. Strange thing is that it shook and made the sound for about a second and went away the first time. I was doing close to 70 at the time and just eased it down and pulled over. Left a skid mark in my shorts though! I couldn't find anything obviously wrong but was sure that something wasn't right. Bearing seals still looked good and didn't feel hot. I put over 20 miles on it before I got home. By then it was happening almost constantly and the seal was sticking out. this is my third set of rear bearings I've heard on the internet thing that the wheels are only good for so many bearing changes before the bearing spin. I don't know if there's a suitable fix for that. | ||
| Sifo |
and does this plague the 08s as well? Forgot that part! I'm not sure what bearing the '08 has. Mine is the orange dust seal. I know there was another one after orange. I think it was black. You can visually inspect the bearing seals to see the color. Did I see something about the 2010 model having a different wheel and bearing set up? Might be the way to go when the bearing start falling out of the wheel. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Here's a post from Al Lighton of American Sport Bike from the BB&D board. Lot's of good info for you guys with bearing problems. Note the info below about the bearing spacer; a distorted bearing spacer will lead to short bearing life. The 2010 Uly (and maybe the other models- jury is still out) have 3 (instead of 2) larger bearings with separate external dust seals, which should eliminate bearing problems once and for all. ---------------- Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - 10:30 pm: I have spoken with folks at Buell that are quite knowledgeable on all of this, and can provide the following info. 1) The original FAG bearings (black) [comment- used on early XB's] were replaced by NTN bearings [orange seals] that had better seals and less hygroscopic grease. The new KBC bearings [black seals] have yet again better (stiffer) seals and still better grease. They also have a better lines of communication into the bearing supplier themselves. Bottom line, the change to the bearing isn't just some cost cutting move..they ARE better. 2) The design of the wheel shoulders and internal spacer tube are such that in the worst case tolerance stackup of NEW wheels, bearings, and spacer tubes, the inner race on the bearing OPPOSITE the caliper/rotor will be seated against the inner spacer with just less than 0.5mm clearance between the rear wheel shoulder and the outer race, and just less than 0.25mm on the front wheel. All of this assumes that the bearings are installed correctly (rotor side bearing seated in wheel, spacer installed, opposite bearing installed until inner race seats against spacer tube). What this means is that IF the bearings are installed correctly, AND the spacer tube is not damaged, overtorquing the axle slightly shouldn't cause an inelastic deformation of the spacer tube. If Mongo gets a hold of it and gets brutal with the breaker bar during installation, all bets are off. 3) The bearing installation tool is designed to push on BOTH the inner and outer races in a plane. During installation of the opposite rotor side bearing, if the installation forces are applied to EITHER, but not both, of the races, you can potentially damage that bearing. If you use the old "socket on the outer race with a hammer" method, you'll probably ruin that, and possibly both bearings. You'll likely coin the bearing races, and might damage the spacer, if you seat the outer race against the wheel shoulder on that side. And regardless of the potential bearing damage, if you walk that bearing in which is easy to do with the hammer method, your interference fit of the outer race into the wheel may be compromised. Buell doesn't utilize thermal methods (i.e., hot wheel, cold bearing) for installation, they rely on process control and proper tooling. 4) When a bearing goes more than a little bad, it is possible and likely that the end of the spacer tube can be damaged. In this case, the margins afforded by the design as described in 2) above can be affected. Some bearing removal tools can also damage the ends of the spacer. So inspect that spacer tube with each bearing change. 5) Related to 4, future service manuals may provide for an inspection dimension on that spacer tube. But it isn't there now, so here are the nominals: Rear Spacer Tube: 202.8 +/- 0.05 mm, 7.984 +/- 0.002 inch Front Spacer Tube: 107.9 +/- 0.05mm, 4.248 +/- 0.002 inch Hopefully this is helpful info. Al | ||
| Froggy |
I need to make a program that auto replies every time someone says "bearing" and make it post that along with other info  | ||
| Glitch |
I have an o3 XB9S. I made sure it had the Orange seals when I picked up the bike. 65thousand miles, and no issues. | ||
| Sifo |
So I called the purchasing dealer this AM, Zylstra in St Charles. They tell me that wheel bearings are not covered. They are a wear item!? Since when is a bearing a wear item? Then I called Wild Fire in Villa Park to just to see if they would give the same story. They tell me no problem wheel bearings are covered, exactly what bike do you have. I tell them it's an '06 XB12Ss. The say, sorry it's out of warranty! WHAT! I explain I bought it in April of '08 the warranty should take me through April of '10. Sorry, no the warranty period starts when the bike leaves the mfg. WTF! So now I decide to call Buell Cust. Serv. just to verify what I already know should be the truth. Took a while to get a rep. on the line but she was very courteous and helpful. She took my info and confirmed that my warranty is good through April 20, 2010 and the wheel bearing should be covered. I hate the dealers near me with a passion! Why do they do this to customers that spend good money with them? Between me and my wife we've had 3 Harley's and a Buell. We spend money with them! We get treated like dog excrement! My wife tried my bike down in TN, NC, GA area a few times and really liked a more sport bike feel from here Sporty. She also had a chance to ride a friends Street Triple in TN and liked that bike a lot. I've tried to nudge her toward the Buell but she is leaning toward Triumph. She went to our local Triumph dealer on her own to talk to them. Didn't quite pull the trigger. I hate to say this, but I'm to the point where I'm all about the Triumph! I know it's a great bike. I know the dealer takes care of their customers. They are a block from where I work. Sorry I just had to rant a bit before I take my wheel into HD.  | ||
| No_rice |
tom, pm me your number. it should be covered so i'll make sure it gets straightened out. | ||
| Sifo |
Tim, thanks, please see my reply on the QuickBoard. | ||
| Indy_bueller |
Sorry, no the warranty period starts when the bike leaves the mfg. WTF! WRONG! The warranty starts the day you sign the paperwork. Whoever you were talking to didn't know what they were talking about. | ||
| Sifo |
The warranty starts the day you sign the paperwork. Whoever you were talking to didn't know what they were talking about. Sure you know that, I know that, and the rest of the world knows that, but somehow HD manages to hire a service writer that doesn't know that. I don't know why they don't just hire someone to poke you in the eye when you walk into the service department. It seems like it would be far more efficient at providing a similar result. | ||
| Hangontight |
Tom, as week talked about up at Blackhawk, I've had similar experience w/ both dealers that you've mentioned. The BS about the warranty starting from the manufacture date is unbelievable. It even says the right info right in the owner's manual. I'm really disappointed to hear you're having this kind of service as well. Like you, I also called Buell Customer Service and they called the dealer directly to remedy the problem. It is unfortunate that people in the service department are outright dishonest....not a good way to make happy customers. | ||
| Court |
>>>The warranty starts the day you sign the paperwork. Whoever you were talking to didn't know what they were talking about. That . . . . ALSO is inaccurate. Ya'll need to be wary of who you talk to. | ||
| Zatco81 |
>>>The warranty starts the day you sign the paperwork. Whoever you were talking to didn't know what they were talking about. That . . . . ALSO is inaccurate. Ya'll need to be wary of who you talk to. What good does it do anybody to tell them they're wrong without correcting them? When exactly does the warranty start Court? | ||
| 4cammer |
Sifo - you talking to MCC in regards to the Triumph? Nice, small shop. Like HD dealers used to be.... | ||
| Court |
The date it is "punched"
There was a problem with this on Buells in 1997. The warranty starts the date of the FIRST sale. Careful . . . . you MAY be buying a motorcycle that is represented (to the untrained eye) as "NEW" based on the illusion that is has 0 miles and is still in the crate or even has not yet been delivered to the dealer. Always ask about the warranty . .
Warranties are a LEGAL CONTRACT and, as such, can be WHATEVER they say (you may legally have to take the bike at least 3 states from where it is registered to get service . . . stupid, yes . . illegal, no) ask, read, and buy wisely. How many, by a show of hands, have READ your warranty? I am always amazed at how many folks tell me they know what their warranty says and then, when I ask to see it . . have no idea where it is or how to find it. The good news for Buell owners is that there is not a company in the world, motorcycle or car, more inclined to always decide any question in favor of the customer than Buell. Downside is . . . is that there is a LOT of warranty abuse by dealers and customers. We split that bill among us. | ||
| Sifo |
Court, I'm sure you are correct in everything you have posted here. The bottom line is that in this case the bike IS covered until 4/20/10. They told me it was out of warranty without bothering to check. In this case the warranty was 'punched' on the day I purchased it. Still you offer good advise to the consumer. 4cammer, Yes MCC. They live and breath sport bikes there. If I knew of a Buell Shop in my area with their attitude I would be thrilled! | ||
| Court |
>>>>They told me it was out of warranty without bothering to check. They should always simply run the VIN. Neat, easy, simple, quick and GENERALLY accurate. Some folks have received some amazing surprises. The problem occurred one year when some smart thinker decided to "encourage" Buell sales by tying allotments of Harley-Davidson (which were going for $5,000 over MSRP in some places) to Buells sold. It was easy for one dealer I know . . .he simply "sold" all his Buells to his employees one week. Things were dandy until folks started learning they were buying bikes that had been out of warranty for a couple months. Buy wisely. | ||
| Sifo |
Update time. I had Wild Fire in Villa Park pick up the bike. They can't take a wheel that I bring in for warranty work. OK, I can understand that. Anyway they took the bike in Wednesday AM last week. The service department wouldn't tell me if they had bearings in stock and transferred me to parts where I was promptly disconnected. I decided not to call back because clearly they are not going to order the bearings until they have had a tech confirm the bearing is bad even though you can see that it is destroyed with the wheel still on the bike. I called them on Saturday and was told they should get a tech to look at it on Monday. Called again Tuesday AM. They finally returned my call Tuesday PM and told me I have a bad wheel bearing. It will take 7 to 10 days to get a set ordered. Sounds like longer than it should take but I'm hoping they are operating on the idea of "under promise/over deliver". They have never done that in the past though. I would like to give sincere thanks to No_rice (Tim). He has gone out of his way to find out what I've dealt with at Zylstra in St Charles. He can't do anything for me on the current issue because I've chosen to have it taken care of at a dealer that he has no association with, but he did offer to see what he could do. It was just far easier to get the bike to and from Wild Fire. I don't know exactly where Tim will take the info I gave him, but the problem can't be fixed if it isn't brought to their attention. Tim... Thanks for the effort. I'll post things up as they progress. It only took a week for them to tell me what I told them. | ||
| No_rice |
i havent forgotten you! ive been away from work for a bit. had alot of things going on. was the best man for a friends wedding this weekend so that turns into a few days of running around! still recovering, lol! i am in the process of talking to a few people about it. some of which own the place... like you said, i dont know what i'll be able to do about this current problem for you since its out of my hands now(not that it ever really was in my hands!) but im atleast going to see where i can get with this. as far as im concerned, when some one works for the same company as me, there actions reflect on me. and i dont like looking bad. especially because i think atleast a couple people on here have some faith in me... | ||
| Sifo |
Wild Fire got my bike done today, within the promised time even with the holiday weekend in there. I'll give them credit there. For some reason as soon as I sat on the bike and reached for the hand controls it just felt wrong. Levers are pointed way down. Look in the mirrors and I'm seeing sky. Sure enough the handle bars have been rotated forward in the clamps until the upward bend is up against the tops of the fork tubes. I don't know why, I don't want to know why, I'm just glad to have my bike back home. We did get a Triumph Speed Triple late last week and I've spent some good riding time on it. It's a bike that I could be very happy with. It works so well it's almost boring! The Buell on the other hand is much more visceral. Whack the throttle and you are greeted with instant power. I think I actually like the handling of the Striple slightly better than my XB due to the light weight. It certainly has my wife charging corners like she never did before. I'll rotate the bars back tomorrow and all should be good in my world again. |
