| Author | Message | ||
     Xtreme6669 |
I know there are a few threads on bearings... But what is the current bearing of choice for these bikes? I just bought a extra rear wheel for my bike and it has the orange seal bearings in it, I want to buy 2 sets of rear bearings, one for my original wheel and one for this new wheel. Best place to buy would also be appreciated. I know JDUGGER seems to have a bearing of choice and I think a few other options have been mentioned to the black HD bearings. Thanks in advance!} | ||
| Jdugger |
BOCA Hybrids  Your wheel will fail before they do. | ||
| Froggy |
They all suck equally in my experience, I haven't tried the Boca Hybrids yet. | ||
| Nuts4mc |
KoYo (frt = 6005) (rear= 6006) from applied technologies... here's a link to a thread discussing different brands: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/395448.html the best solution is the 3 bearing rear wheel ...$400 + new bearings (3) and axle ($100) from Erik Buell Racing..but for $500 you can buy alot of KoYo bearings...the Uly guys have way more experience on the subject...possibly someone has done a "life" test on the different styles/brands??? (Message edited by nuts4mc on September 13, 2011) | ||
| Sprintst |
Yeah, I'm really not seeing it with ceramics. Standard bearings and inspections, or upgrade to 3 bearing wheel for added insurance probably should replace the spacer too (Message edited by sprintst on September 13, 2011) | ||
| Musclecargod |
I usually use known brands from the US, Sweden, Germany, Japan, etc... Some to look for are SKF, Fafnir, NTN, Timken. I cross referenced a set of Timken bearings into my old ironhead and put tons of miles on those and they were like new. I don't know how easy our bearings are to cross reference. But when mine go, this is what I will do. Avoid any imports from china, taiwan, etc... I believe good bearings can be made in these countries, but to do so would make them less than stupid cheap. Also food for thought, if we drop a bearing onto concrete, it gets thrown away... | ||
| Freight_dog |
Here's the economics of ceramic bearings. Your wheels are life limited by bearing changes. Five or six bearing changes and the fit becomes too lose and you run the risk of spinning the race. Boom, your wheels are toast. Ceramics last as long as 5 or 6 standard bearings, hence one set of ceramics will last years, and extend the life of your wheels by a factor of 5. Additionally, if your standard bearings fail catastrophically while riding, even if you don't crash, the wheeels are likely to be damaged beyond use. Of course, if you don't plan to put 30,000+ miles on your bike, or you will sell it before it gets to that point, then disregard. (Message edited by Freight_dog on September 13, 2011) | ||
| Dannybuell |
THX this is great stuff. Boca website is now on my browser, excellent ceramic bearing argument Freight_dog. | ||
| Froggy |
Except they aren't proven to last any longer than the stock bearings. I would hate to drop that kind of money on bearings and then find out 15k miles later that they also crap out due to a issue with the bearing design on the wheel. I'll be switching all my bikes over to 2010 wheels over the winter. Is there anyone riding on the street with a Buell and these more expensive bearings? (Message edited by froggy on September 14, 2011) | ||
| Jdugger |
> Except they aren't proven to last any longer than the stock bearings. I've not had one fail since I've installed them, but I've had TWO wheels fail (races/journals spun), one on it's second set of "regular" bearings, and one on upgraded Hybrid bearings from Boca. I think the Hybrid bearings are around triple what standard bearings cost. So, it's not that much money in absolute terms. They seem to roll a bit better, too. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
the other thing that makes me wonder is that the boca site has several bikes lined out for the hybrid bearings. not to say that i 'trust' marketing but at the same time i highly doubt they would setup the store with them if they had a high rate of failure. i haven't really looked at mine very closely before but i can say that the fronts were crunchy about 6 months and 9k miles ago. the rear had one replaced when the rear brake hung up and cooked itself to death but the left rear is still hanging in there at 19k on odo 21.5k in reality. need a new rear soon prolly right after buelltober fest so i will be looking very very closely at the bearings when i get the tire changed. can the OE bearings be serviced? | ||
| Buellrain |
Just putting on a set of Corsa Rosso's after reading this and other links on wheel bearing life/failures decided to change them as well. I found SKF bearings easy to come by over here, the part numbers are: Rear: SKF6006-2RS Front: SKF6005-2RSH Part number may varey from country, the RS basically means rubber seal, some may also have CS which is supposed to mean "high speed" bearing or so the guy in the shop says. SKF are Italian and have been in the business a long time, they supply Ducati and Ferrari, Twinmotorcycles in Holland have them on their site as an alternative to the original. I have'nt heard of "Boca", but have also used Timken, NTN and SKF for many other applications. I was'nt aware of the bearing issue on Buell's but glad I saw the post as after reading it I span my rear wheel on the rear stand and did feel what I would call some kind of sound/resistance (not brake related) so better be safe than sorry and swap them out with the tyre change.(Bike is a 09CR with 7k km....) | ||
| Musclecargod |
One thing to consider is that Boca is a distributor, and they are very careful not to say where the bearings are made. That said they are getting good reviews. I would not use ceramic bearings myself. They are usually designed with different applications in mind. A quality steel bearing is all that is needed here, unless ultimate weight reduction is necessary. Also, a couple of the hybrid bearings on the Boca website are listed at ABEC 1 precision. An ABEC 1 ceramic bearing is a joke, in my opinion. ymmv | ||
| Dannybuell |
From wiki- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_bearing Ceramic hybrid ball bearings using ceramic balls "Ceramic bearing balls can weigh up to 40% less than steel bearing balls, depending on size and material. This reduces centrifugal loading and skidding, so hybrid ceramic bearings can operate 20% to 40% faster than conventional bearings. This means that the outer race groove exerts less force inward against the ball as the bearing spins. This reduction in force reduces the friction and rolling resistance. The lighter ball allows the bearing to spin faster, and uses less energy to maintain its speed. http://www.timken.com/en-us/products/bearings/prod uctlist/ball/precision/pages/ceramic.aspx | ||
| Musclecargod |
Those things are definitely true. But the advantages are overstated, for wheel bearing applications in this case. Ceramic bearings are typically used in high speed applications (we use them in machine spindles 20,000RPM+), as such the bearing pre-load is different than that of a typical steel bearing. Ceramic bearings also do not handle shock loading as well as steel, but they have become much tougher over the years. All bearings are not created equally. Also, the timken/fafnir bearings you link to are a ABEC 9 precision rating. They are in a different league than the Boca's. I am not saying the Boca's are crap, they may be exceptional, but their ABEC 1 rating says they are not. I won't use them. I think a quality steel bearing will last plenty long. As long as the seals remain intact, and care is taken to install. I can see a tech knocking an axle out with a hammer...and cracking a ceramic ball. For this application I think the hybrids are a marketing gimmick. I mean I can light my cigar with a tomahawk cruise missle, but my lighter seems to do me just fine. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Jdugger, how can a race spin on a good bearing? If the bearing is working, how can the race ever see enough force to spin? | ||
| Buellrain |
Well got the bike back and have to say that the bearings that were in it were probably ok, they were the ones with the "black rubber seal" as opposed to the orange, visually they seemed in pretty good shape and in one peice, the make is KBC and made in Korea. However when pushing the bike into the shed it seemed to roll alot smoother with the new ones (SKF). I think bearings in general do go and obviously depends alot on the climate they are and the abuse that they get. I don't think we should all become paranoid about bearings giving up on us everytime we ride, besides we have the stator for that. Having bought my bike used this is the first set of new rubber I have had the chance to ride on, and was blown away! With the original tyres when a fist full of the throttle was applied, I would normal get major wheelspin then the front would start to rise, but now when you nail it, its instant wheelie time through 1st,2nd,3rd, love it. In the short time I've owned this thing(about a year), I had nearly given up, having had clutch weep, stator and cluster go wrong, but the short ride today seemed to make all that headache go away and do its intended job of putting a huge grin on my face....  | ||
| Jdugger |
> Jdugger, how can a race spin on a good bearing? The tension from the belt drive and constant WOT throttle application slowly crumble the cheap cast wheel itself. The bearing then plops out on the lift when you pull the axle -- still in excellent condition -- the next time you pull the wheel for a tire change. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Thanks! I wouldn't have imagined that was possible, given how large a surface area on the outer race, versus the fairly small bearing area on the bearings. But everything I know about mechanical engineering I learned in Electrical Engineering school!  | ||
| Jdugger |
> I wouldn't have imagined that was possible, Me either, but then again steel > Mg, which is what the two race wheels I've done this to are made of. I've not seen it from one of the Al (OEM) cast wheels yet but they don't get the majority of my hard miles. I have one that on the last bearing swap wasn't particularly tight, though, so I think it's just a matter of time, though certainly more time for Al than Mg. The constant tension of the belt drive is hard on the rear wheel and bearings. It's just one of the trade-offs of that system. It's also not that unusual to have bearing issues on chain drive systems, but my perception is the Buell system is more prone to the issue because of the belt tension. | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
I pulled off my rear wheel today and sure enough the bearings were notchey. The whole sleeve turned notchey until I got the one bearing out and found only the drive felt side was notchey... pulled the seal out to inspect:  Left side is belt side... Found some skf bearings in town and will pop a seal off them and pack in some extra grease.  The skf bearings are make in Argentina.. oe are made in Korea. | ||
| Crustyxpunk |
it's just odd that the belt would cause so much trouble. I ran an 06 sportster before I got my 1125R and it had a belt as well. I had 30k on the OEM bearings with the bike putting out about 90ft/lbs and never had an issue. The pictures say it all though. Maybe now that buell is away from the moco they can use some more quality parts. | ||
| Froggy |
I've had SFK bearings leave me stranded in the middle of Pennsylvania. They didn't last any longer than the OEM bearings. | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
The SKF's didn't have that much grease behind the seals... I packed them full so we'll see how long they hold up.  | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
Anyone know on install if one side needs to be seated first? | ||
| Jdugger |
> I ran an 06 sportster before I got my 1125R and it had a belt as well. Whole different animal. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
curious if the black seals will fit the orange seal bearings. anybody know one way or the other? | ||
| Mrbuell |
I am using the BOCA EMQ bearings, Better side load number and better tolerance | ||
| Advanguard |
For those beginner riders like me, signs of failing bearing (Anyone please add) Im only talking about the rear one from my own experience. 1. Belt will seem slack or misaligning, wont run true or strait on rear sprocket. 2. feels like a tooth skip on acceleration 3. freeway fish tail 4. unable to duplicate RPM/speed vib, but its gotta a bad vib coming from the back. |
