| Author | Message | ||
     Lduly |
I had a bearing failure and was wondering if this would be a warranty issue or not? 15,xxx miles, they should last longer than that. Axle was tightened to the book. Just wondering, thanks | ||
| Adrian_8 |
Yep...it is covered under warranty...been dere dun dat...they also had to replace the spacer pipe between the bearings...I think that the bearings if tightened at the proper specs might be just a little too tight. I am just a peon..what do it know..?? | ||
| Lorazepam |
I am starting week 3 waiting for warranty bearings. My wheel was done by the specs in the manual, but I believe mine went due to riding in the winter. Nothing like owning a bike you cant ride for two months during the summer. | ||
| Michael1 |
Mine went at 5k miles as well. And I suspect my off the beaten path riding, along with winter slogging on the Uly. (I have plenty of rusted bits on my bike and I'm not too happy about them). I've been a bearing engineer for 7 years (just stepped out of the profession this Feb.) and the issue is with the seals. It is just a single lip seal protecting the bearing from the outside elements. It's not really designed for what the bike is putting it through. The bearing is built and robust for the application, it's just the sealing mechanism. As you can see, on the street, there's no failures, unless they are tightened down too much. But for the ones who ride the Uly like it's supposed to be... yeah, we eat our bearing seals up. I plan on searching for a bearing that as a better seal. It'll be a little tougher now, that I'm not in the industry, but I'm looking. | ||
| Teeps |
Lorazepam Posted on Friday, July 13, 2007 I am starting week 3 waiting for warranty bearings. ??????? They are bearings... available at any bearing house. | ||
| Hughlysses |
A call to Customer Service and/or a post to Court might be in order. No way it should take them 3 weeks to get those bearings. | ||
| Michael1 |
Lorazepam, If you are at Lake Erie HD, I don't know what the issue is. I had my rear bearings replaced by them within four days. The longest thing the bike waited for was the spacer. They had to buy it from a dealer in Dayton, Oh. Good luck...and yes, you should be able to get those at any bearing house for aroud $15 or $20 a piece. | ||
| Aeholton |
Anyone know the size specifications for the front and rear bearings? Wouldn't mind looking into ordering some ceramics.  | ||
| Lduly |
When the mechanic took the bearings out of the wheel, about 1/2 a coffee cup of rusty water came out. I hadn't ridden in rain for two days, so the seals must have been bad for a while. The dealer in Fairbanks had 4 sets so I bought 2 sets. | ||
| Lduly |
 Not covered under warranty as I was told by Buell CS. I guess I'll have to replace it myself  | ||
| Iugradmark |
Since most folks change out rear tires about every 7K miles, should we just replace the bearings at the same time? | ||
| Lduly |
For $25 a set, I sure will. Nothing like being stranded on the side of the road, 100 miles south of the arctic circle, because of a $25 part. | ||
| Michael1 |
Quote from Aeholton: Anyone know the size specifications for the front and rear bearings? Wouldn't mind looking into ordering some ceramics. The stock rear size if 6006 2RSC3 (Koyo nomenclature). The stockers at NTN Taiwan and are 6006 LLUC3. All I know is they are 6006 (30mm Bore x 55mm OD x 13nn width) with C3 (larger than standard radial internal clearance) and single lip rubber seals each side. They are of standard ABEC 1 tolerance as well. A ceramic bearing will be VERY expensive and not really net you anything besides what a standard steel ball bearing will get you. The ceramic rolling elements are nice and smooth and will lubricate better under marginal grease condition, but if the seal goes (as it does on these bikes) you STILL lost a very expensive bearing. Plus performance wise, you won't get anything out of it for your rear wheel. I've been on the development of these hybrid ceramic bearings for race engines and yes, they'll net you 1~2 Hp when using them for every spinning item in a motor and wheels. Great for drag racing... not so much for us mortals. I am searching for a better seal design bearing. Most of the time a better seal comes at the expense of a wider bearing. I am okay with that, as I'll just shorten the spacer the proper amount (easy calculation). Anyways... keep an eye out on those seals.} | ||
| Michael1 |
Quote Lduly: For $25 a set, I sure will. Nothing like being stranded on the side of the road, 100 miles south of the arctic circle, because of a $25 part. Yeah, but will you be able to install said $25 part on the side of the road? Not too likely. But saying that... I have a spare set on the way too. I plan on keeping them on me for long rides, just in case.} | ||
| Hughlysses |
One thing you want to consider is that you may well wear out your wheel by replacing the bearings at every tire change. There has been at least one thread discussing this problem on tube-framed bikes. The bearing is a press-fit in the wheel and repeatedly replacing them will finally wear the bore loose. You could probably use the Locktite press-fit formula to hold the bearings in place if you get to that point but then you'd catch hell getting the bearing out the next time. I think it's a really good idea to inspect them at every tire change and it's not a bad idea to carry spares, but I wouldn't change mine as a preventative measure, at least not at 7,000 miles. | ||
| Etennuly |
What if you guys that are going to do the dirt and bad winter weather were to coat the outside of the seals with a very heavy grease. It seems to me that something like an open gear lube on the outside of the seal would resist the entry of water and grit into the bearings. | ||
| Iugradmark |
Does anyone know the handles for the Buell folks that track this board? Why not put it to them? This seems like a very fixable problem with the right folks involved. | ||
| Lorazepam |
I called this morning and the bearings were in. They didnt order them the first week, and when I called back, they asked if I had ordered them. Seems I was supposed to order them for warranty, then not. I just hope to have the damn bike on the road again soon. I ordered a belt today, and it will stay with the bike from here on out. I figure that will be the next thing. I will make no more warranty claims, and fix whatever else happens myself until I sell it. I missed homecoming, and another planned trip because of warranty issues. My excitement for the Uly has waned considerably. | ||
| Paochow |
Does anyone have the part number handy for a set of rear wheel OEM bearings? | ||
| Hypermoto |
Does anybody else have "rusty goodness" coming from their rear wheel bearing  . also thought that maybe scuba divers wax pen used to seal a dry suit would work if you smeared some on the bearing seal before riding of the beaten path...just a thought  | ||
| Gotj |
An old enduro trick was to pry one seal out and stuff the bearing full of grease. You'd be amazed at how little grease is put in there stock. Then reinstall the seal. It is easy to do without damaging the seal if you are careful. The additional grease will contribute to some drag but that is a small price for extended bearing life in adverse conditions. | ||
| Orangeulius |
Lorazepam, I feel your pain. 4 months after getting my 06 I went through a series of seemingly unsolveable electrical problems. It took me several months to get things ironed out during which time my Uly went from being the most awesome bike ever to a useless unrideable piece of crap. What makes it so bad is that most of us really love our Uly's and know what a great bike they are when they are running up to spec. It's like finding the perfect woman and then one day she shuts down on you. Hope you get things resolved and have smoother sailing from here on out. For now I try not and think about what may happen next. I have several thousand miles of trouble free riding so far. Knock on wood. Good luck. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Another thread on wheel bearing swaps, including part numbers and easy techniques for remove/install: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/292191.html?1184373966 | ||
| Adrian_8 |
Gotj is right... as an "old enduro rider" myself it is easy pop the seal off and force a little Belray water proof grease in and push the seal back in...no biggie... | ||
| Michael1 |
1. Don't "seal" the seal with a wax pen. It will not allow the bearing to "breathe" and will cause the seal lip to blow out or worse, start to spin. When the bearing opperates, it cycles heat, just like a tire. The grease expands and contracts. No room for the air to purge, it'll blow a seal, just like a water balloon. Plus the seal lip rides in the groove while the inner rotates. You'll never get a good seal to begin with. 2. Don't pack them full of grease. Too much grease will cause an early failure. Imagine walking on the beach in waist high water. Can you do it easily? No... neither can the bearings. A bearing wants 25~35% fill of grease. That's it. Any more and it's just waste. The bearing will purge all of the excess grease out and if it can't...you'll get premature bearing failure. 3. Best bet... watch them. When you change your tires, rotate the bearings. If they feel rough or have a sloopy feel, it's time to replace them. Other wise, leave them alone. | ||
| Snub13 |
Lduly said "For $25 a set, I sure will. Nothing like being stranded on the side of the road, 100 miles south of the arctic circle, because of a $25 part." You got that right brother!  I've been down the "lost bearing trail" twice on two different Uly's!!!!! On mine, they had to replace the entire rear end! Swingarm, rotor....everything! All under warranty.    On the rental (the one at the Arctic Circle) I just swapped bikes. The rental Co. had them fixed under warranty.  It SUCKS! It is still one hell of a fun bike, though!! Tim PS: good luck! | ||
| Paochow |
Another thread on wheel bearing swaps, including part numbers and easy techniques for remove/install: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/292191.html?1184373966 Excuse my bearing illiteracy, but 6006 is a set size right, meaning any 6006 bearing will fit in the rear end? If so where can I buy a premium double lip/seal set of bearings for the rear end? Google searches bring up a bunch of cheap sets that I think I would trust the stockers over.} | ||
| Husky |
I purchase my bearings from these guys. https://ec.kamandirect.com/projectfiles/part.jhtml ?PARTID=26437161 They are $30 each, and not in stock. You need to log in to get pricing and availability. They will mail them to you. If I was getting them for the ULY I would specify fluorocarbon seals, which would make the part number be 6006LLUA1/C3. I would remove the grease and repack a 50%-75% fill with a good aluminum based boat trailer wheel bearing grease (the aluminum base helps keep the steel bearings and aluminum hubs from corroding due to moisture. Here is the NTN page. http://www.ntnamerica.com/datasheet.asp?MANUFACTUR ER=NTN&BEARINGCATEGORY=RBSRD&BORE=1%2E1811&OD=2%2E 1654&WIDTH=0%2E5118&CSEALSHLD=Fluorocarbon+rubber+ seal+both+sides+%28LLUA1%29&CL_PARTNO=TS3%2D6006LL UA1C3%2F5C& Regards, Husky (Message edited by Husky on July 14, 2007) | ||
| Hughlysses |
Husky, How would you go about removing the grease from a factory-packed sealed bearing like these? Pry seal out and flush with brake cleaner or similar? Any easy way to estimate 50-75% fill on the new grease? Thanks in advance. | ||
| Husky |
I use the tip of my small Swiss pocket knife, to wedge between the outside diameter of the seal and the bearing outer race. Just pry up and the seal will pop off without damage. Remove both seals. Clean the bearing in solvent and use a tooth brush to help remove the grease. Rotate the outer race of the bearing with your fingers while in the solvent. Blow the bearing dry with compressed air, BUT DO NOT SPIN THE BEARING WITH THE AIR PRESSURE. Grab a finger and thumb full of the new grease and work it into both sides of the bearing until the ball retainer and race tracks are well coated. Rotate the inner race of the bearing to work the grease inside of the races and the ball retainer. Then gently wipe the excess grease off the retainer using your finger tip. You will have it just right when you can see the shape of the ball retainer through a coating of grease. Replace the seals, using finger pressure on the face of the seal near the outer diameter edge. You will be able to feel them engage the groove in the outer race. Apply a coating of grease on the axle (including the threads), spacer, and wheel hub before reassembly. I would make sure the bearings are properly seated in the wheel hub by driving the bearings in on the outer race instead of using the HUGE pre-torque they use in the manual. I personally do not endorse the torque levels in the manual, but thats a matter of personal choice. Regards, Husky |
