| Author | Message | ||
     Lowflyer |
How does one know who not to trust? | ||
| Michael1 |
I don't trust ordering online quite frankly.... Unless it's from a reputable bearings house (Motion Ind./Applied Industrial/Kaman/BDI, Bearing Service/etc...) All you have to do is tell them what you want and they'll find it and get it for you. Even down to country of origin. Those online places... are just paper pushers. they probably don't actually see an actual bearing. The phone is your friend. | ||
| Crusty |
Michael1; how much do those Dual Lip Double seal bearings cost? You mentioned Koyo; do other quality bearing manufacturers (SKF, Timken, etc.) also make them? I had a front wheel bearing disintegrate in Key Largo a few years ago, and would rather not repeat the experience.  | ||
| Xbimmer |
Group buy! Group buy! Double-lip American/Japanese/Western Euro 6006/6005's! Maybe a couple of holes in the rear hub for centrifugal drainage, this thread is sounding better all the time.  Of all the niggling things over the past year that have caused me to consider selling my Uly, most (even the stator problem) are liveable. Bearings that can detonerate under your butt are a safety issue that I personally won't accept... neither do I like the idea of having to replace wheels if I choose to protect said butt with prudent replacement of "nonserviceable" wheel bearings. | ||
| Jameslaugesen |
Mine have started failing, lots of movement and squeeks. Likely my mates and I noticed it while doing some low speed single track, and it survived the short trip home. Build Date - ??/05 Miles at Failure - 14,291 (23,000km) Percentage of Riding Off-Road - 40% Percentage of Riding Two-Up - 10% All Weather Rider Y/N - Yes Dealer/Mechanic Performed Tire Swap Y/N - 2 out of 5 times. Outward Signs Were Evident Prior To Failure - Yes. I caught mine before critical failure; bad noises from the bearings at low speed, and a lot of movement in the wheel (~2 degrees either side.). Is anyone compiling these 'failure reports' into a spreadsheet of some kind? Otherwise I'll put my hand up and do it. I'd use a Google Documents spreadsheet so it can be published online easily, and collaborated amungst everyone here. | ||
| Lowflyer |
I started a google spreadsheet here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p2v-5UmuKDV Blq-OxpYVAaA&hl=en_US If you would like to add data or otherwise manipulate the data, just send me your gmail address and I will invite you. or here if you don't have Gmail: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p2v-5UmuKDVBlq-OxpYVAaA (Message edited by lowflyer on August 12, 2007) | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Etennuly, I think your idea of filling the wheel cavity with grease has merit. Maybe we can do this without a grease Zerk because you'd need another hole for the grease to escape so that the inside seals wouldn't implode under fluid pressure. I have given some thought to "how to remove the rear bearings" without the Buell special tool. When the time comes that I have to do this myself I will try the following: Go to hardware store and purchase a lead cement anchor that will "just" fit inside the bearing hole. Expand it with a bolt and then heat the area around the bearing with my heat gun. Insert rod from opposite side of wheel and then tap out bearing by tapping against the expanded cement anchor. Should work and the cement anchor and bolt should be under a dollar. When installing new bearings I'd put grease inside the wheel before inserting the spacer which I'd coat heavily with grease before installing. Also I'd be squeezing grease out as the bearings were installed. At this point I'd be confident that all air space inside the rear wheel would be filled with grease. The last step would be to never seize the axle and heavily coat the indented middle section of the axle with grease before installing it (hopefully removing that air and moisture trap). Torque to spec. | ||
| Etennuly |
Electra, We did a test on that air issue back when we tried it. It seems that grease will fill nearly any cavity that air fits into and through. We put soapy water on the axle shaft at the bearing and as the grease pumped in(slowly) air bubbles came out. Our theory was to keep the grease as close as possible to pressurized so that no water could displace it. When I would pump a couple shots of grease into the zirc fitting after riding, usually air and a small bit of water would be displaced by the new grease pressure. I haven't had one of these Uly bearings out yet. Do they have the same seal on the inside as on the outside? If so the inner seal could be removed to drill some holes in it to allow the grease free access to the bearings. Then the only detriment would be pushing out the outer seals. But if you pump the grease slowly enough it will only follow the air out. The outer seals, if blown out could easily be wiped of excess grease and reset. | ||
| Chadhargis |
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to test your bearings? I do my own tire swaps, and I have two sets of wheels. One for track day fun and one set that came with the bike. The ones that came with the bike have very "tight" bearings. I can't move them with my hand when the wheel is off the bike. When I balance that wheel using a static balancer, I can spin the tire on the balancer rod, so they aren't siezed, just very stiff. My other set of wheels, I can turn the rear bearings easily. Same bearings, same year, etc....but they feel different. | ||
| Kieefer |
Do you see any dust, brown or gray outside the seal?, when rotating them by hand on the axle or not, are there any rough spots?, grinding or flat spots obviously would not be in your favor. Raise the rear wheel off ground, grab the tire and wiggle the wheel for. and aft., no movement should be detected. Any sounds of the bearing moving is not good. That's how I would do it. Chad, How was your ride at Barbers this weekend?? You where there weren't you? | ||
| Jameslaugesen |
Thanks for the spreadsheet lowflyer, I added some charts. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Chadhargis, Pop the outside seals and if the bearings look good then just add some grease by pushing it in with your finger. Reset the seals and go. | ||
| Etennuly |
Mine felt tight to turn by fingers when I did my last tire change. The movement was smooth and the grease clean, but they were hard to turn by hand. Almost 20,000 and still working. | ||
| Lowflyer |
Nice charts, James.  Now, if we can get more data... I noticed mine were tight at the last tire change as well, but they were not notchy, so I went with it. They are still good so far as I can tell. | ||
| Jlnance |
Now, if we can get more data... We really need data from people w/ good bearings as well. That way we can find the difference that is causing the failures. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I wasn't at Barber this weekend. Won't be there until September 1st & 2nd. I have a track day at the Nashville Superspeedway this coming weekend (the 18th). Got a set of Pirelli Diablo Corsa III tires to mount up for Barber. Need more stick. LOL! | ||
| Jameslaugesen |
We really need data from people w/ good bearings as well. That way we can find the difference that is causing the failures. I agree, I was planning on starting a thread for people with GOOD bearings to speak up. Someone else can start it for me though, I'm too busy at work :P There should be a minimum milage cut-off for the good bearings though. Bikes with less than say 1000 miles are kinda irrelevant.} | ||
| Jameslaugesen |
There should be a minimum milage cut-off for the good bearings though. Bikes with less than say 1000 miles are kinda irrelevant. Scratch that, the charts will show it.} | ||
| Lowflyer |
I added some columns for good bearing data. | ||
| Jameslaugesen |
I added some columns for good bearing data. Goodo, I'll update the charts when I get some time. | ||
| Thunderbox |
It would be interesting to know how many with bearing failure have ever washed their bike even once with a pressure hose. I have a theory about that. | ||
| Michael1 |
I have NEVER washed it with a pressure washer. I have only washed the bike twice and the dealer have have washed it twice, so unless they are pressure washing it...then they are to blame, I guess. | ||
| Banawi |
Rear bearing failed at 9184 miles. No dirt riding, some gravel but mostly paved road. Never been pressure washed. Build date 4/07. | ||
| Paochow |
Ok add me to the list. I just popped the seals to check them and the rear brake side was filled with rusted grease and was very notchy when turned by hand. So aside for paying $75 for a tool that needs a hydraulic press or dealing with a dealer that would rather sell me a chrome sissy bar than fix my wheel, what is the easiest way to remove these things? Here are my specs.. Build Date - 06/06 Miles at Failure - no failure, but close at 11,300 mi Percentage of Riding Off-Road - 20% Percentage of Riding Two-Up - 50% All Weather Rider Y/N - Yes Dealer/Mechanic Performed Tire Swap Y/N - Nope all me and properly torqued Outward Signs Were Evident Prior To Failure - Yes. Rear wheel has been very squeaky lately. Thought it was the rear brake but seems it was not the case. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Paochow, Try my method above (Aug 13th post) and it will only cost you a couple of dollars. Make sure to expand the bearing hole with a heat gun or propane torch (a few seconds only) so that removing the bearing doesn't leave the hole larger. Remember as the wheel cools the hole will contract back to it's room temp size. If you think a good solution to removing bearings has to cost more than a couple of bucks then spend away. There are many ways to accomplish just about any task, some just cost a whole lot more than others. | ||
| Alchemy |
Electro, New to this but have a question... Can this be done with the tire in place regarding the heating? Will the heat damage the paint on the wheel? | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Alchemy, The tire is a non issue considering its distance from the bearing holes. Probably the propane torch method might cause a problem if you got carried away with it. I'd go with the heat gun which is just a very high wattage blow dryer that doesn't blow as hard. The heat gun method should be ok unless you just plain over do it. You do not need to heat it red hot. Powder coating is cured at 320 to 410 degrees F according to this website on powdercoating ( and that is pretty darn warm ) http://www.finishing.com/Library/pennisi/powder.ht ml Remember all you are trying to do is expand the hole so that the bearing will more easily slide out with minimal help from a hammer. Same holds true with putting the new bearing back in. Heat the wheel hole and install a cold bearing. No problems. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on August 16, 2007) | ||
| Alchemy |
Thanks Electro | ||
| Paochow |
Thanks Electro I think my money will be better spent on a heat gun than some fancy tool. That way I'll have something to do shrink tubing on wiring looms with as well. Do you think my local Lowes or Home Depot will have a lead concrete anchor? | ||
| Bertotti |
Careful with the heat gun depending on what you get you could mess things up. Mine will get hot enough to strip paint, powder coating I don't know about, but I will tell you skin is gone if you point at it with this thing. |
