| Author | Message | ||
     Longdog_cymru |
Yes, I know there have been reams written about wheel bearings, but the bad news is, mine have finally taken a dump at 9,800 miles. I was away for a few days riding around Snowdonia and Anglesey in North Wales. On the day I'm due to ride home, I notice the dreaded rusty goo coming from the left, (disc), side bearing. I elected to ride. Well it got me home with some "interesting" rear wheel steering moments! Anyway, I called my dealer, Oxford Harley Davidson, and they said, "no problem, bring it in and we'll do whatever is needed under warranty". Yes, I'll lose a couple of days riding, but I think it's a good attitude for a dealer to have  | ||
| Dirt |
Unfortunately left side bearing failures can be more destructive. When my left failed, the bike required a new swingarm, wheel, axle, spacer and bearings. When the right side bearing failed it only required a new axle, spacer and bearings. Hope yours isn't too bad. I just finished pressing in a pair of the new black bearings this morning. I hope rear bearing failures are behind me now. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I'm a broken record but even the newer black sealed bearings will need regular maintenance if you want them to last. We all have no problem changing oil in the motor and primary so it should be no problem to remove seals at every tire change and add some grease. I'd be willing to wager that Longdog never did bearing maintenance on his original bearings and chances are that he probably has had the wheels off between zero and 9800 miles. You can bet that no bearing has a warranty to last a guaranteed amount of miles. I'll just grease mine yearly. | ||
| Nutsosane |
With all this talk of bearing failures I ponied up and had mine replaced at 10k miles(yes I got the new black seals). However, I have a friend that has an Aprilia Falco with 90,000 miles; original bearings everywhere. Dude doesn't own a car; hasn't since 1986. He rides year-round isn't afraid of gravel roads and creek crossings and keeps the thing outside, uncovered. Maybe Buell oughtta see how the Aprilia does it? NUTS | ||
| Dirt |
Electraglider, from what I saw when I pulled my bearings I don't believe any maintenance other than replacing will help. My previous failures were covered under warranty so I did not get a chance to see the bearings after they were removed. However, this time I did the replacement myself and was able to inspect the bearings. The outer seal looked good but the area around the inner was rusty and definitely leaked allowing water to penetrate into the bearing. This is in line with the explanation a Buell rep gave at last years homecoming. Also, the inner hub on my wheel was wet but not flooded. Last time the Buell tech reported that the entire inner hub was full of water. I firmly believe in my case, that the failure was due to the inner seals leaking water and not excessive temperature. I can't see how adding grease is going to stop this. In fact, I checked the bearings about 5k ago and added a little blue HD bearing grease. Everything looked fine at that time, but I added a little just in case. Didn't help then and I doubt it will help in the future. Bottom line - If you ride in the rain, which I do on a regular basis, your orange bearings are bound to leak and fail. The jury is still out on the new black ones. Time will tell. (Message edited by dirt on May 23, 2009) | ||
| Ironhead1977 |
Has anyone figured out how water is getting in the hub? | ||
| Rocketsprink |
why does this issue only seem to affect the Uly? I never hear of bearing failures on the other XB models. I race a XB12R, NEVER had a bearing failure and I NEVER grease the bearings. What gives? | ||
| Froggy |
It dosen't. Ive blown the rear bearings on two sets of XB rims on my SS, and a front on one rim. On my Uly I blew the rear. Seems to be around 15k intervals for me. Most XB riders do not ride in the rain so they do not experience the high rate of failures like the BB&D riders. CityXslicker changes his every 10k. | ||
| Crusty |
I ride in all weather, and the bearings were still original on my '06 Uly when I traded it in (34K), and the bearings on my XT are fine at 17K. Last year at Homecoming, I asked Abe Askenazi(SP?) what they'd found, and he said that water was getting past the seal and the new bearings should cure the problem. Abe also rides an '06 Uly, and hasn't experienced any bearing problems. Buell isn't using inferior bearings, and they are not denying that there is a problem. They've been working on it and say they've found a solution. In the 11 years that I've owned Buells, every time there has been a problem and the factory addressed it, the problem was solved. Hopefully the new black seal bearings will continue that tradition. | ||
| Tootal |
I have a 2002 Harley Road Glide with 80,000 plus miles on it. I stick my finger in the bearings and twist them when I change tires. They always feel good and are the original bearings. I never pulled a seal or added grease. I have ridden in tons of rain. Obviously the Motor Company has a good supplier for bearings, now Buell needs to figure out the difference in mounting dimensions that is causing this. I suspect the wheels are not all the same and some could have too much side pressure but that's only a theory. If and when my Uly fails I will get the depth mic out and start taking dimensions to see if my theory holds water. I have 16,000 miles on the Uly with no bearing problems yet. I'm thinking that not all the wheels have the same dimensions. The wheels are outsourced by Buell so maybe quality control needs to check every wheel for the correct dimension. Like I said, this is just my theory of what's taking place. I've seen this type of thing happen in industry quite a lot. Some of the quality, or lack of, is amazing to me. Obviously not everyone has a conscience! | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Electraglider, you are dead right, I didn't do any "maintenance" on my bearings. I figure that with "sealed-for-life" bearings I shouldn't need to maintain sealed bearings. I did pull my wheels to change tyres, but the bearings were OK at 4,000 miles. I am an engineer who has worked in industry for 38 years, and as soon as you pull the seals, the seals no longer serve the purpose they are intended for. This is not a criticism, just an observation and a reflection of what I have learned through my trade and through owning, riding and maintaining motorcycles since I was 12 years old. Your method of popping the seals and adding grease has probably accidentally fended off water ingress but is not the recommended method of using sealed for life bearings. I have owned bikes with bearings that need maintenance and have had grease nipples provided for lubrication. If the bearings are sealed for life, then there is no provision for adding lubrication. I maintain that the orange seal bearings are not fit for purpose and my Uly is the first bike I have ever owned that has suffered bearing failure in 43 years of riding motorcycles, (including road-racing, trials and enduros). The orange seal bearings simply allow water into the bearings leading to premature failure. I believe the Uly, (and other Buells), suffer from outsourcing parts to Far Eastern suppliers due to the Bean Counters who run industry everywhere. I am sure that Erik did not intend that there be compromise in his vision, but this decision has been taken out of his hands by the people in charge of the mighty $ | ||
| Xb12xmike |
Is this a a sign of damage? Or water in my axle? also,..Could bad or worsening mpg be a sign of bearing damage??   | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Xb12Mike, This looks like you have water in your hub and it's leaking out through the bearing seals. In my humble opinion, your bearings are toast! Change them immediately before damage is done to your spacer tube/axle/wheel | ||
| Joesbuell |
As much as I love my Buell's and the design etc. I believe the drive belts on all of the XB series are way to tight! My old tuber has had no problems bearing failures or otherwise and it is because the belt is loose! When I bought my new Uly 3 weeks ago I noticed that after my first ride the belt was even tighter!(you could barely move it!) I'm guessing from the heat expansion of the engine etc. So I decided a little modification to the idler pully bracket was in order. All I did was elongate the two mounting holes by 1.5mm which makes the idler drop by around 5-7mm, therefore making the belt have about an inch of movement up and down. I can now rotate the idler with 1 finger and the belt does tighten back up some when it gets hot, going to show that the belts are way to tight. And that is why the bearings are more than likely failing! This is just my opinion! I may be wrong... Chees Jodie | ||
| Gamdh |
this might help?  added this when I replaced the original bearings. (Message edited by gamdh on May 24, 2009) | ||
| Desmo900 |
Ill bet there is more load on the bearings from the weight of the bike and the rider than there is from belt tension. But, I still think the spring loaded pulley is the way to go. | ||
| Ourdee |
Xb12xmike, I've got some of those same brown streaks. | ||
| Galloper |
I'm with Ourdee and Xb12xmike. I had the same brown streaks coming from the rear wheel and a lot of water inside the hub. I have the original bearings (20000mls)replaced by SKF bearings now. We'll see how long those keep up | ||
| 12bolt |
Mike, I would not wait to change out those bearings! If they go they can cause damage to your wheel, spacer and swingarm! Even if covered under warrenty you will be waiting a long time for the new parts to come in! | ||
| Xb12xmike |
If I take it in, I am gonna have to get a few things fixed: -Front rotor (warped) have new pads ready. (warranty?) -Brake lever sticking a little (brake light stays on) -Rear tire could be replaced. (done this before but many years ago) -Bearings (rear AND front?) Front tire has at least 50%, If I buy a new rotor kit, new rear tire, rear bearings and do it all myself...how much cheaper would it be? What about tire balancing? I would need tools for slipping the tire on and the bearing replacement. ---------------------- on second thought... mabye the tech's should do it cuz they may spot other damage before I would. ---------------------- (Message edited by xb12xmike on May 25, 2009) | ||
| Ourdee |
So, I keep going back and forth in my mind. I took it to the dealer this morning and went out back to have them do a walk around. Pointed out brown muffler, and the brown squiggly lines on the rear pulley sides coming from the wheel bearing. I asked if that meant the hub was full of water and if the bearing was going to fail. I let them know I planned on going to HC on it next week. Warranty guy said he would order the windscreen mount kit for the recall. Said he would check into getting me a new muffler if warranty would cover it. And that they would check the bearings when the I scheduled it in after HC. I'm at 4800 miles now and plan on doing the 5k service myself. Are there any hidden fees on the warranty work I should be aware of?   | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Its not just the ULY, its the bike that you ride off road.... I am on my third set. I now get them preemptively changed every third rear tire. I do belt at the same time. If you ride off road, you do more abuse than the guys that stick to pavement. So if your ULY is an asphalt queen, these issues are foreign to you. Road trips... always pack a belt and set of the bearings. DAMHIK | ||
| Thetable |
She is, and they aren't. 1st set gave up the ghost at 7616 at the first tire change. Black ones are still rolling 6000 miles later. | ||
| Florida_lime |
Mike, I use a copper-based never seize compound that will leave similar streaks on my pulley if I use too much at tire change time. Have you changed tires recently ? I have "serviced" my bearings at EVERY rear tire change (approx. 5,000 miles) That is still not any guarantee of long life. First set went at 12,000 miles, and the 2nd were changed out at 29,000 miles. (Replaced with the black seal ones) | ||
| Ourdee |
So if your ULY is an asphalt queen, these issues are foreign to you. All asphalt and concrete so far. A little snow. | ||
| David_e |
I've heard that on the Ulys since they have more suspension travel they are prone to a higher incidence of rear wheel bearing damage. | ||
| Okc99 |
Can someone make an icon/emoticon for an Asphalt Queen? I would proudly wear one. | ||
| Ourdee |
Maybe this with a lumpy black smiley face and a tiara.  | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Got my bike back from the dealer yesterday. Rode it the 140miles to home from the dealer and boy does it feel better! I have the "new" black seal bearings fitted now, so let's see how long they last! The dealer said I caught mine just in time before they took out the spacer and wheel hub, so sighs of relief all round there. They also said that almost every rear wheel bearing failure they have is left side. I think it's because when the bike is on it's side stand, all the water inside the hub settles on the left side bearing. Anyway, got my bike back, it was all done under warranty and I'm a happy bunny again. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Mine failed a couple of weeks ago. Left side as well. |
