| Author | Message | ||
     Ulyful |
I'm sure this has been covered many times before, and I've seen quite a few threads on how to correct a wheel bearing failure (cross-referenced industry bearing part numbers, how to install the bearings, etc.), but not many on what the early warning signs/symptoms are when a bearing is about to go bad. I'm sure there are more than a few new Uly owners that would like to know what to look for when a rear wheel bearing first starts to go bad. 1. What are the warning signs/symptoms of a rear wheel bearing that is about to go bad? (noisy? high rolling resistance?) 2. At what mileage should you generally begin to look for those warning signs/symptoms? 3. How much time or mileage do you generally have to replace the bearings (before serious damage occurs) when the warning signs/symptoms first start? 4. What other failures can you expect if you don't replace the bearings at first indication of those early warning signs/symptoms? (Axle/wheel failure, etc.) 5. Is there a recommended mileage interval to pre-emptively replace the bearings to prevent bearing failure? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Here's my take after reading a lot of posts on the subject: 1. The most common warning sign is a brown film at the inner lip of the grease seals and/or streaks of rust going outwards from the grease seals. This means water has gotten into the bearings, causing them to rust and turning the grease brown. The bearings will fail shortly after this happens (few hundred miles?). As the bearings actually start to fail, you may see a seal popped out or feel the back end of the bike get "wobbly". In either of this cases it's not safe to ride the bike. With the wheel off the bike, you can sometimes feel some "notchiness" in the bearings as you try to turn them. Some people don't worry about this a lot, as the wheel will sometimes turn freely once it's in the swing arm and the axle is torqued to spec, but most take this as a sign that the bearings are going and go ahead and replace them. With the bike jacked up, if the wheel is difficult to turn or feels notchy after it's installed, the bearings are very likely bad. 2- Newly installed bearings have failed in as little as a couple of thousand miles; some bearings have lasted 30k+ miles without issues. It's a good practice to look at both seals before every ride. I'd be more cautious with newly installed bearings until they've gone a few thousand miles. 3- I just wouldn't count on riding the bike any more than necessary after you notice a warning sign. It might go several hundred miles and it might fail 100 yards down the street. Replace the bearings ASAP. 4- Failed bearings have led to the wheel contacting the swing arm, so you can easily wind up having to replace the rear wheel, swing am, axle, bearing spacer, and drive belt if a catastrophic bearing failure occurs at speed. 5- The best practice here is to closely inspect the bearings every time you replace the rear tire (3000-8000 miles?). Some people pre-emptively replace them something like every other tire change. The only issue with doing this is that the bearings are a press fit in the wheel and you'll eventually wear out the wheel bore so the bearings no longer fit tightly. Heating the wheel and chilling the bearings during installation helps minimize this issue. Edit- I forgot to mention one important thing. A few riders have been able to extend the life of the rear wheel bearings almost indefinitely by popping out the grease seals and packing a little extra grease into the bearings at each tire change. You take something like a thin knife blade or O-ring pick and work it under the lip of the bearing seal (the seal lip at the inner bearing race). Carefully work it around and the seal will pop out. Take your finger and push a little grease into the bearing and smear it around. Use a grease suitable for wheel bearings; waterproof grease is probably best if you can get it. Pop the seal back in and you're good to go. (Message edited by Hughlysses on March 23, 2014) | ||
| Hacksaw |
Occasionally I check the temperature, by feel, of the bearing and hub after a ride. I have always found the hub and bearing just warm to the touch. If it ever starts being very hot I will know the bearing is failing. Don't touch the brake rotor as it will burn the crap out of you. | ||
| Arry |
If you remove the grease seal, to add grease, you will be able to visually inspect the bearing, mainly looking for discolored grease inside, or obvious damage. | ||
| Etennuly |
I was lucky when my rear bearing failed. I was in traffic in town and heard a nasty squalling noise. I thought it was an old truck that was behind me from light to light, then I realized it was only happening when I was moving. From the time the noise started I rode about two miles at low speed in traffic. Then I pulled off to check. The rear tire had side to side looseness and the bearing seal showed rust and black dirt. So I called for a ride in the back of a pickup. I caught it in time to not hurt any other parts than the one bearing. | ||
| Motorbike |
One rear bearing (drive side) failed on my 08XT at 7300 miles. I was doing about 75 MPH on a 4 lane highway up near Minneapolis when I heard a couple of pops and then a squealing noise. I could hear that above the wind noise in my helmet. I pulled over because I thought the rear tire was going flat. It looked okay so I took off and headed south toward home, 75 miles away. I only went a couple miles and it started squirming around so I pulled over and took a look at the bearing. The seal was popped out and half the balls were missing. I just idled it in first gear about 1/4 mile back to the nearest farm place, called my brother to come and get me with my truck. I was fortunate that the people that lived where I stopped were as courteous as they could be to a complete stranger. They even let me sit out on their porch and brought me drinks and snacks while I waited an hour and a half for my bro. My dealer offered to replace the one bad bearing under warranty or sell me a 2010 wheel for half price. I accepted the latter offer. I now have the 2010 wheel, bearing and axle setup and all is well at 16,500 miles. | ||
| Ulyful |
Thanks guys. That helps alot. Will be diligent in regular inspections of the bearings and replace if I see anything leaking (rust, grease stains, etc.) from the bearing seals. I recognize and understand the negative scenario with too-frequent bearing replacement and will minimize that as well. Knowing what the symptoms are of imminent bearing failure (wobbly, noisy wheel) while on a ride will also help prevent more severe damage of other components. | ||
| Glenn |
My wheel bearing failure on my 2007 is written up in the link below. I had been proactive in replacing the originals, had them pressed in by my original dealer so assume the spacer wasn't crushed, and they still failed maybe 10k or so later. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?tpc=142838&post=2256701#POST2256701 I have a 2010 wheel now. | ||
| Reepicheep |
You can crush that inner spacer on a tire change also. | ||
| Glenn |
Yes, that's why there is the light torque, back off and re-torque in the manual. | ||
| Uly_man |
I think, but it is just my opinion, that a lot of bikes may not have had there wheel bearings torqued up correctly from the factory in the first place. Both my bikes, 06 and 10, fronts needed changing in less the 5000 miles. They were not dangerous but they DID have some wear on them. I also think that the shipping of these bikes IE Strapping them down in the case would not help either as this would "load up" the bearings. "With the wheel off the bike, you can sometimes feel some "notchiness" in the bearings as you try to turn them. Some people don't worry about this a lot". Yes they SHOULD and it is a mistake to ignore it BIG TIME? If you want to add grease to your wheel bearings flush out the old stuff first and THEN add a marine grade NONE WATER SOLUBLE grease. These bearings are a standard industry size and you can get many versions. This includes a better standard grade as well as near waterproof ones right up to ceramic ones as well. The OEM ones are NOT waterproof either. Part of the problem with this bike is the alloy spacer. Most bikes have a steel one. With this you could tighten up the axle until it ripped out the swing arm threads and the inner and outer parts of the bearing would still be "in line". NOT THE CASE with the Buell system as unless it is done RIGHT it will "over crush" the alloy spacer and "push" the inner and outer bearing rings out of alignment which in turn will deform the seal and leak grease and allow water/ dirt in to it. Nothing clever to this it is just basic engineering logic. If you fit the bearings CORRECTLY you should have few problems but remember this? Wheel bearings are a consumable item and some WILL wear faster than others depending on, and many other factors, the bikes use. I have NO ISSUES with wheel bearings on this bike but then again I check mine and would not expect much more that 20,000 miles out of them either. Or in other words the same sort of numbers for any bike in this class. Oh and for what it is worth. HD were STILL fitting the orange seal bearings to the fronts of the 10 bikes and people still have bearing fails on the 10 rear wheels. So whats that about then? | ||
| Sticks |
Both times my rear wheel bearings failed it was proceeded by a faint clicking noise. | ||
| Etennuly |
Oh I nearly forgot. When I pulled my bearings out of the rear wheel, the center hub had about three ounces of water in it. IMHO the sure cause of the rusted bearing failure I saw. Per year, the bike spends nearly each of the 24 hours a day it exists sitting on the side stand. My left side bearing failed trailing rust. I drilled vent holes in a couple of my riding buddies Ulys to vent moisture at their request. I opted for pulling the inside seals, filling the entire hub with marine grease, and installing a zirk fitting on the hub to give it a pump of grease when ever I do my oil changes. | ||
| Hoover_uly |
I purchased my 09 used with about 3,000 miles so I don't know the early history of the bike but I never rode in the rain and I never blasted the rear hub with water. The bearings were toast when I replaced the original tire at about 5,000 miles. If I recall correctly, there was some crud building up on the outside seals but the real proof was when I had the wheel off, I put two fingers inside each bearing and spun the wheel against the floor then let it spin freely. It would spin but it felt very gritty/notchy. When I removed the bearings the were full of rust and the axle was very corroded. What surprised me most was the smell. It smelled exactly like acetylene gas inside the hub. Dunno what caused that. I'm kind of nutty about preventive maintenance, especially on things with 2 wheels. My two biggest regrets with this bike so far are not checking the bearings with the wheels removed and not attempting to remove the rear spark plug when I first bought the bike(plug seized). | ||
| Ourdee |
Noticed brown streaks were coming out on the pulley. I rode 10 miles to the dealer to have it checked. They were out of bearings and told me to go ahead and ride it and come back in a week. I did 50 miles...I could feel the clicking in my pegs...then within 5 miles...it felt like riding on tar snakes...less than a mile left...dual bearing failure. | ||
| Uly_man |
I have just noted in my 06 bikes history that the rears were changed on the 5k service with new tires, Corsa 3s they lasted 2200 miles, so they must have needed doing. HD paid for the work. I changed them again at 14.3k with new tires and although they had no wear the grease was dry and the bearings were a bit stiff to turn. Not like the SKF type I refitted. No water in the hub. |
