| Author | Message | ||
     Drkside79 |
So i have recently been hearing horror stories about wheel bearings. How often should they be replaced and how bad is failure really? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
It's a crap shoot. Most failures are caused by water getting in. My first set (orange) failed on my 2008 at 16,000 miles. Mine were full of water so bad that pushing on the seal made a drop come out. I had been driving in heavy rain for several hundred miles. Conventional wisdom agrees that greasing the axle as well as surrounding areas outside is a good idea. | ||
| Doz |
"how bad is failure"...can be pretty bad. BUT, some have carfully removed that seal and repacked them. Visit the KV or the uly board for more info. | ||
| Dfishman |
Buy a set & put under your seat.That's what I did & my bearings are still great after 30000 miles.It seems when I am prepared nothing happens,If I'm not prepared all hell breaks loose.I do pop the seals every tire change & clean out the old grease & add new.Make sure NOT to overtorque the axle. | ||
| Court |
I have never had any problem but I have the 2010 rear wheel and really don't put that many miles on the Uly. Although today may be the exception . . . it's gorgeous in the Hudson Valley. . . I woke up in NYC, looked outside and have already logged 250 miles headed North today. Stopped at Indian Point to write a weekly report and my butt is back on the road . . I hope to have 500 miles by the time I get home tonight. If the bearing fail . . I'll report.  | ||
| Dano_12s |
Ride on,Court!Great day in PA.also.Take some pics. | ||
| Oldog |
 JUST RUB IT IN been here in Arkansas since November no bike, Eat sleep work Baah! Looking forward to gettin home soon and riding Enjoy the ride to day all.  | ||
| Ulywife |
Looking forward to gettin home soon and riding We're ready for you to come home as well! | ||
| Azxb9r |
It seems when I am prepared nothing happens Aint that the truth  I check mine when I have the wheel off to install new tires. The bearings are cheap enough, if they are getting rough or noisy just replace them. imo it is not worth trying to repack them. | ||
| Fast1075 |
If they are rough, it is too late. | ||
| Mueller |
And ordering them before you need them might not be a bad idea. Mine were a little rough when I changed my tires at 10,000. The front ones were back ordered for 2 weeks. | ||
| Glitch |
80,000 miles on the "orange recall" bearings I reckon I ought to get a set, just in case | ||
| Froggy |
The recalled bearings have black seals and are made by FAG. | ||
| Glitch |
Yeah, my black seals were replaced with the orange ones right after I bought it. | ||
| Tiltcylinder |
My '09 came with black seals, that was well after the recall. That said, just over 12k the left rear 'exploded', busting the race and spitting out the balls. No external signs (rust streaks or junk leaking out) and inspected at last tire change 5 -5.5K. I have been looking at them when the bike gets washed or worked on, having looked at them carefully less than a thousand miles before it popped. When I did the tire swap there was a little condensation on the axle the bearings turned very smoothly with no hint of a problem. There's no service interval according to the shop and owner's manuals. Just inspect at every tire change... doesn't seem to be any replacement interval either. | ||
| Kenm123t |
Bingo condensation , water is death for bearings! both side of the bearings should be sealed not just the outer bearing. Not having had a problem yet do the bearings have seals on both sides? | ||
| Nobuell |
The 2009 and older bearings are covered on both sides by the integral bearing seal. There are no additional seals. Basically, the bearing seals are open to the environment. I attribute the failures due to a combination of high loads and exposure. Periodic inspection and possible relubrication are the only things you can do except getting a 2010 wheel with the upgraded bearings and seals. I checked mine often but they catastrophically failed at speed. I now have the 2010 wheel. |
