| Author | Message | ||
     Coastrambler |
A buddy has 3 tuber Buells and recently a 1125R. He was telling me about wheel bearing problems on the tubers. Are there problems with such on 1125's and fuel-in-frame wheels? And I think I'm not spelling bearing correctly. | ||
| Torquehd |
i was a technician at a Harley/Buell dealership for 4 years and I think I replaced one set of wheel bearings on an XB that hole time. I never did one on a Tuber. That was right around the time the 1125 came out for production. The 1125 is notorious for eating rear wheel bearings because it makes around twice the HP as say an XB9. | ||
| Cherry_bomb |
i've heard, that the 2-bearing rear wheels on the 1125r my2008 had problems with loose bearings on the pulley-side. i've had it on one 1125r my 2008, but could fix it. maybe it happened due to wrong removing and installing the bearings. but this is history with the 3-bearing wheels on the newer models. | ||
| Reepicheep |
The Uly's seem to eat more bearings also. Perhaps because they tend to carry more weight (two people and luggage). Perhaps the longer swingarm travel aggravates tolerance stack issues with the zero lash tentioner setup. The tubers seemed pretty solid, but I think they may have had three bearing rear wheels. | ||
| Sportster_mann |
In the UK bearings don't seem to last long - especially in the fuelers. Must be down to the weather and perhaps we have more corners ... I tend to replace mine at a tyre change - it's cheap insurance. | ||
| Jdugger |
> I tend to replace mine at a tyre change - it's cheap insurance. Holy shit! I cannot imagine this. How can your wheels possibly hold up to this many bearing changes?!?!?! | ||
| Jimustanguitar |
I saw a note somewhere about the seals failing on the orange ones, or something like that. Is there a group of R's from the factory that came with bearings prone to failure? | ||
| Nuts4mc |
...here's an old thread on it...Uly owners seemed to be on the "front lines" of the issue...there are some good links within the link with pix http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/644177.html?1311877925 IMO-the "low margin/low profit" bearing(s) have been out sourced to China...their lack of metallurgical know how or accurate testing is causing issues with ball bearings in all industries...I have the KoYo brand in my wheels (from applied technologies...supposedly built in Japan?) ...but the real fix is a (3) bearing rear wheel like the newer models have. | ||
| Torquehd |
Oh i forgot about the dual bearings, that was supposed to be "the answer". My rear bearings went at around 4,000 miles i think. I can't remember what was involved in switching to the dual bearing setup but I didn't have time, so I'll probably be doing them again here soon. | ||
| Froggy |
The XB and 1125 are more likely to have an issue with the rear bearings than a tuber, but other than the Ulysses you don't really have to worry much about the bearings. The rear wheel that came on 03-09 bikes was less than ideal with the bearing design, they upgraded it on most 2010 models to add larger diameter bearings, a 3rd set, and outer dust seals. The 2010 wheel easily retrofits, you just need to buy the wheel, the correct axle/bearing kit, and have the bearings installed.
Actually that is very expensive insurance as it wears out the wheel, eventually the bearings will fit very loose. Personally I would recommend doing it at 20,000 mile intervals at most.
The seals don't make a difference, the brand of bearings installed was switched a couple times over the years, and different brands had different seal colors, but they are all about equally reliable. | ||
| Pgh_biker |
Mine needed to be replaced at tire changes. I have only replaced tires twice, each after about 7500 miles. I guess the 2010 upgrade will be cheaper in the long run ? This is for the rear wheel. | ||
| Jdugger |
Holy crap, you get 7500 miles out of a tire?!?! | ||
| Stimbrell |
By 9,000 miles I was on 4th rear and 2nd front tyre, both rear and front wheel bearings and steering head bearing were completely knackered and had been replaced by this point, I ride everyday, all year round and last year was wet, and I mean really wet, here in the UK, not bearing friendly but still! | ||
| Wymaen |
I replaced my rears with the generic All-Balls from Dennis Kirk (hey, the store is close) the day after I picked up my 2k mile 1125R back in late May. I had some noise on the test ride, and they were...crunchy, I suppose is the word I like best. I neglected to pull the seals and take a look, since they were new, sealed, and felt good. Big mistake. Coming home from the birthplace of the Mississippi last Sunday, I felt a slight wobble, which I assumed was the road...freshly paved, with grooves, and it felt the same way it does to cross a grate-style bridge. Unsettling, but not out-of-control. I was traveling with traffic, about 20mph over the limit, as there is absolutely nothing in that part of the state, and I was happy to be making good time. After the first twitch, nothing for about three miles. Then, with absolutely no noise, no vibration, no grinding, nothing...my rear wheel spit out all but two balls on the pulley side. The wheel kinked right, I filled my shorts, and managed to bring things to a halt after a few tense swaps. I lined up a ride home for the bike and myself, and adjourned to the nearest alehouse to settle my nerves. I've included a couple pics of what I found. Even the OEM "defective" bearing was more liberally greased than the All-Balls. I don't know if they're all low on lube, or if this was an isolated occurrence, but I know that I'll be inspecting any new bearings before install in the future. My wheel got a tiny bit chewed up, and the end of the spacer got a little groovy, but there's still a tight fit on the outer races, so I'll call it good through the end of the season and upgrade to '10s over the winter. I was concerned about my method of axle installation til I found out y'all seem to recommend the same thing- snug the axle, and rely on the pinch bolt to keep it in place. On the bike: http://imgur.com/YmTv87t New bearing straight from the package: http://imgur.com/nxrORBG Comparison of orange-seal OEM and 3k mile All-Balls: http://imgur.com/BvxviAR Yes, I packed the new bearings with grease  | ||
| Sportster_mann |
I had both sets of wheel bearings replaced under warranty at about 3,500 miles whilst it was having the clutch weep fixed on my 2008 R, and on my 2010 CR the front wheel bearings were shot by the time I changed the front tyre at 5,500 miles - the rears were OK though ... | ||
| Hughlysses |
Uly riders have tried a lot of tricks to extend rear wheel bearing life on the 2 bearing wheels. At least a couple of guys pop the outer seals at every tire change and pack in more grease; that seems to work pretty well. At least one guy tapped a Zerk fitting into the wheel hub, filled it with grease, and gives it a couple of shots every so often. If you're going to do this, you should probably remove the inner seals from a new set of wheel bearings before installing them so the grease has an easy path to where it's needed. The other thing you can do is to make damn sure you install the bearings properly (see Al Lighton's post in the Uly wheel bearing thread; driving them in with a socket is not proper installation) and be very careful about following the axle torque sequence in the shop manual. Over torquing the axle can crush the bearing spacer in the wheel resulting in a built-in side load on the bearings and short bearing life. | ||
| Sir_wadsalot |
Sweet Jesus, when I pulled my rear wheel off the '25 last month it was so tight my air guns wouldn't break it. I had to borrow a one inch socket set to get the nut off. My bearings felt a bit tight but not rough. I retorqued it per the manual...hope it wasn't knackered by the otherwise perfectly reliable Honda dealer. Or is that normal on the taper nut? | ||
| Zac4mac |
It's not like we have a moveable axle that needs 85 ft-lb to stay in place. DoNOT torque your axles. take them snug and stop. more torque than that and you start to deform the spacer tube. Torque the pinch bolts to 17 ft-lb or whatever it is in the manual(mine are at the shop..) if you must torque something... Zack |
