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Grinding/rumbling feeling.

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Old Sep 25, 2020 | 08:40 PM
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Default Grinding/rumbling feeling.

New to me 2014 Road King with now 9K on it. Noticed when braking, coming to a stop, and only when leaning to the right, a grinding/rumbling feel coming from the front forks. Wheel bearings, brake pads, or something else??
thanks in advance
 
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Old Sep 25, 2020 | 10:52 PM
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My bet would be wheel bearings. They had a bad batch or something in 2014. They didn't do a recall, but they apparently did pull certain lot numbers off the shelf. I had both front and rear go on my 2014 SGS within the first 10K or so.
 
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Old Sep 26, 2020 | 05:55 AM
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Originally Posted by rcn1963
My bet would be wheel bearings. They had a bad batch or something in 2014. They didn't do a recall, but they apparently did pull certain lot numbers off the shelf. I had both front and rear go on my 2014 SGS within the first 10K or so.

​​​​​What brand bearings did you get to replace them?
 

Last edited by TheRoadKing101; Sep 26, 2020 at 06:02 AM.
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Old Sep 26, 2020 | 07:29 AM
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Put the bike up on a jack and get the front wheel off the ground. Visually inspect the bearings and give the wheel a spin. Listen for the grinding noise you're hearing. Take a look at the brake pads, too.

As far as bearings, a lot of owners recommend All *****, but I'm not sure they're any better than the latest revision of the H-D OEM bearings, which is what I used.

The original bearings on my '14 Limited were fine, but I changed them a couple of years ago just because so many people were reporting failures.

I plan on doing the same when I replace the front tire in the near future. Cheap insurance.
 
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Old Sep 26, 2020 | 07:31 AM
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Originally Posted by GalvTexGuy
Put the bike up on a jack and get the front wheel off the ground. Visually inspect the bearings and give the wheel a spin. Listen for the grinding noise you're hearing. Take a look at the brake pads, too.

As far as bearings, a lot of owners recommend All *****, but I'm not sure they're any better than the latest revision of the H-D OEM bearings, which is what I used.

The original bearings on my '14 Limited were fine, but I changed them a couple of years ago just because so many people were reporting failures.

I plan on doing the same when I replace the front tire in the near future. Cheap insurance.

I just got new tires put on a month ago. Didn't know about this problem on the 14's then. Or I would have had them check them.
 
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Old Sep 26, 2020 | 09:17 AM
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Originally Posted by TheRoadKing101
I just got new tires put on a month ago. Didn't know about this problem on the 14's then. Or I would have had them check them.
Any good shop will automatically check bearings when you get tires. That is when mine always get inspected.
 
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Old Sep 26, 2020 | 09:20 AM
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Originally Posted by Cosmic Razorback
Any good shop will automatically check bearings when you get tires. That is when mine always get inspected.
I don't have a jack to lift the bike. But will be taking it to the shop for them to see what's going on later this week.
 
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Old Sep 26, 2020 | 01:05 PM
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If your going to replace bearings, use the All ***** Bearings. These are quality bearings, I used them on my last bike and I’ll use them on my new bike when it’s time to change them out. Good luck
 
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Old Sep 26, 2020 | 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by wethead103
If your going to replace bearings, use the All ***** Bearings. These are quality bearings, I used them on my last bike and I’ll use them on my new bike when it’s time to change them out. Good luck
Will do, thanks!
 
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Old Sep 27, 2020 | 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by TheRoadKing101
​​​​​What brand bearings did you get to replace them?
The replacements were whatever HD uses. It was replaced under warranty. But they did have to wait a few days for new bearings to come in. The shop said that they had none on the shelf because they had to send everything they had back to HD and were waiting for the replacements to come in. Seems like they said that the new ones actually had a different part number, but I may be thinking "lot number". That was early 2015 I think, so my memory may be off. At the time I was commuting and putting 10-15K per year on the bike. I traded that bike at about 30K without any more issues. So I think, as GalvTexGuy said, they resolved whatever issue they had.

But I also had the front bearings on my 2016 start "leaking rust" probably about the same time. Again...replaced under warranty. I think that was inadequate grease. I never pressure wash. But I do live in Oregon, so riding in the rain is fairly normal.
 

Last edited by rcn1963; Sep 27, 2020 at 12:42 PM.
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