You should not be able to spin a sealed bearing at all, you can turn them, but not spin them, they are packed with grease. You can spin the wheel, but just the bearing.
I should not say this, so knock on wood first, but I have never had a problem with wheel bearings and I do not worry about stuff that ain't happening just because I read it somewhere.
I have over 40k on my rears without an issue,

 

This is what the dealer is claiming. He didn't change the tire so he can't assess if it's warranty or not. Reality is that he is sore cause i didn't buy the tire from him, so he's gonna try to get his money by other means. The guy is known for this kinda crap.

 

Agree that a good bearing is hard to turn by hand, but If it is rough, it is shot. When ever I pull the wheel I will install the axle and spin the wheel, if I can feel any roughness it is time to replace them.
You have to remember that you have the double row wide bearing and the '08 up have the narrow single row set.

 

And that goes for the dealer too.
From a business side this does not make sense, he gets paid for the warranty work so why send easy money away and you take care of the customer as a dealer should?

 

Well, since you asked:

The dealer has a responsibility to Moco, too. If some indy screwed up your bearings (how is the dealer to know he didn't?), should the dealer make a warranty claim to Moco?

From the business side, the dealer's ethics are spot on.

It was the indy's responsibility to replace the bearings. Didn't happen to have them on his shelf? So what? Most auto repair shops don't stock every part they replace. They usually order them delivered or picked up the same day. The indy could have done the same.

When I had my rear tire replaced, I had the indy order a set of bearings, along w/ the tire, tube and rim strip, just in case. Sure enough, the bearings were bad, and it was a simple, straightforward matter to do the whole thing at one time.

The dealer is blameless.

 

That is completely ludicrous and what you do with your bike is your decision and a questionable one at that!

The bearings were found faulty and that repair is covered under warranty, why should the customer have to pay for warranty work. It is completely legitimate for the Indy to put the vehicle back together and send it to the dealer for warranty repair, it may have been better to have it towed to the dealer.
Do you take you car to the dealer for tires?
This situation happens all the time in the auto-repair industry when warranty work is found during service. I have found many warranty repair items when performing many types of repairs and services and it is a professional ethic to forward warranty work to the dealer. It is the responsibility for the dealer to take care of warranty and it is the dealer who has to bear the burden of proof that there was negligence during the wheel R+R. Since the tire and wheel were installed and then taken to the dealer within hours, there is no legitimate argument to improper repair on the Independent service shop's end.
On top of this, the bearing failures on '08 up, especially the rears, are a common problem, lending even more credence to part failure unrelated to a previous repair.

The Dealer, in this case, is completely Unethical and so is your position!

 

well, wanted to thank this forum and all the posts for the information on these bearings failing prematurely. I had this happen to me tuesday night going to work, 75 mile drive to work 70mph the whole way and as I slowed down to take my exit, my bike started shaking badly, barely kept it up and got to the parking lot, Harley shop came all the way to dallas and picked me and the bike up wed morning, called Harley customer service today after harley told me my rear rim was ruined, the back leftbearing(opposite the rotor) was gone and the right was barely in there, could have been really ugly going 70mph in rush hour traffic, but to say the least I told them about all these posts and problems with the bearings and them changing the part number of the bearings here recently, and guess what, the local harley shop called me a few minutes ago and Harley is going to cover everything, all I have to do it pay for the front to be changed(which I asked them to do, they didn't offer but I think they should have) during my 30k service. I voiced my opinion very aggressively that this could of ended my life and left my daughter(who I have custody of) fatherless. I told them I have been riding for 35 years and never had a bearing fail prematurely, these bearings should last 100K miles, and if they were bad 5k ago when I got my tires changed then the shop. I told them either the tech over torqued my tire or they are of very poor quality and with all the posts on the forums about them going out the latter was probably the case, especially when they changed suppliers right after everyone started having all the failed bearings. I told them that if they have a problem, why didn't they have a recall, the lady was really nice and said she was a rider also and was going to get her's checked as soon as possible. I told them that they should do a recall because there is no use risking someones life over a $10 bearing, Thanks Everyone!! Saved my life and my daughters since we go on rides alot, and possibly and maybe will save others in the process!!

 

Just had e new Metz 880 radial mounted on the rear, picked up some bake pads and new allballs 49-5303 rear bearings kit.
7500 miles and one of the HD 9276 bearings would hardly turn and the other side was smooth.
Did the work myself using first a slotted 25mm expansion tool to knock the bearings out with a wack of the long shallow ground chissel. "out of there".
kept the spacers on the correct side, cleaned and coated everything with never-seeze. Used the axell socket to install the new bearings.
Installed the new bearings rotor side bottomed first then the spacer then drive the bearing to meet the spacer.
Put it all back together including the new brake pads and cleaning of the calpier pistons. didn't pop them out all the way just enough to clean,shot of cleaner lube and new brakes tightend to 100 LBS using a torque wrench and feels good.
I take it out tomorrow.
Bearings were less than $17.50 delivered. ebay
peace of mind.
The bike is still under warranty but I have this thing of doing it myself anyway.
While away on vacation had the tire mounted and balanced by local so I returned today and got it done for tomorrow. No trip to the dealer, no down time.
Better bearings anyway.