Bud,
I agree bearings don't go bad under normal use for many miles. Usually its an installation problem or a could be a aftermarket wheel issue. Don't understand what grease has to do with a sealed bearing?

 

I'm thinking that when the wheel was put on, they greased up the axle. And some got wiped off on the outside of the bearing and is now starting to slide off.,,,

 

If you see grease coming out of the sealed wheel bearing you really should pull the wheel off and check it out. Failed wheel bearings can be a real disaster. I personally go to a bearing distributor for my wheel bearings, Motion Industry, Applied Industrial Technologies'. Google bearing distributors. You can get domestic bearings which are a better quality bearing. Better safe than sorry is all I can say.

 

do yourself a favor before installing harley junk sealed wheel bearings. pop the seal off of one side using a little screw driver and pack some grease in the things. harley or whatever overseas joke company is making them doesn't install much grease in the damn things. pop the seal right back on and hopefully and i mean just maybe with alittle luck you might get a few miles out of the crap bearing. you do need to learn the proper way to install these bearings so as to not side load them. many dealers don't have a clue. proper tool is importent here.

 

If your bike has ABS those bearings are junk. They go out often so keep an eye out for the grease trail you described.

 

one of the worst things harley ever did (among alot of other things) was to stop using the tapered wheel bearings.

 

After the OEM bearings failed prematurely on my NT (no high pressure washing etc.), I would rather go to a reputable bearing supplier and get a US or Japanese made quality bearing.

 

I have a buddy in the bearing busness, I just need the size . Will HD put my bearings in?

 

'00 to '07 bearings on 1" axles are excellent. Swapped mine out at 100,000 and they were still good.

'08 to present bearings on 25mm axle are junk, and should be replaced at least every other tire change (IMO)

 

The initial indan made 25 mm bearings part #9276 are pretty bad. The 9276A bearings are better, they switched suppliers around 2007 and later. You can also buy a Timken Made in USA version of the Harley 9276A. The abs side bearing 9252 generally doesn't fail. You can also switch to ceramic versions of 9276A and 9252 but they are $$$