Bearing failure
Road Master
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 1
From: LI, NY
Once upon a time car front wheel bearings where repacked with every brake job.
Rear axle bearings where never touched. By the last decade of RWD production bearing would go 200,000 miles and almost all of those car's died from other reasons before those bearing would give out.
Cars and pickups weighing up to 6,ooo lbs and those bearings stand up.
Harley's, all under 1,000 lbs and their wheel bearings do not last. There is no excuse.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,332
Likes: 3,873
From: Upstate New York
Back in the days of the Evo, Harley used real Timken bearings in their wheels. I have mine repacked when I have a tire changed. One wheel had its bearings replaced at 128,000 miles, the other wheel has its original bearings at 184,000 miles.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4,571
Likes: 121
From: Mpls, MN
I'm assuming my 2012 WG has the crap bearings?
Used to take the old bearing to my bearing supply house and they'd match them up, I'd like to pick the bearings up first if possible this time.
Anybody know which Timken/? bearing numbers for both front and rear wheels or where to find the numbers?
TIA
Al
Used to take the old bearing to my bearing supply house and they'd match them up, I'd like to pick the bearings up first if possible this time.
Anybody know which Timken/? bearing numbers for both front and rear wheels or where to find the numbers?
TIA
Al
harley bearings are chinease, the chinamen buy all our scrap metal for pennies and ship it by boat to china land where its melted down en mass and made into bearings. low quality steels with alot of impurities and not always in spec and viola you get crap bearings that burn out,
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 27,097
Likes: 4,676
From: Frozelandia, Minnysota
A bit over 220,000, didn't put all of them on it, but judging from other bits & pieces on the old Glide, could be original wheel bearings. Going to replace them with the next set of tires by next spring - and not with chinese, don't think there's a bit of chinese on this bike and plan to keep it that way.
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 751
Likes: 9
From: Portland, Oregon
Only this...
While the dimensional specifications are probably spot-on, you have to realize that the chemistry of the materials used isn't even close. The components that make up that part are based on literal garbage. This is the difference between Made in USA and Made out of melted down dogfood dishes and toothpaste tube China. I mentioned global regulatory requirements in that Lead Solder thread, and those of us still making things in the U.S follow them. China claims to, but they don't. It has been proven by A2LA accredited labs here. THAT'S WHY IT"S CHEAPER...it's made from crap. If CEOs were truly as smart as they want us to think, they would figure that out, and maybe with some accountability, also realize that it doesn't save them anything if they have to keep replacing it.
Apologies to TwiZted...it's just something that frosts my ***, 'cuz I see it everyday.
While the dimensional specifications are probably spot-on, you have to realize that the chemistry of the materials used isn't even close. The components that make up that part are based on literal garbage. This is the difference between Made in USA and Made out of melted down dogfood dishes and toothpaste tube China. I mentioned global regulatory requirements in that Lead Solder thread, and those of us still making things in the U.S follow them. China claims to, but they don't. It has been proven by A2LA accredited labs here. THAT'S WHY IT"S CHEAPER...it's made from crap. If CEOs were truly as smart as they want us to think, they would figure that out, and maybe with some accountability, also realize that it doesn't save them anything if they have to keep replacing it.
Apologies to TwiZted...it's just something that frosts my ***, 'cuz I see it everyday.
I think the only thing most corporate officers are really concerned with is their salaries and bonus checks. That doesn't necessarily mean quality products and customer satisfaction (sometimes it does) it means how can we make something as cheap as we can and sell it for as much as we can. If something is so bad people quit buying it then and only then do the corporate suits think they need to address it. If they can sell the public on reasonable quality from China they will do it in a heartbeat.
And to think we eat food from China (not me).
Beat to death issue, same ol same ol, but its still nice to bitch.
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Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,126
Likes: 51,458
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
You lower legs have a fixed size hole so unless you willing to make sleeve bushing or change them you fixed with the axle size . Drop the change and get the good US or German made bearings , how much trouble is your life worth is the way people need to look at it . You haven't lived till a wheel bearing disintegrates welding itself to the axle at 70mph and the fun begins , say good by to your underwear as your *** will eat them .