I was on the way to Elizabethtown last weekend and noticed it seemed my front wheel bearings were howling as I went around a curve
well the rear was doing it to on occasion
I called man o war Harley-Davidson they said bring it by
I had been riding a lot and it was filthy and as I washed it low and behold
a F’n nail in my back tire
They replaced both sets of bearings and a nw rear tire for the $50.00 deductible
bike had 11,775 miles on it

 

Thanks for the update

 

for all the bad rap dealerships get, there's been a lot of benefits and advantages from my experience..this was all found during my 20K service and covered under my factory 2 year warranty..I had absolutely no indication there was something wrong, no tell tale signs which is concerning and was before I left on a trip, so if I hadn't taken it in for service things could have gotten dangerous for me..my wife's front wheel bearing was found to be bad after 17000 miles when they were putting on a front tire and they replaced that under warranty ..a buddy had his wheel bearing replaced about 12000 miles as well under warranty..SM even said they have seen their fair share of bad wheel bearings on the M8s

 

Long ago I adopted the policy of replacing wheel bearings when the wheels are off for a tire replacement.

OP: the howling in turns at that mileage is likely tire noise. They get a bit cupped and mine started up at 12K miles. I think wheel bearings are commonly misdiagnosed for this noise and why it seems they are junk. I view it as cheap insurance to do them with a tire swap. Glad you got your situation taken care of.

 

yeah, my recent near disaster changed my thinking..when I needed a new front tire, brake pads and warped rotors there was no way I wasn't going to just slap new wheel bearings in as well even though they said they appeared fine..gotta' pay to play and these don't have the safety automobiles provide

 

I've always had a sneaking suspicion that many, if not most, wheel bearing problems are caused by the techs who remove and replace wheels during tire swaps. I've watched techs work on bikes at Japanese brand shops, they really slap things around. They're in a big hurry. The customer is waiting and he wants his bike back right now!

How the axle is pulled out, and put back in, is IMHO very important. Just banging it through with a hammer is not going to help those wheel bearings. I don't believe the average tech takes the kind of time necessary to prevent doing damage. And after that, they wheel the thing around to the power washer where water is forced into places it shouldn't ever be.

This is the main reason I like doing my own tires. Nobody treats my bike as lovingly as I do. I don't CARE how much time it takes me to line up the wheel to the swing arm and gently work the axle into and through all three bearings. I'm in no hurry. I've had no wheel bearing problems on two Harleys in combined nearly 60k miles.

 

Most times putting a tire on they can get away with charging the MOCO for wheel bearing. I have seen them gone at 5000 and go as far as 74,000. I personal change brake pads and wheel bearing when I put new tires on. (17-18k with Avon’s ) But new tire front rear 315.....60 dollar rebate 109 for all 3 sets of brake pads 50 bucks for all 5 wheel bearings with anti lock ...so cheap when you do your own. 414 and nobody BSing me about cutting a bearing out.....or leaving a caliper loose. Done in 4 hours. Extended warranty. Worthless in 85% of the time. Plus guys finance the warranty ....the cost is ridiculously

 

Absolutely correct. Most commonly with junk Dunlop’s using factory/ lawyer low air pressure