I figure as cheap as they are might as well have them replaced on the first or second tire change. Wheel bearings are in fact a safety item. Not something the MOCO can simply turn a blind eye to. I had a stator fail on my Sportster at 11k now at nearly 30k its still working fine. Go figure. Wheel bearings would bring about a safety recall if they had a high instance of low mileage failure.

 

My front wheel and inner primary bearing had to be replaced at 2900 miles. Crazy.

 

My plan too. I'll do it myself, though. Harbor Freight Press & the correct removal/installation tool and I'm all set.

Before installing, I'll pop the seals, as suggested above, and clean & repack with Mobil 1 Synth grease.

I've been seeing posts about failures - many at low mileages - ever since the MOCO started installing the sealed units. Wasn't that about the same time they went to the TC motors?

 

The twin cam came out in 1999, but that had nothing to do with bearing failures. What I've heard is that 2007 was either the last year for American made wheel bearings or the first year for imports, and the failures started with the imports.

If you meant you're getting a bearing puller, the Pit Posse Harley set is a great one. It puts them back in easy, too, with no hammering or cocking, don't need a press. There are copies both cheaper and more expensive. It can help to chill the bearings in your freezer before putting them in, and I always put a film of antiseize in the wheel bore, plus coat the axle. Nice to be able to slide them apart next time, I've had to hammer out too many on used bikes when that obviously wasn't done.

 

Here's a link to the ABS bearing kits. http://www.jpcycles.com/product/744-457

 

Here's a set (for one wheel)

https://www.denniskirk.com/drag-spec...prd/123952.sku

The HD ABS bearing is 24.00 by itself.

The All ***** link above shows 4 bearings but only one of them is an ABS bearing. You'd need two of them and two regular bearings. Could just a be a stock photo thing. I just don't know a lot about All ***** bearings, whether they're any good or not. Currently I use HD bearings and change them every 2nd tire change (regardless) which is to say about every 30K miles. I may be throwing money away but a failed wheel bearing while traveling is at least a pain in the d*ck, at worst a failure while riding.

 

You may be right about the bearings starting to be a problem when the MOCO cheaped-out with the Chinese bearings, but it seems like I was already hearing and reading about low-mileage failures back when I bought my '03 RK. It was such a "Shop Queen" that I got rid of it at about 2500 miles. Only owned it a couple of months, so the bearings didn't have a chance to fail - although lots of other stuff did!

The Pit Posse kit is definitely the way I'll go when the time comes. Looks like a fine quality tool and doesn't require a press, either. 90 bucks on Amazon. What a deal! Thanks for the tip!

I do the same thing with copper-based anti seize on bearings and axles, and anything else I might want to be able to take back apart in the future - especially when dissimilar metals are involved.

Thanks again,

JP

 

What tools are you guys using to change your bearings? I want to buy something that I can do my front soon and rear when needed.

 

The all ***** bearings are on Amazon now as well, for both front and back. I have ordered my sets as I will be doing tires this summer.

 

This is the Pit Posse I mentioned earlier, comes as a Harley set to fit all 3 size axles. Google "pit posse bearing puller" and see who has the best price; ipooch00 said it's $90 on Amazon. There are similar competitors that look the same for more and less, don't know about their quality, but I think the Pit Posse is very good.


I grease the threads and all parts that move against each other, makes it easier to turn. You can see in this pic how it pulls a bearing straight out, no cocking and no hammering needed. Harley bearings are (or should be) very tight in the wheel bore, not something that comes out easy with a slide hammer puller, I'd recommend against those except for lighter stuff. Be sure to put the bearings in the right order in the manual, and no play or bind in that long center spacer, if you haven't changed bearings before.



Helps if you have something to hold the wheel steady, too. My tire changer works great for that. Wouldn't say it's so easy a kid could do it, but...