On my way back from Sturgis (great trip) 5 miles from home, I heard a crunch sound, not real loud but noticeable. A half mile later my front end shook violently and I came as close to dumping the bike as I ever have. Pulled over to the side, limped the bike home and found this. For all of those out there, like me, who didn't appreciate the importance of changing your front wheel bearings out on a somewhat regular basis, when they fail you could be in a world of hurt. Fortunately, I was only going 50 or so but I thought back to all the hours I spend crossing South Dakota doing 80. If it would have failed then I probably would not be writing this. The pics below are from my 2010 Ultra Classic with 75K on it.
That never happened back when Harley used Timken tapered roller bearings in their wheels. Grease them at every tire change and they lasted forever.
The wheel bearings the MoCo uses now are adequate for a bicycle, not a heavyweight motorcycle. Sorry, changing wheel bearings is NOT, and shouldn’t be preventative maintenance. Would you buy a new car expecting to have to replace the wheel bearings every few thousand miles? Of course you wouldn’t.
Reading this stuff only serves to convince me not to buy a new Harley.
That never happened back when Harley used Timken tapered roller bearings in their wheels. Grease them at every tire change and they lasted forever.
The wheel bearings the MoCo uses now are adequate for a bicycle, not a heavyweight motorcycle. Sorry, changing wheel bearings is NOT, and shouldn’t be preventative maintenance. Would you buy a new car expecting to have to replace the wheel bearings every few thousand miles? Of course you wouldn’t.
Reading this stuff only serves to convince me not to buy a new Harley.
Sure it did although not with the frequency today ... The tapered bearings ( Most would cross to an A-4 if I remember correctly ) were much easier to service though
Sure it did although not with the frequency today ... The tapered bearings ( Most would cross to an A-4 if I remember correctly ) were much easier to service though
Okay, I admit to having ONE bearing failure in 260,000 total miles on the Timken bearings. However, it gave me plenty of warning so I had plenty of time to get it replaced long before I was in danger from a catastrophic failure.
Truthfully, I'd love to buy a new Harley to take some of the load off my old bike, but these threads aren't inspiring confidence.
I have 12,000 miles on my 2016 and fully intend to change the wheel bearings, front and rear, when the tires are due. If I thought HD had the best bearings I'd buy them there but will prolly look to the aftermarket. Quality, not price.
Wheel bearings that can give it up whenever, an ABS system that faults to a no-brakes condition, tells me I need to be vigilant.
At this point I don't ever see myself not owning at least one HD, but I need to be 100% cautious and observant.
I've seen them fail with as little as 2400 miles on them. Just changed out my brothers with about 12.000 miles on them and the right front was shot. These junk bearings just scare me. The old style Timkins would last and last. These 'new" bearings just don't seem to last and Harley just continues to use them.
I really didn't notice any noise, I wear a full face helmet so its possible there was I just didn't hear it, In retrospect, the bike seemed to wander a little at high speed, I attributed that to the crosswinds but it may have been the start of the bearing failing.
08-12-2018, 10:44 AM
Front wheel bearing death wobble
