Noticed a clunking on my 11 roadglide about a month ago. Cleaned it tonight ends up being the right front wheel bearing. Pulled the wheel it is pretty sloppy, so out of commission for now I guess. ABS bearing on the other side is fine, but I will replace both. My question is do I need to go Timken or something better than Harley. Don't want to wait but I will if I have to. Kind of surprising it went at 25500 miles but alot of threads saying the new bearings are not good. I can go to my dealer at lunch tomorrow buy new ones and probably have them install pretty cheap since the wheel is in my trunk. Worth ordering better bearings or just have them done at the dealer with HD.

 

If u have a local bearing supply house get them there.Lots netter bearings.Can rent a blind hole puller from Auto Zone to remove the bearings.

 

I've got an 11 street glide that has been making a weird knocking feeling at different speeds and the bike seems unstable. I was thinking same issue you have. What were your symptoms? I originally thought head bearing but mine is right and within spec.

Thanks in advance!

 

I only got 17,000 out of my front bearing .. Dealer told me the replacement was an upgrade ... not sure if this is true or BS ... 27,000 mile Inner Primary Bearing went bad ... I don't have a lot of faith in these bearings ....

 

Had to replace front wheel bearings on my 09 flhtcu at 14k miles .

Looks to me like our HD's have bearing issues in general with all the posts i have read here in HDForums stating people had problems with bearings on wheels,inner prim,main trans shaft,cams,etc.

HD's having such a wide spread issue with premature bearing failure in mult areas of the motor/bike i would think is likely a bean counter / save money increase profit thing that unfortunately for us resulted in inferior / low quality bearings being used by HD causing us mult issues along the way.

Scott

 

It's also my understanding that a better quality replacement ABS bearing is not available so the HD ABS bearing must be used. Also, from what I've read, premature ABS bearing failure is not as much of a problem as the non-ABS bearing for whatever reason(s). Supposedly, the reasons for bearing failure are related to metal shavings that were not removed from the hub assembly and that some bearings were not lubed properly at the bearing factory. Some forum posters actually report injecting grease into the bearings through the rubber dust seal using a syringe in an attempt to increase their longevity. Just curious if any one reading this has lubed theirs with a syringe? Unlike now, bearings used to last damn near forever. I've owned dozens of bikes and never ever had to replace a bearing.

 

I posted in 10-03-2012, 07:06 AM that discussed the reasons why and how o fix your problems. For this who will ask, the OD on both bearings are the same, 52mm. LINK

HD must use the lowest bid Chinese wheel bearings in their new bikes. As everyone knows that there are many different grades of bearings which relate to how they are graded. The reason why HD went to 25mm axles are because: (1) of the availability of very cheap and readily available metric bearings. Due to the high production numbers the purchase price is very inexpensive for all and (2) with introduction of the ABS senser



must fit into existing HD wheels so a smaller width bearing must be used with his piggyback sensor. This means trading in a twin row 52mmX21mmX1"of ball bearings (1" axle) to a single row 52mmX15mmX25mm (25mm axle) which is thinner in width.




First, lets find out what is inside.





From 2000 ~ 2007 HD used two row bearings. They are very reliable unless they were pressure cleaned which caused water intrusion. You can buy: High Quality Chinese bearings cost around $25 ~$30/pair for good industrial bearings with high tolerances or buy American made for $25/each. HD used Chinese made bearings but charges $25/each, the same quality bearing that is sold on e-Bay for somewhere around $12~15/pair.

There is no way that I would ever INSTALL this bearing without pressing it into the wheel squarely. There is several companies that make these tools such as Jims or Georges garage. This is not a place where you wish to save money as it is your own life and possibly the life of your loved one that comes into play in your purchasing decision.

It is up to you to decide which and how much money you wish to spend for your replacement bearings.

>>> It's also my understanding that a better quality replacement ABS bearing is not available so the HD ABS bearing must be used.
<<< mcain49 To the best of my knowledge the "Marker" bearing is made for HD exclusively and no substitutes are available.

 

To answer bsnilloc's question when I would push down on the bars and compress the front end up and down there was a knocking sound. I too thought it might be the neck bearing but I had it on the lift when cleaning it last night and put my thumbs on the fender and lifted up on the wheel with my fingers and the right side had play. Took the wheel off and that bearing is very sloppy, not where it seats in the hub the bearing itself. As I said above the ABS bearing feels fine but if I'm having one done I'm just going to do both. Also in response to saving money I didn't say I was looking for the cheapest bearing just asking if the Harley bearing is any better than the one in my bike (upgrade) or the same exact thing. Safety of course is my first priority that's why I checked it and will replace just looking for some ideas on what others have replaced with.

 

I just bought the pit posse bearing puller and installer and replaced both front bearings (abs and non abs).

I hadn't done any research and bought both HD bearings from surdyke.

i knew I had a bearing issue due to the cyclic metallic grind I'd receive when making left hand sweepers. I went up a car garage to the top floor and coasted down (engine off) and could hear the wheel bearing racket. After 24k miles, the non abs bearing had ***** the bed, the abs was still "okay".

I pulled the dust covers off the bearings and they were packet with grease so just popped them back in and all is well.

 

I have had to replace the ABS wheel bearings on both wheels on my 2013 Electra Glide with in 10-12,000 miles. Oddly enough the non-ABS bearing on both wheels were fine but were replaced as well.

Two different dealers did the work and both claimed I must have directed high pressure water spray into the bearing when washing it. Other than rain my bike has not seen anything more than a garden hose.