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Free advice should always be taken at face value. That said, many times when I hear people say that a certain brand of wheel bearing is junk, or that Harleys just eat wheel bearings, it's hard for me to believe that the bearings are being installed properly.
There is a steel spacer tube inside the wheel between the bearings. I've watched people press the first bearing in, flip the wheel over, put the spacer in and press the second bearing in (pushing on the outer race) until the spacer stops it. This severely side-loads the inner races and will cause heat, wear and ultimately a RUD - rapid unplanned disassembly - of the sealed bearing.
The spacer should be lightly held by the bearings, but still able to be moved adjacent to the inner race with some finger pressure. if it's too tight, the bearings are side loaded outwards, if too loose, the wheel spacers will side load the bearings inward.
With one caveat..... The proper bearing installation tool will push on both the outside race and the inside race. You can then mate up the secondary bearing without "walking it in" to avoid overloading the outside race.
The axle pushes on the inside race, via the spacers, at 65 ft lbs on a softail and 125 ft lbs on some touring bikes. With a bearing installer that pushes on both races equally, I have read that you can snug them equal to the amount of the axle bolt torque without issue.
With the proper installation tool, I don't torque to axle specs when installing the secondary bearing, but I mate them snugly and can't spin the steel spacer tube with my finger.
I lost front wheel bearing on 2013 SG on highway doing 70 or so. Scared the **** outta me. Bike had somewhere around 20k miles on it. Fortunate we were on a trip, in Virginia, and it happened 4-5 miles from Shanandoah HD. Managed to ride there and get replaced. I would change my bearings at least every other tire change....and check and try to add a little bearing grease anytime I have wheel off. These are not serviceable and should be checked regularily.
The shovel just pull, clean, inspect, repack with new seals and go if the races aren't pitted. The later one pc bearings I'd replace every other tire change just because, that design is not optimal for wheel bearing on a heavy motorcycle. Bastards went the one pc bearings as a cost-cutting move only.
Older bikes have timken bearings, so you pull the seals, pull the taper bearing side, clean the race cups still in the rim, look for wear if they are still good or not, install the bearings dry to check the free play and if you need to adjust the shim stack or not, re-grease the bearings with red and tacky, install new seals (JP has the entire seal pack for $6), and all is good. Hence Timken bearing/free play checked/re-greased every tire change, no reason for them not to last 80K or more miles.
Newer bikes got sealed bearings, so although you can pull the seals to add more grease to them before they are installed, no way to correct wear between races and *****, so kind of change them out with every tire change instead.
And a huge one, before you install the new sealed bearings, pull the seals to grease them correctly with high temp grease, since will be under greased, and in most cases, not greased with high temp grease to begin with.
Myself, will pull both side seals and soak the bearing is either WD-40 or mineral spirits to get the wrong grease out, then repack them with the correct High temp grease. Do this, and the bearings will be fine to go an extra tire change, before they needs to be replaced.
Note, if you are power washing the bike a great deal, then isntead of Red high temp grease, use Blue marine grease on the sealed bearings.
I lost a rear on the FXDL at 23k miles, looked like was due to lack of lubrication. Changed all on the RGL at 12k with World Wide Bearings, they currently have 36k miles on them but plan on changing before any long trips this year.
While this is hotly debated, and you can find "experts" that will argue both sides of this debate.
For my part, IMHO, I do not believe it is wise to open a sealed wheel bearing and add grease.
From what I have found researching the topic, most experts agree that the sealed bearing does not need to be packed full. In fact many say a fully packed sealed bearing will be a bad thing... The fully packed bearing leads to increased friction and heat, which shortens the effective life of the grease. I've attached at the bottom of this post, something I found in several sources stating that the sealed bearings need no more than 25% - 35% grease fill under the seals.
Also, there were several sources that state how easy it is to damage the seal(s), causing water intrusion, which is a big bearing killer. The video below demonstrated this.
Finally, again IMHO, many of the early bearing failures on the HD 25mm bearings, I believe were due to improper installation with a installation tool that only puts pressure on the outer race of the bearing, instead of both the inner & outer races equally. There are many people, and I was one of them, who use one of the poorly designed tools. I was educated by multihdrdr and Max Headflow about the issue and the risk they pose during install.
Below is the info from McQuire Engineering Services and X Anderol about overfilling a sealed bearing.
Of course, I have only shared info supporting my personal opinion. I offer it as a counter point to many who routinely post, and believe it is OK, if not necessary, to ad grease to a new sealed bearing. I am not trying to demean their opinions, just offer an opposing opinion.
As always, I suggest people do their own research, think for themselves and form their own opinions..
Last edited by hattitude; May 5, 2024 at 11:08 PM.
Trailer wheel bearings are a different animal and are not sealed type and require packing with grease periodically as you are relying on a seal on the inner hub as well as the dust cap or bearing buddy on the outer. I have seen also joe backyard replaces bearings but not hub race and causes failure as those get rough too, boat trailers especially have issues as the bearing hits cold water after being run for awhile and the temp change creates an opportunity for water to be drawn in. How often do you replace your car wheel bearings? the bike setup is very robust compared to a trailer and last alot longer so a quick feel or inspection at tire change tells the tail. Oddly similar type bearings are used in snowmobiles but don't last near as long as motorcycle either, I suspect its the load direction, track/trail vibration and extreme cold temps that cause premature failure there.
I lost front wheel bearing on 2013 SG on highway doing 70 or so. Scared the **** outta me. Bike had somewhere around 20k miles on it. Fortunate we were on a trip, in Virginia, and it happened 4-5 miles from Shanandoah HD. Managed to ride there and get replaced. I would change my bearings at least every other tire change....and check and try to add a little bearing grease anytime I have wheel off. These are not serviceable and should be checked regularily.
What exactly happened when the bearings blew?
Was tire wobbling?
Did you hear or notice anything different in handling prior to it happening?
Glad nothing happened to you......or the bike BTW!
Free advice should always be taken at face value. That said, many times when I hear people say that a certain brand of wheel bearing is junk, or that Harleys just eat wheel bearings, it's hard for me to believe that the bearings are being installed properly.
100% on board with this. I'm not saying every time, but personally, I believe most early bearing failures are due to improper installation. Even by a "Tech" in a Harley Dealership.
I install all my own bearings, and it doesn't need to be done every tire change. I'm not on board with trying to grease sealed bearings. If you're worried about it, replace them.
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