I decided I was going to get ready for sturgis in the middle of July and my normal dealer said call in 2 weeks and I will let you know what day to come.Waited 2 weeks and was then given the date the 14th of august.So I scheduled a trip to another dealer out of the way to get to sturgis to do a service check over and find the noise in the front end.Here is where it gets odd.They spotted my 21 inch wheel after I told them I thought it was a wheel bearing(1200 miles on bearings)Said they couldnt keep bearings in them.Aftermarket junk is their opinion.So I said bearing it any way.30 miles total and it rode back to the dealer in a trailer.From the time I took off it felt like it was on ice and then the tire felt flat then it kicked the seal out of the left side bearing.Upon tear down both came out in pieces



DAY 2------------------two new bearings with no reason why they were bad 2 nights of unneeded motels as well as meals.They rode it half a block and sent me on my way.I made it a block and called them and told them its not right because the windshield is shaking and it has a strange feel.Shop foreman stated it felt fine for him.That set made it 15 miles and kicked the left seal out of the bearing the same as the first time.It then turned into a wheel issue and they wont put it back together again so I had to hitch home to get the stock wheel.So far I am out Sat. Sun . Monday of the trip almost $400 in bearing repair.$200 in motel (close to dealer) as well as having to figure out a way back up to get it.The wheel manufacturer said its the dealer and the way its setup .The dealer says its the wheel not having the right hub even though it ran 1200 miles on the first set of bearings.The wheel company said the hub is the same on this wheel for both abs and non abs.the dealer pulled out a new agitator wheel and said its the wheel due to theirs has a deeper machined bearing pocket for abs.



Question is ----------Whats your opinion????I dont want dealer bashing or manufacturer bashing I just dont want to experience the wobbles and loss of front brakes again.

 

I don't have much to add to this except to mention that the Rim/Hub is the same with or without ABS on factory rims. Not sure about agitators but probably the same. So the pocket is the same between abs and non-abs.

The ABS bearing is 3mm wider or something so it sticks out a wee bit further on the left side but it is still fully in the "pocket". It does not stick out beyond the pocket. The left side spacer would need to be thinner (by 3mm) to properly center the wheel. The ABS sensor IS the spacer in this case.

So... it's not really rocket science. Nothing really special. Make sure the left side bearing is fully seated, that there is a center spacer in the hub between both bearings, and everything when pressed together is tight.

lp

 

How about telling us what the bike is, and if you have ABS or not?

My take on your story...you have a wheel issue. Your first bearing went out at 1200 miles? Really? Something is terribly wrong with something on your front end. Either that or a total dork installed your bearings and over-torqued the front nut. (putting excess pressure on the bearing races and ruining them for any longevity)

I am not convinced that all aftermarket wheels have the same hub depth as a stock harley wheel. Sure, they should, but I bet some don't.

Did your initial installer use the same stock spacers, internal and external, on your new wheel? If he didn't, that's a clue.

Give us some more details if you can. Maybe we can track down the issue.

 

2012 street glide with ABS.The instructions that came with the wheel said to use all of the stock spacers.So it was done



the stock wheel has a new bearing in it as well.Failure at about 150 miles--------it didnt fail in the same way as these did though.It started squeaking like it was a no lube deal.I am about half afraid to ride the thing now as I almost feel it needs a chase vehicle everywhere it goes.I just about sprung for the 16oo$ 19 inch agitator wheel last night just to see how long it took this setup to do it.Its something to tie up the $1500 in the aftermarket wheel just because you have a opportunity to do so without a bunch of labor cost---------then have it fail as well.


After getting measurements off of the agitator wheel setup as well as looking at another dealer yesterday at 3 on the showroom with agitators I almost think they dont set up perfectly centered in the fender.I measured one and showed the salesman how much it was off and after he called the service manager and was told thats how they all fit it makes me think they might have the offset due to brakes---------------my 21 is perfect in the fender and everything is centered

 

go on-line & find a wheel bearing mannufacture.may have to send then a new one so they can replace it with a better quality one. does yours have plastic cages? my old '74 FXE did. thought the industry did away with them soon afterwards.

 

all the metal cage ones that will work for the abs bearing are open on the back side.The plastic grease shield wouldnt bother me if it didn't get to much load and fly out lol

 

I had wheel bearing issues both front and back on my 08 Streetglide with OEM wheels and everything brand new. Ocala dealer told me the MOCO had alot of bearing failures when they went to the 25 MM setup. Mine did last until I was ready to change tires but they said some failed in 1500 miles from the factory. I thought should have been a recall but what do I know as a consumer right. Maybe some issue with the bearings they are using, Ocala dealer put an upgraded release in front and back wheels and had no problems.

 

according to this dealer the only ones they have ever replaced are the ones when tires get changed -----preventative stuff

 

If you want to maintain you ABS functionality, then you will have to use the HD ABS bearing on the left front. Nobody else makes a substitute for this encoder-equipped bearing.

There are substitues for the non-ABS side (the right side on the front). SKF 6205, etc.

In this pic you can see the ABS bearing is about 2 or 3 mm wider then the non-abs bearing. The non-abs bearing is a HD bearing.



Here is a close-up of the ABS bearing, made by F.A.G. in Canada:



And here is your non-abs bearing, made in Korea:



Here is one final photo of the bearing and the inner spacer, all oriented as they would be installed:



Properly installing wheel bearings is critical. You install the ABS side first, fully seating the ABS bearing in the cup. Turn the wheel over, insert the internal spacer, then install the non-abs bearing to a depth to where it just "touches" the inner spacer. No more and no less. Then coat the axle with silver anti-seize, and when you slide it through and get it on the bike and are ready to tighten the nut....use a damn good torque wrench and limit your torque to 65 lbs. No more and no less. That's basically all you can do to ensure that the install is proper. The rest is up to the bearings.

One final thought...when washing the bike, avoid directing pressurized water toward your wheel bearings. The plastic seals are not perfectly water tight and will allow moisture to enter if the pressure is strong enough. This will cause havoc with the bearing lub and may eventually lead to problems down the road.

 

Okay that is the current setup.My replacement wasn't going to have a sensor just due to trying to get it home but no bearing that was pregreased was available-----this was just trying to find another source for the bearing to rule out a bad batch of bearingsWith that being said the crush sleeve was floating in the wheel with resistance but it would drop to half a hole off and then you had to lift it with your fingers



So far after today and talking to the wheel maker and having him call the dealership and getting jerked around the score is Wheel manufacturer 1 dealer ship nothing.I am tempted to hire someone to haul it out of there and take it to another dealer just out of principal.The tech didnt answer the questions right to the tech guy at the wheel manufacturer.Any question I have had of the dealer is answered with it was done to harley specs---------------when I ask what spec is that the service manager told me once that was privileged information,second time the response was its just harley spec and the information wont help you-------I have been run out of one Denver dealership due to sales tax lies and hate to add this one to the list.That would only leave 3 more and one of them doesnt count.The wheel people said I could send them the wheel and get it checked out to see if they can find a issue.Bottom line is something is wrong and it should be easy to remedy if the tech would observe and communicate with the wheel maker measurements of the bearing depth but the techs response is I dont have time to do anything other than Harley specs.I swore after dealing with emissions engines in my business I wouldnt own another anything that has unresolved mechanical issues



As far as the washing goes the thing has never had a pressure washer used on it-------the last set of bearings went in 20 miles no need to wash at that point lol