Hey all, so took my '07 SG w/18k miles into the shop for tires and discovered the wheel bearings are pretty much shot. No real indication this was happening until the wheels were off. It's covered under warranty so not a big issue, but I'm curious if this is common to happen with only 18k miles, or did I just get unlucky?
Posted Mar 21, 2019, 11:52 AM UTC
Bearings are inexpensive and easy to replace when putting on new rubber. I change mine every two years whether they need it or not. Get into this habit in future tire changes and you'll thank yourself.
Not epidemic failure rates but not entirely uncommon either. To be frank, it's a middle of the road maintenance/consumable item.
Not unusual to see them fail in the 15k to 50k range. Some fail early like 8-10k others go 50k plus.
As with most ball bearings unless catastrophic failure occurs your first sign is often when the wheel is off the bike and you feel the grease has gone dry(little to no drag when turned) or they start to feel "crunchy".
Lots of aftermarket options if you don't have ABS, it's a 6205-2RS bearing that is widely available. ABS has a few aftermarket options as the tone ring for the ABS sensor is part of the bearing.
That's the thought I'm getting, just odd to me as I've had plenty of other bikes and never had issues, even with super high mileage. That's how we found out, wheel of the bike to do tires and the bearing felt like it had gravel instead of ball bearings in it.
I'm going to let them just slap new OEM bearings in since I have one of the used bike warranties. $50 charge that covers parts and labor.
I see ball bearings wheel bearings fail all over the map on many bikes, it's not just a Harley thing.
By the same token I've replace far more steering head bearings on metric bikes in just the last 5 years than I have in heavy ass Harleys in the last 25 years.
How do you inspect swing arm bearings? My dyna is approaching 20 years and I know it's supposed to have been inspected already, but I presume just for play while mounted? Should they also just get replaced at some point?
You can get a decent idea of their condition by disconnecting the shocks when the rear wheel is off the bike and feeling for any play in the swingarm or any harshness as the swing arm is rotated up and down.
good to know, thank you! The wheel is coming off this weekend for a rear brake cleaning + service, so this sounds like perfect timing...
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My 13 ultra same way, 19k, rear .
On the sprocket side? Bet the belt tension was too tight. Banging bearings in versus a press is a quick death too...
Every time I get new rubber, I ask for a wheel bearing check.
I only made it about 12k on my first set. There was a period of time where Harley was putting in bearings that were prone to failure. You can tell. If yours are updated. The old style had a plastic grease cover and the new style has a metal one.
I may have to see when I pick it up if they still have them and take a peek. Didn't even think to check if the grease cover was plastic or metal. I'm just honestly glad I found out now and not later while on the bike...
There has been 3 versions of the 25mm bearing without the abs encoder, 2 had rubber seals.