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Thread: 2 consecutive bearing failures. I need help bad

  1. #1

    2 consecutive bearing failures. I need help bad

    Same wheel bearing. Brand new on the belt side on the rear. Failed within 30 miles. What is causing this????

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    Preload issue

  3. #3
    Senior Member Barrett's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outlaw View Post
    Preload issue
    great call Josh.

    Sir: your possibilities are as follows:
    1-wheel hub bearing floor "lip" is cracked
    2-incorrect bearing installation. typically during installation, the inner race was pressed upon or smacked via hammer/driver.
    3-worn/bent/chipped/twisted/under-sized hub spacer tube not checked and re-used
    4-incorrect axle installation and tightening sequence during wheel installation
    5-three-bearing rear wheel style installed with missing left side spacer. causes immediate bearing destruction

    take your pick.

  4. #4
    Its a 2008 2 bearing wheel firebolt

  5. #5
    Any other parts that could cause this to fail? Its a brand new skf bearing. Theyve worked on my bike for a while now. The old one lasted 6k miles and they failed because of water damage due to frequent washes, my theory.

    I dont wanna walk in and blame the mechanic about sequence of tightening things and such. I also dont k ow what you mean by preload

  6. #6
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
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    Barrett nailed it.
    Pre-load is the process for correctly tightening the wheel bearings and it is VERY specific, VERY important, and in the free service manual. Page 2-31.
    http://buellmods.com/content/downloa...ice_manual.pdf

    One more thing to check is the bearing spacer between the bearings has not been squished by over tightening them EVEN ONCE. That will cause the outer races to bottom in the wheel and the inner races to still be side loaded causing rapid bearing failure, until you replace the spacer. They are cheap and available at HD

  7. #7
    Senior Member outthere's Avatar
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    I find it interesting the procedure isn't the same for the front wheel after a bearing replacement.

  8. #8
    guys how should I try to handle this at the shop? I've had them servicing my buell since the beginning of last year and I cannot say I've ever had any bike related issue (tire patches don't count). They serviced my harley and they are on a first name basis, small father/son business, build race bikes and work on everything. I don't wanna insult their intelligence by procuring a buell manual and asking if they followed it, but the way you make it sound its highly likely that a mechanic error caused this issue.

  9. #9
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cooter View Post
    One more thing to check is the bearing spacer between the bearings has not been squished by over tightening them EVEN ONCE. That will cause the outer races to bottom in the wheel and the inner races to still be side loaded causing rapid bearing failure, until you replace the spacer. They are cheap and available at HD
    I’m putting my money on this.
    Aka #3 on Barrett’s list. Others from the list are probably factors causing #3.
    IMO this sleeve should be replaced whenever the bearings are replaced.
    Last edited by 34nineteen; 06-13-2020 at 04:23 AM.

  10. #10
    I talked to the mechanic on the phone. He seemed to know off the top of his head (at 11pm no less) the procedure of doing this. Tighten, loosen, then retighten to a lower torque. He said 100 ft lb and then to 65ft lb. I don;t know if he actually hit it at those numbers but that was what he said. I then asked about that lip, he said the lip inside the wheel is chipped up and damaged. No idea how bad but he said theres a spacer between the bearings and although he isn't calling bull**** on it, he says he can't really grasp how the lip would affect anything because even if it wasn't there the bearings would be unable to move laterally. He said he could be wrong but just going off memory he doesn't see why its there. He said he'd look into it and do a full inspection of every part and try to get down to the bottom of it. He said he'd check the concentricity of the axle too.



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