On my 16 Road King 21000 miles .replaced front tire and sure enough the bearings were shot ..

 

If there is any Question about the bearings replace them or you wont get any sleep.

 

I had 60k miles on my 02 Road King that had sealed bearings and they were still good. Never seen so many bearing failures as there are with the new bikes.

 

My 2015 Limited with 40,000 miles and zero bearing problems.

 

Just had new tread put on the front and rear of my 2015 RG. My trusted Indy normally checks all safety related tire/wheel/brake items when doing a tire change. I specifically asked him to check the bearings this time. When I picked the bike up I asked about the bearings. He told me they were fine. 14,888 miles.

 

I replaced my front wheel bearings at 35K when I had the wheel off for a new tire. The old bearings seemed fine, but with all the failures I've read about on this forum, I decided to change them. Before I did, I had decided I was going to go with aftermarket bearings. When I found out that my bike's OEM bearing part numbers had changed (9252 to 9252A and 9276A to 9276B), I went with OEM. Time will tell if I made the right choice or not.

 

I'd go ahead and change them.
Now that you've thought about them, they'll be in the back of your mind.

Small insurance for peace of mind...............

 

Checked mine the other day per the instructions in the book with a magnetic dial indicator. Book says .002 thousandth replace, I had .0005 or 1/2 thousandth, 23,000 miles.

 

Other then pulling the wheels to inspect is there any other way to check if the bearings are bad? I just came back from a trip and doing twisties something was howling, ONLY during leaning turns, it quieted right down when straightening up. I still have the original tires at 19K miles, plenty of tread left so I'm not sure if it's bearing or tire noise. No wobbles or any other issues...thanks!

 

Well, you can start by looking at them to see if there are any obvious signs like bearing grease seeping around the seals. You can remove the brake calipers and spin the wheel while listening for unusual sounds. I'm sure there are other ways to check them