Trust me my new phrase is (when in doubt change them out) i have had 3 sets of bearing in my rear and 2 sets in my front. i have 35,000 on my bike and i ride the hell out of it
again WHEN IN DOUBT CHANGE THEM OUT its scary when they let go at 80

 

All bawls bearings are like $13 each and only takes a few minutes to pull and install (with the proper tools, I know I bought the tools from George's garage). A good indy shop should be able to the get the job done for just a little over what the dealer deductible on your warranty will be. The dealer will likely insist on using MOCO parts (more mark up for them).

As stated, though your money is easy for me to spend, when you consider the cost of owning and maintaining a Harley, $50 to $100 for maintenance isn't big in the scheme of things.

 

All ***** are also made in China.

 

Distributor claims USA. And they are claimed to be "premium" bearings.

Only have 1,000 miles on 'em so don't know if they last any longer, but I'm not satisfied w/ the Moco-spec cheapie bearings.

 

"Premium" is a sales term, not a bearing classification.

The reason some bikes seem to have a problem with the sealed bearings is because the inner spacer is not the correct dimension, causing the bearing to run in a cross load condition.

Until the spacer dimension is set to the proper dimension, the bike will continue to have bearing problems and the owners will complain that it is because of cheap bearings...

Some bikes seem to run forever on sealed bearings, these are the bikes that have the spacer set up correctly. If the dealer simply replaces the bearing without measuring the wheel to ensure the proper spacer setup, he is just reinstalling the same problem.

 

+1 on that, proper setup makes all the difference in the world.

 

"Cheapie" isn't a bearing classification, either, but it is one which can accurately be used to define the stock bearing.

"Premium" is used to categorize an upgrade from OEM, whether it be bearings or tires.

No doubt improper spacers could contribute to shorter bearing life. But how can one explain premature bearing failure on so many newer bikes? Please don't expect us to believe Moco assembled them all w/ the wrong spacers.

 

All ***** in conjunction with KML Bearing which is China is what it states on several web site selling All *****. This is not to say they are not quality bearings since US Multi-National manufacturers build state of the art facilities in China and elsewhere to exploit low wage workers instead of investing in US facilities. State of the Art facilities anywhere can produce a quality product.

I will repeat this forever, if you have the narrow 25x52x15mm (most if not all '08 up) bearing you will be well served to replace the rear bearings at every tire change no matter what brand. IMO it is not the "cheapie" bearing, it is that this bearing is not suited to take the load for this application and if you increase the power to the rear wheel it will only exacerbate this problem. It is my understanding PM wheels use Japanese NACHI bearings for 25mm axle applications.
The wide bearings just do not have the failure rate anywhere close to these narrow bearings and I bet those that have failed were due to other factors, such as continuous wet weather riding or power washing the wheels.

The OP has the Wide Bearings, so when we talk bearings we need to separate those with the wide bearings 3/4 or 1" ID and the narrow 25mm ID bearing.
My

 

Can you elaborate on this? What spacer dimensions are off? If you are using after-market wheels and such I could see this as a problem.

If you are running the OEM wheels and spacers this is a non issue unless the spacers were so short you were tweaking the swing arm and if that was the case the tire would be well off center. The bearing is simply clamped between the outer and center spacers with the clamping force applied to the center race. Proper torque is important, but you will always have some differences in tolerances between the spacers and swing arm, which will really only affect where the wheel is centered.

 

I don`t expect you to believe anything, it is just my opinion.

Some bikes run long distances with no bearing problems, and some bikes have recurring bearing problems.

If a bike has an inner spacer that is too short or too long, that bike is a perfect candidate for recurring bearing failure.