Wheel bearing life

Post Reply
whatscooking
Forum Regular
Forum Regular
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:19 am
Location: Madison,Indiana
Location: Indiana

Wheel bearing life

Post by whatscooking »

What do you guys do when it comes to wheel bearing replacement time. I know to feel for roughness and play but do you just go ahead and replace them when you get a new to you bike that you want to keep? And then do you trust what All Balls has to sell? I have had a bike with eight thousand miles on it that needed bearings and another with many more miles still tight.

steve murdoch icoa #5322
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 4068
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:12 am
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada

Re: Wheel bearing life

Post by steve murdoch icoa #5322 »

When the wheels come off for tire changes i check the bearings.
They have always felt fine, currently at 30k miles on the '81.
The only time i changed bearings was when i had to remove them for powder coating.
I do not use a power washer when cleaning the bike.

User avatar
asacuta
Forum Regular
Forum Regular
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:21 pm
Location: Calgary
Location: Calgary

Re: Wheel bearing life

Post by asacuta »

I changed the rear bearings (first time) a few years ago. They didn't really need it, but I was changing sprockets and chain, so I figured, "Why not?" The fronts are original and feel fine. I wash my bike with a high-pressure steam cleaner, but I set it to a low temp. As long as you don't nail sensitive areas with a narrow stream, the bike tolerates the scrubbing; however, one day I did get carried away and stripped the paint off the left engine cover (oil filler).

Image
Al

Joner
Forum Regular
Forum Regular
Posts: 186
Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:12 pm
Location: Gloucestershire, UK
Location: Gloucestershire UK

Re: Wheel bearing life

Post by Joner »

I replaced my wheel bearings when I changed my tyres the last time, but only because my mate could supply me good quality bearings for free. 8)
The Bike has done in excess of 55000 miles and they still felt fine.

Cheers
Chris J.
Grey-haired bikers don't get that way from pure luck.

Post Reply

Return to “TIRES & RIMS: Tire Brands, Mileage, Performance, Sizes, Interchangeability with other models”