bearing failure on highway

i got a 06 Ss that i was riding the past week and felt a slight wobble in the head and pulling to side when brakes were applied on the rear. at first i didnt think much of it.. the highway i was on is concrete that has a pretty knarly groove on it and the bike will often time catch the grooved concrete and track it, but the pulling was not normal. of course, its a freezing cold colorado night, probably around 30-40 degrees at best, night, secondary highway so not tons of traffic, the usual.. pulled over suspecting maybe a head bearing for the wobble but upon checking. (flashlight and rocking everything back and forth looking and listening for the tell tale 'click' of a bad bearing..) all looked good!.. so i got back on and took it slower, checking the braking and steering, jumping on the pegs to check the suspension.. couldnt get it to wobble or pull or click or anything!!! so i got back up to speed and made it back.. when i got back i checked over it again and noticed the rear bearing brake side was TRASHED!!!.. tore shit up for sure .. im counting myself lucky for sure. i had to trailer the bike 4 hours back to the house where i could work on it. got the bearings pulled out.. spacer tube is trashed but i got a new one.. my question to everyone..

the wheel bore that the spacer sits in got roached out from the spacer.. is this a totaled wheel?? the areas that seat the bearing seem to be intact and not damaged or distorted, but there is maybe 1/16" to 1/8" play in in the spacer to the wheel bore.

also a bit of damage to the swingarm.. looks like part of the steel bearing seal/dust cover? came off and chewed up on the swingarm.. ill post pics when i can .. thanks for the help!

If you are talking about the spacer being able to move left-right 1/16" I believe that is normal. IIRC my spacers were very slightly able to move like that side to side.

Similar thing happened to me on my 919, but I escaped without any peripheral damage outside the bearing itself. I was subsequently taught the value of preventative bearing replacement.
Also, you can check for wheel free-play, & warm wheel hubs after a long ride, to monitor your bearings for imminent failure.

i was pretty shocked by this one.. checked them not to many miles ago when i had the whole bike apart.. rolled great.. the opposite side still looks brand newand rolls perfectly.. good thing i was planning on replacing them with my new tires this month anyways.. still sucks tho.. glad it didnt fail while carving out a winding road with the GF on the back!!

the wheel bore that the spacer sits in got roached out from the spacer.. is this a totaled wheel??

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should not be a problem as long as wheel hub surfaces that bearings press into are not damaged. remember that when the bearings and spacer are properly installed and the wheel and axle assembly installed and properly torqued....the inner bearings and spacer are tight and fixed. they do not move or rotate. the outer bearings and wheel rotate around them.

^ I agree

that happened to me a few months back, OEM bearings with nearly 40K miles on them.. the PO's never changed them.. you may as well get a bearing puller and replace every bearing in that bike... its fairly cheap and easy to do

im doing front and rear with new spacers, head, and swingarm.. as well.

that should cover it..

im hoping so..

youll probably notice quite a difference in how it feels..

Drove home on this guy once. Didn't realize it until I got home.

had a hell of a time getting the bearing out .. all the inner crap fell out when i took the wheel out and the pully side bearing came out easily.. had to weld a plate to the inside area of the outer race and pull it out that way.. pulling the front bearings tonight and puttin fresh in when i get my new tires on this weekend.

welding a plate on the bearing is the easiest way i have ever removed a bearing.. damaged or not.

All these bearing failure posts have me so freaking paranoid right now about mine .... It's definitely on my to-do list ... but each post makes me want to just skip sleeping between my work shifts and tear into it ...

it no big deal to replace wheel bearings. did my old xb9sx and my uly today. get a blind hole bearing puller and pull the bearings. have the new ones in the freezer and just tap them in with a small hammer on the outter race. took me about 20 min per bike. put the belt side in last and don't go to town hammering the bearing in as it seats against the spacer in the wheel and not the hub. i just give it light taps until the spacer no longer moves.

agreed.. super easy... im gonna replace the bearings when i get a new set of tires next time.. they are cheap enough... ill probably notch my spacer tube on either side to allow for easier bearing removal.. then a simple hook with a slide could tap them out.. no need for special blind puller.

What's the recommended mileage for changing wheel bearings?

im just going to change mine when i have my wheels off for changing tires... its pretty cheap insurance for piece of mind.