Where to buy for seals and wheel bearings???

All I can find is ****ty all balls stuff. Anybody have a spot for pets that will last. I don’t have money to keep doing the same repairs, would rather do it once and do it right

Your answer can only be as good as your question, so I'll assume you have a Buell XB 2003-2009 and you live in the United States...

6005-2RS front and 6006-2RS rear is a size denotation part number, pick whatever brand you prefer.

Or go OE if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy: (SPHD sells the All-Balls brand too)
https://sphdonline.com/products/e00...1125r-1125cr-b1-l?_pos=9&_sid=a334f6cb0&_ss=r

I have had NO issues with the All Balls brand, but I do install them properly, leaving the hammer in the toolbox. Unless I'm in Montana:upset:


I have found repeated bearing failure is usually not brand preference but instead commonly caused by hamfisted people overtorquing the axles. Do That even once and you squish the center spacer out of dimension and side-load the ball-bearings. They hate that, and it makes failure imminent.
For $12 isn't it worth the peace of mind?
https://sphdonline.com/products/g03...inner-spacer-b3d?_pos=20&_sid=a334f6cb0&_ss=r

St Paul stocks the wheel bearings, but the All Balls ones do work well. Some buy them from NAPA or other bearing houses. Its nothing unique to Buell.


Most people who have had problems either did not correctly install the rear wheel by not following the tightening/loosening procedure and/or are using worn/damaged wheel spacers. This is important as the axle is tapered and its position in the swingarm adjusts as the axle is tightened.

Or if you use a worn/damaged spacer when you torque down the wheel you are putting undue side load stresses on the bearing which will cause it to fail prematurely, regardless of the bearing. If the spacer is worn or damaged, the bike will generally destroy the bearing in short order, regardless of its quality, as you are stressing it in ways it was never designed.

Or people try to install the bearings using a hammer or some home made tool and damage the bearings and/or spacer when installing them.

Or they try to pack them full of grease, which expands as they warm up and can knock the seal out, letting grease out and contaminants in.

Cooter said:

Your answer can only be as good as your question, so I'll assume you have a Buell XB 2003-2009 and you live in the United States...

6005-2RS front and 6006-2RS rear is a size denotation part number, pick whatever brand you prefer.

Or go OE if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy: (SPHD sells the All-Balls brand too)
https://sphdonline.com/products/e00...1125r-1125cr-b1-l?_pos=9&_sid=a334f6cb0&_ss=r

I have had NO issues with the All Balls brand, but I do install them properly, leaving the hammer in the toolbox. Unless I'm in Montana:upset:

I have found repeated bearing failure is usually not brand preference but instead commonly caused by hamfisted people overtorquing the axles. Do That even once and you squish the center spacer out of dimension and side-load the ball-bearings. They hate that, and it makes failure imminent.
For $12 isn't it worth the peace of mind?
https://sphdonline.com/products/g03...inner-spacer-b3d?_pos=20&_sid=a334f6cb0&_ss=r

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure this is how 90% of the All Balls bearings are installed.

What is the maintenance interval for front/rear wheel bearings? and, what is the way to diagnose if they need to be changed?

AC_Schnitzel said:

What is the maintenance interval for front/rear wheel bearings? and, what is the way to diagnose if they need to be changed?

Click to expand...

Inspect and replace if suspect... some replace them with every tire change. Some do it with every other tire change. I at least do an inspection when the wheel is off.


or for the other 99%, ride it until it becomes a problem.

Problem is they fail pretty dang fast after it becomes 'obvious', or at least they do on my Ol' Paintshaker Buell.
If you're the type to stay within AAA radius of your house, then whatevs but if you're the type to go long distance, think of it as $40 of insurance. (see above pic).

AC_Schnitzel said:

What is the maintenance interval for front/rear wheel bearings? and, what is the way to diagnose if they need to be changed?

Click to expand...

SM's and OM's published from 7/2002 thru approx 8/2006 recommended F&R wheel bearing visual and manual inspections @ the 10K mile mark. subsequent SM's and OM's published from 9/2006 thru end of XB model updated to 7500 mile mark.

diagnosis:
visual inspection consists of looking for appearance of rust and/or grease being emitted from seals.
manual inspection consists of raising each wheel off the ground....gently prying caliper pads off companion rotor for minimal clearance...spinning each wheel to listen for tell-tale signs of bearing failure....grasping each wheel at 12 & 6 o'clock and checking for excess lateral free-play in bearing assemblies.

a slight mod of the belt tensioner pulley bracket mounting points significantly prolongs life-span of rear wheel bearings...particularly the 2-bearing rear wheel style.

Next up are new tires and wheel bearings for Cherry Ann - 2007 XB12S.

Can one of you experienced wenchers double check my parts list? Point me to a thread if this is already posted.

2x 6005-2RS front wheel bearings
2x 6006-2RS rear wheel bearings
Seals - are these an industry standard or do I need to order from Harley. Got a part number?
Edit - Spacers - should I replace these?

P.S. I'm not saying they're garbage, but those All Balls Bearings are made in China. I prefer to improperly install leading to early failure of Merican made products whenever I can.

Boca Bearing has our wheel bearings and idler pulley bearings in Ceramic. This is my current setup. A little pricey, but comes with a 2 year warranty. I think maybe ceramic bearings could be the "fix" for the XB bearing eating problem.

No additional seals as the bearings are already sealed. "2RS" denotes a sealed bearing. Spacers are usually OK. If you are having issues killing bearings at low mileage, it is a sign they were squished out of spec.

They aren't too sensitive on install like the EBRs are. There is a recommended tool, but the normal driver and a competent hand should be ok. If the 'fall' into place too easily, buy a new wheel or use some red Loctite (Buell service part #1.1) to hold the outer race

Cooter said:

Spacers are usually OK. If you are having issues killing bearings at low mileage, it is a sign they were squished out of spec.

Click to expand...

This ^^^^.

Most stories you hear are about someone who rode the bearing until is practically exploded and this usually damages the end(s) of the spacer(s). Most Buell owners are cheap and arent going to spend any more than they have to, and also most dont understand what that spacer actually does in the wheel (I had one person tell me they were just going to carefully file off the boogered up end of a spacer until it looked good). All it takes its to be a millimeter or so out of spec for the inner and outer races of the bearing to be forced out of spec when the axle is torqued down... which kills ANY bearing.

Try installing the bearings without the spacer and see what happens.

Thanks for the Newbie Bearings 101 course by the Buell Professors.

The Ceramic option was interesting but I couldn't quite figure out what was what, and what I did find seemed several times more expensive. Assuming Cherry Ann doesn't dump me, I'll just swap bearing every tire change.
I ordered a set of Nachi's (claimed to be made in Japan) via ebay. Total cost of $40'ish. I now have a least a cursory knowledge of the bearing industry. Regardless of brand name it's rare that they aren't made in China.

Motion Industries sells Ball Bearings for 5 times the price of all balls .. Also Invotech.. I had just put a new rear tire on my 2008 Buell Ulysses I noticed one of the wheel bearings was a bit dry and turned a bit hard.. I went 107 miles to pick up a date and almost didn't make the 107 mile return trip .. Rode the last 3 miles in second gear at 15 mph.
I went on these forums and found out about the 3 larger wheel bearing wheel and found the wheel bearings axle and axle spacer kit online .. they have 4 in stock last NOV and I bought one. A old stock warehouse in WI they have parts for Caterpillar and John Deere too.
I kept records where I bought it from .. Have also purchased all balls spares for front and rear and w wheel bearing removal and installation tool I have not used yet. I installed my new bearings with my 75 ton press and proper sized socket.