need to know, drive belt, rear wheel bearings

[djoslyn]

I have an 09 Uly, and am in the process of replacing rear tire, the bike has 14k on the speedo. the belt still looks good, can't tell about the wheel bearings. should I be thinking about replacing any of those parts. Thanx Dan

 

[motoqueiro]

indeed you must (bearings at least)

 

[anrkizm95]

(bearings at least)

[up]

 

[user_deleted]

indeed you must (bearings at least)

really? you can also do the "finger test and grease" deal, dan. by that i mean with the wheel off, put your fingers inside the inner bearing race and turn it to feel for ease of rotation. if you feel anything rough or notchy, i'd replace them. if they feel good you can always gently remove the neoprene outer grease seal of the bearing itself and repack the bearing with some quality wheel bearing grease. if you don't feel comfortable doing it have someone show you how who's done it before. 14K miles on cycle wheel bearings is nothing nowadays if the bike hasn't been pressure washed. IMO

 

[motoqueiro]

wheel bearings is nothing

in the buell wheel bearings it is, I speak for my experience, every time I change tires I do the bearings, it's easy and not that expensive, peace of mind... and go for good quality, SKF!!!

 

[CANXB12X]

I change my bearings every tire change on my '08 also,with quality sealed bearings. They are tricky to get out,you'll need a bearing puller. The spacer does not have enough of a clearance to move to the side and tap out. With sealed bearing you won't have to worry about pressure washing, obviously you don't want to spray water at 1000psi near the bearings,but you shouldn't need to.

 

[user_deleted]

and go for good quality, SKF!!!

good advice on brand. the SKF are readily available and fine quality.

 

[SlyFox]

Ditto on bearings. The Ulysses has a history of failing at around 14k...as mine did. It cost me $400 tow to Beartooth hd in Billings,Mt, where it rested from July 4th until sometime Sept.(waiting for parts) Also cost unplanned motel stay and midnight bus ride back to Gillette,Wy. H/D ultimately sent a new Ulysses to me (lemon law/downtime). It seems that it was H/D's decision to put cheap Chinese bearings in the Ulysses.

 

[user_deleted]

It seems that it was H/D's decision to put cheap Chinese bearings in the Ulysses.

and you KNOW mother H-D loves to cut costs whenever possible.

 

[Bambr]

good advice on brand. the SKF are readily available and fine quality.

do you know the part numbers (f&r)?

 

[sprinklerdude]

I use allballz on the front you can find them on ebay and skf double sealed on rear i belive skf# 6006lu and front allballz #6005-2rs good luck getting them out it is a pain in the butt

 

[netty2424]

every time I change tires I do the bearings, it's easy

They are tricky to get out,you'll need a bearing puller

good luck getting them out it is a pain in the butt

so are they easy or hard?

for the easy route, how do you go about it? DIY video possibly????[up]

 

[sprinklerdude]

dude i heated up the wheel and knocked them out no speical tools needed but wheel is alum. be sure not to get it to hot map gas is what i used you can get it at home depot

 

[sprinklerdude]

if you do it right the bearing will fall out

 

[user_deleted]

netty: go to youtube and type in search window...."buell wheel bearing change." there's a good vid of it.

 

[mmcn49]

I have two 07 TT's. On one I changed the bearings at about 15K, could feel some minor dragging and catches.

On the other TT, the rear bearing failed at 6400 miles. Speaking from experience you do no not want a bearing failure going about 50.

Bearings are neither hard or easy to replace. You just have to know what you're doing. Heat works fine, but you should remove the drive sprocket and rotor on the rear. Its important that you heat the hub evenly. I use two propane torches and keep them both moving.

I made my own pullers. I turned a piece of about 4" long steel down to the bearing's I. D. Cut 8 slots about 3" each. I drilled a hole down the middle to the O.D. of an expanding concrete anchor bolt. I tightened the anchor bolt in the puller and once the hub is heated, poped the bearing out with a drift. You have to heat the hub enough so that the bearings come out with fairly light tapping.

The other method I use is with dry ice and 91% isopropyl alcohol. I make a dam of duct seal around the bearing and puller then fill the cavity with alcohol and dry ice. You have to keep feeding in chips of dry ice until the alcohol turns slushy. Once it gets cold enough the bearings pop out pretty easy. To install new bearings I coat them with cosmoline and shrink in alcohol and dry ice, again waiting until the alcohol gets good and slushy. Either way works fine but the heat may be little easier.