mmcn49
Well-known member
I have two 07 XB12STT Buells. Both came with Orange Seal Bearings. On one of the bikes at about 11K I replaced the Orange seal bearings with Black seal bearings. When I did, I pulled the bearing seals and inspected the bearings. All four had water in them, (I never pressure wash) and the races were pretty heavily rusted.
Before replacing the bearings I called an SKF & *** bearing distributor in Seattle giving them the bearing part number for the black seal bearings. My thoughts were to get a better quality bearing than what the dealer supplies.
They told me the part numbers on the bearings indicate that they have “Loose Contact Seals” which means that the bearing is not really sealed. These seals keep much of the dirt and water out but not all of it. Loose contact seals allow the bearings to run cooler.
I called Al at ASB and asked his thoughts on using sealed bearings instead of bearings with loose contact seals. He stated that he had talked to the engineers at Buell and that they had put a lot of thought into what bearings to use. He convinced me that sealed bearings were probably not a good idea, especially during the summer.
What to do to keep water and dirt out? I decided to coat the seals on all four bearings with Cosmoline after installation.
Yesterday I took the rear wheel off and removed the seals. The grease was clean and there was no rust or water inside, (the bike has over 22K, the bearings about 11K).
There have been a lot of rear wheel bearing failures and we all know they’re heavily loaded. I feel that at least part of the reason they fail is caused by dirt and water intrusion.
NOTE: Cosmoline is tenacious stuff. Coating the seals with grease probably won’t have the same results.
Hope this information is helpful.
Before replacing the bearings I called an SKF & *** bearing distributor in Seattle giving them the bearing part number for the black seal bearings. My thoughts were to get a better quality bearing than what the dealer supplies.
They told me the part numbers on the bearings indicate that they have “Loose Contact Seals” which means that the bearing is not really sealed. These seals keep much of the dirt and water out but not all of it. Loose contact seals allow the bearings to run cooler.
I called Al at ASB and asked his thoughts on using sealed bearings instead of bearings with loose contact seals. He stated that he had talked to the engineers at Buell and that they had put a lot of thought into what bearings to use. He convinced me that sealed bearings were probably not a good idea, especially during the summer.
What to do to keep water and dirt out? I decided to coat the seals on all four bearings with Cosmoline after installation.
Yesterday I took the rear wheel off and removed the seals. The grease was clean and there was no rust or water inside, (the bike has over 22K, the bearings about 11K).
There have been a lot of rear wheel bearing failures and we all know they’re heavily loaded. I feel that at least part of the reason they fail is caused by dirt and water intrusion.
NOTE: Cosmoline is tenacious stuff. Coating the seals with grease probably won’t have the same results.
Hope this information is helpful.
