Front axle wheel bearings. Does brand matter?

[rjz1]

I am beginning a project bike starting from a handful of parts rather than a whole bike. So I'm piecing parts together without having worked on xs's before. I came into the parts that I do have cheaply otherwise I would have been better off starting with a whole bike. Some things I'm looking to purchase are higher than I expected. I understand in many cases that it is a motorcycle and quality is important for safety and reliability but there are some things that I'm not sure if pinching pennies really matters in terms of quality.

I have the standard mag wheel set and am looking to put new bearings in the front wheel. Here is a listing for $12 front axle bearings. And here is a listing for $42 bearings. Is there really a difference in these? I would expect some opinions to be against using the cheaper ones, but are outlets like mikesxs.net (and others) really the best way to go? These outlets seems kinda expensive for what they are. Does anyone go to machine shop catalogs (or other sources) for bearings and what not?

thanks,


rjz1

 

[peterg]

Can't really tell you much about bearings but here's another one to mull over. It's a brand name for a price between the two you listed. I purchased this item from a local supplier (in Canada). Having access to the manufacturers web site info and directions is a plus. Was for this amateur anyways. Caltric is a US based supplier. Looks like a fair sized business but $12 a set seems to good to be true.

https://www.allballsracing.com/25-1334.html

 

[grizld1]

+1! rjz1, you can't get something for nothing, but it's easy to get nothing for something if you buy cheap enough. All Balls products are top quality. There's a $10 difference between the unknown and as good as it gets. How lucky do you feel?

 

[rjz1]

Thank you both for your comments. I'm happy with All Balls (I don't feel $10 lucky!). This price seems more reasonable given the extremes I previously found.

 

[jetmechmarty]

OEM is Koyo. All Balls are Chinese. I know nothing of their standard, just a cute logo. Maybe they're fine. I don't know.

I buy here: https://www.qualitybearingsonline.com

 

[MacMcMacmac]

I have never been especially impressed with anything I have bought from All Balls. You are paying for the time it took them to cross reference the part numbers to their Ping Pong brand suppliers. If you stick to quality brands like SKF, FAG, INA, KOYO, NTN, NSK, NACHI, RHP, TIMKEN, TORRINGTON etc. you should be fine.

 

[rjz1]

thanks for the suggestions. I've been looking for websites/companies like this. What is the easiest way to locate the bearings I need? For example, I measured my front wheel bearings at 17mm (inner), 42 (outer), and 13 (width). But when I try to search on these dimensions (I tried qualitybeareings) I don't see anything with the same dimensions.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Take the seal and bearing numbers (numbers found on your old bearings and seals) to a bearing seller, they'll be able to cross reference those numbers to other brands. We used to have two Detroit Ball Bearing stores nearby, they could match and find anything, super great prices too.

MikesXS gives the bearing and seal numbers on their site, get them matched at a bearing supplier.

Nothing wrong with buying All Balls pre-packaged either.

Scott

 

[MacMcMacmac]

Do you have a Motion Industries shop nearby?

These are very common bearing sizes used in machinery. They should be off the shelf items right in your city.

The only odd bearings I ever came across were steering head bearings for my XJ900 which actually had "XJ" in the number. The guy at the bearing shop knew exactly what I was buying them for just by the name.

 

[5twins]

Yes, the 650 wheels use common metric bearing sizes. The front uses two 6303-2RS bearings. The "6303" designates the size and the "2RS" means it has 2 rubber seals, one on each side. It's a totally sealed bearing. You can also get open, one-side-sealed, and metal seal versions of this bearing. You don't want any of them. Some of the early 650 wheels came with those types and I would replace them with the "2RS" version if I encountered any.

And speaking of these "sealed" bearings, they're supposed to be "lubed for life" when you get them. They are supposed to have grease inside under the rubber seals. Unfortunately, sometimes there's not much, lol. I always pop the rubber seals out and check them, adding more grease if need be. But, you don't want to totally fill them, that's too much and grease will end up oozing out in use, making a mess. Fill them half way at most. This is another "plus" for these rubber sealed bearings - you can service them. You can't get into the metal sealed ones, and you just plain don't want open ones.

 

[mrtwowheel]

5twins, I like the idea of greasing or checking the new bearings for grease. I'm just afraid to open one up, I'm sure I'd get over this after opening the first one, I can't be the only one here with this phobia. Wondering if the old bearings could provide some practice/experience.

Scott

 

[Grimly]

I am beginning a project bike starting from a handful of parts rather than a whole bike. So I'm piecing parts together without having worked on xs's before. I came into the parts that I do have cheaply otherwise I would have been better off starting with a whole bike. Some things I'm looking to purchase are higher than I expected. I understand in many cases that it is a motorcycle and quality is important for safety and reliability but there are some things that I'm not sure if pinching pennies really matters in terms of quality.

I have the standard mag wheel set and am looking to put new bearings in the front wheel. Here is a listing for $12 front axle bearings. And here is a listing for $42 bearings. Is there really a difference in these? I would expect some opinions to be against using the cheaper ones, but are outlets like mikesxs.net (and others) really the best way to go? These outlets seems kinda expensive for what they are. Does anyone go to machine shop catalogs (or other sources) for bearings and what not?

thanks,


rjz1

Normally, I'd suspect the MikesXS bearings as being cheapy nasty ones, but they do emphasise they're Made in Japan, so that's what you're paying for.
I don't doubt the Caltric ones are perfectly serviceable, but they're made in China and I've found cheap wheel bearings made in suspect conditions with dodgy quality control just ain't worth it.
Having said that, the Mike's price for Japanese bearings is too high - I'd heartily endorse Koyo bearings for everyone, and no matter where Koyo bearings are made (they have a lot of manufacturing plants) I am utterly sure of their quality.
The winning thing as far as I'm concerned, is that Koyo bearings are only slightly more expensive than some no-name cheapies, if you shop around.

Basically - it's a wheel bearing; don't go too cheap.

 

[rjz1]

thanks everyone.
Another issue: This picture shows my front wheel. I am measuring the bearing diameter for this wheel as 42mm (17x42x13 to be specific). But above 5twin says it should be 47 (vis-a-vis the 6303-2RS). Do I have the wrong front wheel?

Yes, the 650 wheels use common metric bearing sizes. The front uses two 6303-2RS bearings. The "6303" designates the size and the "2RS" means it has 2 rubber seals, one on each side. It's a totally sealed bearing. You can also get open, one-side-sealed, and metal seal versions of this bearing. You don't want any of them. Some of the early 650 wheels came with those types and I would replace them with the "2RS" version if I encountered any.

And speaking of these "sealed" bearings, they're supposed to be "lubed for life" when you get them. They are supposed to have grease inside under the rubber seals. Unfortunately, sometimes there's not much, lol. I always pop the rubber seals out and check them, adding more grease if need be. But, you don't want to totally fill them, that's too much and grease will end up oozing out in use, making a mess. Fill them half way at most. This is another "plus" for these rubber sealed bearings - you can service them. You can't get into the metal sealed ones, and you just plain don't want open ones.

 

[5twins]

Maybe, that doesn't look like a Yamaha disc on there, rim looks a bit different too. That could be from a different manufacturer completely, like Kawasaki maybe.

 

[5twins]

Yes, MTW, practice on an old bearing. You'll need a pick or small sharp knife to pop the seal out. Doing the outer edge seems to work best. The seal is actually sheet metal covered with rubber so take care not to bend it all up. Pop it loose a third or more of the way around before prying it out all the way .....

Above are actually the bearings from my snowblower auger not my bike, but the concept is the same.