Clutch Thrust Bearing

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FYI : Been looking at the clutch parts fiche and saw the 35x52x2 ( mm) thrust bearing.

Then I went to the VXB website to buy some wheel bearings, and noticed VXB sells the thrust bearing for about 1/3 the cost at most of the Honda OEM suppliers.
 

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John Heath
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I was once in the need of a pair of 6205 ( i think ) bearings for the front wheel, and went to a local bike garage, who had some in stock. When i got them home, i checked out the number on the side, which had an additional digit. This represented the fact that the bearing had more lateral play than the norm.

I checked out the code on the company website, and eventually got hold of the spec. They were nowhere near capable of coping with the load and speed and lifespan for the front wheel of a heavy bike.

I once checked out a double race bearing for the rear wheel with the manufacturer - whether or not it would be up to the job - told them the weight of the bike and worked out max revs per min at a theoretical maximum speed. They wrote back and said that they couldn't possibly say, and gave me a whole list of things that they would need to know, most of which i couldn't possibly find out.

I always buy OEM. I don't know enough about it. I do know that getting the right size is only the start.
 
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Jim Van
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Too bad, because all bearings are standardized throughout the world. Nothing special about OEM. Gordon Jennings (RIP) had a good article about bearings years go in Cycle World magazine and made this point.

Go to the VXB website and look at the specs for 6204 & 5204 bearing that fit the ST1100 front & rear wheels. Specs are way above what is required.

Example: 6204 spec are static load 6.55KN ( 1,472 Lbs ) , dynamic load 13.5KN ( 3,035 Lbs ), max speed and still maintain lubrication of 10,000 RPM.

5204 : spec are static load 12 KN ( 2,698 Lbs ) , dynamic load 20 KN ( 4,496 Lbs ), max speed and still maintain lubrication of 10,000 RPM.

A rear wheel speed of 10,000 RPM would be about 775 mph.

Three 6204's and one 5204 equals a max allowable static load of 7,114 Lbs and a max allowable dynamic load of 13,601 Lbs. Plenty good.

And I have been using these VXB bearings for about 45K miles without a problem - still rotating nice & smooth.
 
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And I have been using these VXB bearings for about 45K miles without a problem - still rotating nice & smooth.
don't you change them with every tire change, Jim??? I'm starting to think you're not really the master of PM after all. :) :) :eek:

JK, of course.
 
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Jim Van
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Doug :

I swap out my calipers every tire change with my spare set of rebuilt calipers, but not wheel bearings !!! Come on, get serious.

But, OK I admit I'm a little lax when it comes to wheel bearings ................... I guess sometimes I like to live dangerously - I like the adrenaline rush. I've gone 45K miles on my present wheel bearings and my nerves are starting to get frayed from all that adrenaline. So, I decided to finally replace them.

But seriously ( seriously ) it seems like some report their wheel bearings last forever, and others report early failures. The 6204's are less than $4 each from VXB ( plus shipping ) , but that 5204 was about $20 ( ouch ! ) , but still less than half the OEM price. I saved more than the set of bearing cost at VXB. So, I'll be replacing them so I don't need to worry about an early failure far from home during an IBA ride. BTW, I have organized a few pre-approved IBA rides for next year. Planning on doing a Lower Great Lakes SS1K, Ontario/Quebec SS1600K, and Great Lakes 100 ( 80 hour version ) ride next year. Check the IBA Event Calendar.
 
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Jim Van
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I received the wheel bearings from VXB today. Something new compared to the last bearings I bought from them about 6 years ago. On the inner races is laser etched vxb.com , just like on a more expensive brand name bearing.
 
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Jim Van
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I had a chance today to do a little investigating of the wheel bearings I received. I wanted to know how well greased they were from VXB, so I popped off the grease seal and took a look.

There wasn't much grease and I have no idea what type of grease it is, but it looks kinda like vaseline. But for all I know it could be a synthetic grease of some type. And I know only a film of grease is required, but why take a chance ? So I cleaned out as much of the VXB grease I could and repacked all the bearings with a liberal amount of Valvoline moly fortified synthetic grease. It didn't take that long and it was raining, so I couldn't do any leave raking & burning anyhow. If I didn't have an old ST1100 to work on, it would have been a really boring afternoon.

I betcha I can go at least 25K miles before I would need to replace them again.
 
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Jim Van
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Doesn't say / not critical. It's wheel bearing grease, not high moly for the splines. But it smells like moly. :bigpop: Back to you, Doug !!
 
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