wheel bearing recommendations?

dkruitz

dkruitz

Joined
Aug 6, 2015
Messages
314
Location
Peoria, Illinois
Bike
1995 ST1100
I'm getting ready to swap out my front tire and am going to do the pads and the bearings and wondered if folks had any recommendations on the bearings? I've heard All Balls in the past, and CBR and one I've never heard of called Caltric(on Amazon.com) - only $14.40 plus free shipping. If folks have used them with success I will give them a shot, otherwise, I'll try one of the brand names I've heard of.
 
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For the front I'd just use the Honda parts. Or SKN, Fafnir, f a g, Timken or NTN lots of good brands (other then Chinese).
 
Professional opinion would be CBR bearing first, All Balls second and the Honda OEM, dead last. OEM'S are only good for around 35,000 miles here in our climate. I've changed a lot of ST front wheel bearings!
 
I'm thinking mine needs new ones. I've got 45K miles on the bike and am getting a lot of what sounds like "wind noise" from down low in the front. My guess is my bearings are screaming to be replaced. Input? Thanks fellas!
 
I also ran OEM bearings on my '95 for well over Adam's 35,000 mile estimate. IIRC, I only swapped out the rears at 100,000 miles, just because I figured they had given me my money's worth by then. Did the fronts around 70,000 miles, also "just because", figuring a front bearing failure could be more dangerous than a rear. Possibly the early failures could be attributed to careless washing with a pressure washer, or even a strong hose sprayed right at the seals? Were any of those customers ever quizzed about that possibility?
 
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Some years ago I took the bearings from a router (wood working tool for those computer guys (smile)) to a local bearing house to buy replacements. The parts guy looked at them and asked if I wanted tier 1, 2, or 3 replacements. I was confused. He explained that name brand bearings like Timken, SKF, etc. were Tier 1 - expensive and would last the longest, Tier 2 were cheaper and less durable/well made, and Tier 3 were junk.

I guess this makes sense since it is true for all parts. Today I don't remember who he said was in the Tier 1 bracket, but when it comes time to get new bearings you can guess where I'm going. (And, do you want to bet that he will have retired and has been replaced by a newbie who knows nothing but numbers.) Since this is a huge company, I have no doubt that the information I'll need is available somewhere. Btw, it seems that bearing part numbers are standardized - ask for a N3204 bearing and its the same for all of the manufacturers. Unless of course someone like Honda has an OEM part.....
 
If the bearings feel smooth when rotated ( with the wheel removed ) , I would just carefully pry the seal off the side of the bearing, rinse out the old grease with brake clean, let them dry ( don't rotate without grease ) , and then re-grease and replace the grease seal. They will last even longer with the fresh grease. It's amazing how long wheel bearings will last with a little bit of attention now & then.
 
Call CBR bearings. In addition to good merchandise, they can give you excellent technical assistance. I've been impressed with their customer service.
 
Bush said:
I also ran OEM bearings on my '95 for well over Adam's 35,000 mile estimate. IIRC, I only swapped out the rears at 100,000 miles, just because I figured they had given me my money's worth by then. Did the fronts around 70,000 miles, also "just because", figuring a front bearing failure could be more dangerous than a rear. Possibly the early failures could be attributed to careless washing with a pressure washer, or even a strong hose sprayed right at the seals? Were any of those customers ever quizzed about that possibility?
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As with anything, Your Mileage May Vary... What those owners have, or have not done, doesn't matter. I'm more than sure that in the future, those folks will pay better attention to the care of their front seals and wheel bearings. The only thing we've been concerned about is changing the bearings and getting that individual back on the road. Back in the late 90's we've changed quite a few ST1100 front wheel bearings at STOC events. The first set I did was with a screw driver, claw hammer (from the hotel custodian) and the bike tool kit. This was done out in the parking lot, in the rain at NESTOC. The OEM bearings exploded. Thankfully someone brought spare bearings along. Ever since then, just about every year someone had a failure at a STOC event. It got to the point were everyone carried spares and someone had the proper bearing tool to swap them out. All failures of the OEM Honda bearings were between 30,000 and 40,000 miles. This is where I get my number from...

After a while with repeated warnings and conversation of bearing / seal care on the mailing liST / digest, the number of bearing failures diminished. The OEM Honda bearings are only sealed on one side (the outside). Over time, the grease eventually gets flung out to the inside of the wheel hub. Coupled with a weak outer dust seal, contaminates are allowed to get inside the bearing and wear it out quickly. Aftermarket kits, such as CBR, the bearings are doubled sealed, hold in the grease and last a Loooong time. The kit also comes with fresh dust seals. It's best to pack grease between the new bearing and the outer dust seal, to keep water and contaminates away from those new bearings....

There are a good number of newer members here, who are buying a "new to them" ST1100 with higher mileages. The history and care of the bike is UNKNOWN. Cheap insurance to just change them...
 
afrymoyer said:
As with anything, Your Mileage May Vary... What those owners have, or have not done, doesn't matter. I'm more than sure that in the future, those folks will pay better attention to the care of their front seals and wheel bearings. The only thing we've been concerned about is changing the bearings and getting that individual back on the road. Back in the late 90's we've changed quite a few ST1100 front wheel bearings at STOC events. The first set I did was with a screw driver, claw hammer (from the hotel custodian) and the bike tool kit. This was done out in the parking lot, in the rain at NESTOC. The OEM bearings exploded. Thankfully someone brought spare bearings along. Ever since then, just about every year someone had a failure at a STOC event. It got to the point were everyone carried spares and someone had the proper bearing tool to swap them out. All failures of the OEM Honda bearings were between 30,000 and 40,000 miles. This is where I get my number from...

After a while with repeated warnings and conversation of bearing / seal care on the mailing liST / digest, the number of bearing failures diminished. The OEM Honda bearings are only sealed on one side (the outside). Over time, the grease eventually gets flung out to the inside of the wheel hub. Coupled with a weak outer dust seal, contaminates are allowed to get inside the bearing and wear it out quickly. Aftermarket kits, such as CBR, the bearings are doubled sealed, hold in the grease and last a Loooong time. The kit also comes with fresh dust seals. It's best to pack grease between the new bearing and the outer dust seal, to keep water and contaminates away from those new bearings....

There are a good number of newer members here, who are buying a "new to them" ST1100 with higher mileages. The history and care of the bike is UNKNOWN. Cheap insurance to just change them...
Click to expand...

Stock Honda part calls for a 6204UU, the UU means two rubber seals (both sides). Maybe the seals were not there when the blown bearings were taken apart but stock are sealed both sides.
 
Regardless of who's more correct, newer owners of older ST's NEED to check / replace wheel bearings...

One things for sure... I promise I'll never talk about wheel bearings on this site ever again... :):):)
 
Honda increased the OD of the front wheel bearings in aboubt 96. CBR will the year if you buy from them.
 
George said:
Honda increased the OD of the front wheel bearings in aboubt 96. CBR will the year if you buy from them.
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Yep. From 42mm to 47mm. If you prang an early model front wheel and have to replace it, Honda will send one with 47mm bearings. BTDT If you're not the original owner, measure before ordering replacements.

John
via iPhone 6
 
We experimented with ceramic bearings 30+ years ago in turbofan engines. They had excellent resistance to heat and excellent tolerance for low lube conditions. The only problem we experienced with them was trash intrusion. When this happened....seal failure or metallic particles in the oil system, depending on the application....they came apart pretty quickly.
Ours were actually cast ceramic parts...balls, rollers and races. Cages were heat stable plastic. They proved excellent for high rpm applications but were quickly worn out due to side loading....weight of the shaft. Also showed no wear when used in vertical applications.
They were 'almost' acceptable replacements for all metal bearings. I imagine they have improved over that time.
 
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