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greasing wheel bearings 2014 FXST

  • 009jim
    009jim
    1 year ago
    hi everyone, 2014 FXST (ABS) done 40,000 km. I've had the bike since new and don't pressure wash.

    Recently I replaced my back tyre and while the wheel was out I popped the seal from the left side wheel bearing and added some additional grease. The seal came off easily and snapped back in place when I was done. Both bearings turned smoothly and there is no slop. 

    However, on the right hand side, the bearing is different - it's a special ABS bearing. I could not get the seal to pop off easily. I was using a tiny screw driver, the same one I used on the other side. The bearing on the ABS side is visibly different. Instead of the usual black appearance, it looked a cream colour and seemed to be harder.

    Has anybody had a similar experience? Did you eventually get the seal out or did you leave it?
  • John.R
    John.R
    1 year ago
    For the prices of sealed bearings and the damage they do when they fail, I'd be replacing. 
  • robnicko
    robnicko
    1 year ago
    The cream coloured seal is a steel one and integral to the operation of the ABS system
    It spins with the wheel and is what is picked up by the ABS sensor on the axle.
    If you warp, dent or damage it your ABS may not function properly

    Also, unless you remove all of the old grease adding grease unless you use the same grease as when the bearing was new may turn to liquid...
  • beaglebasher
    beaglebasher
    1 year ago
    Quoting 009jim on 31 Jan 2023 01:16 AM

    hi everyone, 2014 FXST (ABS) done 40,000 km. I've had the bike since new and don't pressure wash.


    Recently I replaced my back tyre and while the wheel was out I popped the seal from the left side wheel bearing and added some additional grease. The seal came off easily and snapped back in place when I was done. Both bearings turned smoothly and there is no slop. 

    However, on the right hand side, the bearing is different - it's a special ABS bearing. I could not get the seal to pop off easily. I was using a tiny screw driver, the same one I used on the other side. The bearing on the ABS side is visibly different. Instead of the usual black appearance, it looked a cream colour and seemed to be harder.

    Has anybody had a similar experience? Did you eventually get the seal out or did you leave it?

    I doubt very much if anybody has had a similar experience mate.
    You might be the only person in Australia who tries to remove the seals and replace them.
    I can be a bit of a tight arse myself but so I know where youre coming from but as John says, bearings are cheap.
    Just out of curiosity, how much grease was inside and  what colour was the grease  after 40K  ?
  • Hoodeng
    Hoodeng
    1 year ago
    You would be surprised at how little grease is in a pre lubed bearing, [and yes, the manufacturer knew how much to put in there].
     
    Adding grease of the same manufacture [if you could find that out] can overload the bearing causing churning that will liquefy what is in there and cause breakdown and leakage. As has been stated, dont mix greases, they can have different bases that can react with each other.


    There, isn't that a more helpful topic now?
  • 009jim
    009jim
    1 year ago
    Quoting 009jim on 31 Jan 2023 01:16 AM

    hi everyone, 2014 FXST (ABS) done 40,000 km. I've had the bike since new and don't pressure wash.


    Recently I replaced my back tyre and while the wheel was out I popped the seal from the left side wheel bearing and added some additional grease. The seal came off easily and snapped back in place when I was done. Both bearings turned smoothly and there is no slop. 

    However, on the right hand side, the bearing is different - it's a special ABS bearing. I could not get the seal to pop off easily. I was using a tiny screw driver, the same one I used on the other side. The bearing on the ABS side is visibly different. Instead of the usual black appearance, it looked a cream colour and seemed to be harder.

    Has anybody had a similar experience? Did you eventually get the seal out or did you leave it?

    Quoting beaglebasher on 31 Jan 2023 07:59 AM

    I doubt very much if anybody has had a similar experience mate.

    You might be the only person in Australia who tries to remove the seals and replace them.
    I can be a bit of a tight arse myself but so I know where youre coming from but as John says, bearings are cheap.
    Just out of curiosity, how much grease was inside and  what colour was the grease  after 40K  ?

    There was a decent amount of grease inside when I opened it, also the grease looked as though it still had lubricating properties. I didn't add much fresh grease, less than a "cc".

    This contrasts with my other Harley (also ~40K). In that case I found the bearings felt rough to turn, so had the bearings replaced. After removing, upon inspection the grease was dry and a less-than-satisfactory amount. After cleaning those bearings, they seemed to turn smoothly and I suppose I could have re-greased them, but already had the new ones installed.
  • beaglebasher
    beaglebasher
    1 year ago
    When I was an apprentice back in the day  ( papermll) I was a skinny little dude and they sent me up the inside of a roller to inspect the bearing. I crawled back out an said it looks fukin good to me. My tradesman  gave me a grease gun and told me to crawl back in and get as much grease in to the bearing as possible.  The roller was made of granite  and weighed about 5 ton.
    We dismantled the roller the next Sunday and I had a fuckin good look at the bearing, the only thing I could see was a bit of the shine was coming off the balls in one spot and you could see a slight mark on the inside of the race.
    I asked old mate how long would it have lasted and he said he didn't know because they had had not ever changed that bearing.  That particular machine was about 5 years old  and it ran 24  hours a day 6 days a week. 




  • Hoodeng
    Hoodeng
    1 year ago
    Grease performs other functions apart from lubrication in many commercial industrial circumstances.
    One is, in contaminated environments pushing grease through a bearing flushes environmental contamination. [these bearings were either shielded or non contact sealed].
    Two, the act of performing ritual greasing/oiling to spec provides a regular close inspection process.
    Any abnormally contaminated grease flushed from the bearings would have warranted closer inspection.

    Lube for life bearings can be trusted to perform for the life of the bearing without periodic intervention. Out of spec treatment can shorten the life of the bearings, poor cleaning practices, high impact use [dirt roads etc] are two activities that will compromise life.

    Mate, when your fitter got you to climb into the guts of a machine he would have also told you to look at a number of things on your way through, this is part of a machines monitoring/maintenance  process.
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