1996 Dyna FXD, Sealed Bearings?

[EseAma]

Hi,

Does anybody know if I could buy sealed bearings for my bike. These bikes came with the unsealed bearings that requires repacking them every 10K miles and I wanted to avoid this additional expense. Any pros or cons for doing this? Thank you for your responses and have a great day!

 

[EseAma]

You are correct, I meant the wheel bearings... I was affraid of that since it would cost much more if I had to replace my wheels. A guy at a dealer told me that he thought that they might sell some kind of kit that would allow me to use the same tires but I think you already addressed this issue and there might not be anything available. I am not mechanically inclined and there is a high cost for repacking those bearings every 10K miles. It might be worth changing the wheels... I am not sure yet. Thank you for your response Steve07.

 

[Jack Klarich]

IMO the older tapered bearings are a better set up tho getting the spacing correct can be fun, The new sealed bearings are not an improvement IMO less work for the factory but not a better bearing

 

[JBC2565]

Pretty easy to repack the wheel bearings. Hardest part of that job is time to take off the wheel and put it back on. Take pictures or mark spacers with tape and should be good to go.
Owner's manual for my bike (1998 FLSTC) says to repack every 10,000, once a year, or prior to storage. To be honest, I did my 30,000 service last August and put on 5,000 so far. Am I going to repack my bearing next month? I don't think so. Might be a good winter project or next spring. If you need pics or advice, please ask, but you should be able to pack your wheel bearing easily.

 

[fin_676]

The tapered bearings are i think a much better solution for a motorcycle wheel than the current sealed bearings yes they can be a bit of a pest but repacking with grease is not a difficult task
if you spend some time on the forum you will be able to find posts where sealed wheel bearings have not lasted 10000 miles before failing due to an in effective seal

Brian

 

[Slapp]

I had a bike years ago that had the tappered bearings and after the second time of having to take everything apart to re-grease them I took them to work with me and had the guys in the machine shop drill and tap them so I could install ZIRK fittings, then just stick a grease gun on and grease them up. When I needed a new tire is when I tore them all apart and inspected them again. It was just like the old days when you went to the garage and got a oil change and a lube job. As for me, I actually prefer the tappered bearings myself, but that is just me.