All Balls rear bearings

[balky1]

Maybe I'm just misfortunate, but these bearings lasted ONLY 17000 km. Maybe someone finds this info useful.

[Motofun]

All Balls are Chinese.....questionable quality IMHO.  I always buy quality bearings, double sealed (if appropriate).  Sure they cost twice as much but in the big picture they're worth the peace of mind.

[Pat Conlon]

Yamaha oem are Koyo bearings.

They cost a little more than the China stuff but they are the best IMHO.

[Charlie-brm]

Since I got into motorcycles in 2004, I've never caught on to why All Balls seems to be the schnizzle for a bunch of people. Maybe just the catchy name and they think these are somehow domestic, motorcycle specific bearings. They just buy cheap bearings in bulk from changing sources and repackage them. Simple really.

I think you have as much chance of getting a lemon All Balls as going straight from Ali-whatever online from China. From the first year I was reading of guys opening the packaging and seeing early signs of corrosion; "exploding"t during the replacement. others breaking down in the first few months. Then it would tail off and a year or so later, back to finding lemons.

I prefer to order and pickup from a local industrial distributor, getting current stock of the same bearings supplied to factories running machinery 24/7, and let the distributor worry about where they come from if they pass the grade for no nonsense applications.

[Sparky84]

Maybe I'm just misfortunate, but these bearings lasted ONLY 17000 km. Maybe someone finds this info useful.

I've got more than that from mine, your not using a high pressure water cleaner to wash the bike?

I think you have as much chance of getting a lemon All Balls as going straight from Ali-whatever online from China. From the first year I was reading of guys opening the packaging and seeing early signs of corrosion; "exploding"t during the replacement. others breaking down in the first few months. Then it would tail off and a year or so later, back to finding lemons.

RPM sell them, so I they must be ok

[T Legg]

I used all balls bearings when I changed mine a year ago.Ive got over ten thousand miles on them with no problems yet.Ill check them when I change out my tires again next week.They looked good corrosion free and rolled smoothly when I installed them and everytime I've changed tires so far.I'm not promoting Chinese bearings but I haven't had any problems.My son Ian is using them in his zzr 1200 also.

[balky1]

No pressure washer used. They look mint, absolutely no corrosion. Even the wheel had no sideplay. I would have never noticed it if I hadn't been changing the tire. Then, the left one is completely seized and the right one turns but you feel grinding inside.
I thought they were quality, since it is a US brand, but now that I heard more negative experiences I'm more sure the quality is 
Hopefully this thread helps someone.

[ribbert]

Charlie, I could not have put it any better and agree with everything you say.


I would never buy bearings from a reseller repackaged under their own name, I have no idea what I'm buying.  A bearing is not the sort of thing where quality can be assessed by sight or feel so a known and trusted manufacturer's name or supplier is really your only guarantee.
They are, in nearly all applications cheap to buy compared to the cost of labour to replace them, the cost of breakdown and the cost of premature failure, especially in industrial applications. Saving literally a few dollars up front to buy bearings of unknown origin is a false economy.

Bearing services are common and bearings for our bikes are probably something we'll only ever buy once, and they cost less than a tank of fuel per wheel and are not difficult to track down, so do it right.

Not saying every All Balls bearing is going to be bad but it is a lucky dip.

Bearings that feel smooth when turned or spun in your fingers are not necessarily in good condition either, they sometimes only show signs of wear when loaded up.

Noel

[FJ Flyer]

Go with Timkin or other known name brands and you won't have any trouble.  Call Charlie at CBR Bearings and he'll hook you up with good stuff and minimal shipping charges.  I've gotten bearings for both my FJ and my old '06 FJR.

I got an All Balls kit for the stearing head bearings and they had the wrong size for one of the bearings.  All Balls refused to acknowledge it didn't fit.  Never bought them again.

https://www.cbrbearing.com/

[racerrad8]

RPM sell them (All Balls), so I they must be ok

Sparky, yes we sell All Balls and have sold hundreds of sets over the years. To date I do not recall a single issue, but then again unless there is a problem I won't pay much attention to them. If they were a problem, I would not sell them.

Now, you guys need to stop fooling yourself that "brand name" bearings are coming from manufacturing of better courses.

Former bearing company BCA, was bought up by National Oil Seal probably ten years ago or more. BCA and now National bearings are what I have used now for more than 30 years. I started noticing on the bearings many years ago the manufacture location had left the US. These items are now made in many other countries outside the US, whereas before they all said USA on them.

I still use them and have not had any issues with them to date.

So, please don't fool yourself into thinking "brand name" bearings are better because they are "brand name"...They are all made where labor and materials are the cheapest.

I recently purchased wheel bearings for my forklift. I ended up getting Komatsu bearings because of the industrial application, from the local "Motion Industries" bearing supply house. When they arrived, three boxes said made in China and the fourth made in Mexico.

Don't fool yourselves that name brand bearings or those supplied at a bearing house are not made overseas.

Balky, if you got the All Balls from me, let me know and I can talk to my supplier about the issue. If not from me, it might be worth reaching out to the company you bought them from and see if they will work with you.

Randy - RPM

[balky1]

Hi Randy. No, not from you.
The story continues in unforseen way. Looking from outside, they look perfect so I went ahead and accused All Balls for being bad. I was curious as to why the sprocket carrier bearing is in perfect operating condition and the other two are toast. I removed both bearings aaaaand surprise:




I was surprised with the amount of water and rust inside. Both oil seals and O-ring under the sprocket carrier look great. Furthermore, like I said, outside of the bearings looked nice. So I cleaned inside of the hub and took a look.
Tell me, do you also see a crack there?


pictured from sprocket side


pictured from disc side

I made the darker longitudinal marks across the crack with a screwdriver so disregard them.

So I lashed out on All Balls before checking things. On the other hand, shouldn't sealed bearings survive this? New Koyo bearings are ordered. Although, seems I will need a hub also.... 

[racerrad8]

So I lashed out on All Balls before checking things. On the other hand, shouldn't sealed bearings survive this? New Koyo bearings are ordered. Although, seems I will need a hub also.... 

Wow, good catch on the crack. Where is the crack in relation to the spoke?

It is big enough to allow the water too pool inside, that is a significant crack and fortunately was found before a failure.

Now, as far as the sealed bearings...

No, the bearing will not seal out moisture that is pooled against the seal surface and the rotating center. There is no spring to seal the seal against the rotating center like in a car front wheel seal. The actual seals out side of the wheel bearings are designed to keep the water away form the bearing. But, Yamaha did not plan for water on the back side of the bearing and thus no true seal there...

I'm interested to know where the crack is in relation to the spoke.

Randy - RPM

[aviationfred]

I have used All Balls Bearings for years and have had them fail, but I never thought about pointing fingers at the bearing manufacturer. Wheel bearings are a consumable item, they take a lot of abuse in often times very adverse conditions.

Not everyone may agree here but this is my take on bearing lubrication;

I was trained by the military as a Helicopter mechanic. Part of our job was to maintain the drive train which contained more than a dozen drive shafts with bearings connecting them. I was trained that when greasing the bearings, to pump enough grease in until you saw old grease beginning to come out of the outer seal. This procedure was held in very high regard, as a bearing failure on a helicopter flying at 10,000 feet can have catastrophic consequences.

To relate this to motorcycle wheel bearings. Regardless of the brand of bearing that I install in my wheels, I do the following.
When I am ready to install new bearings, i use a small pick and remove the dust cover from both sides. You may be surprised at the amount of grease actually there, or lack there of. I use WD-40 and douse the bearings and work the bearings until most of the original grease has been removed. I wipe everything off and then repack the bearings as full as I can. I put one dust seal back in and work the bearing, then add more grease. Enough that when I put the other seal on that grease oozes out as I am installing the seal. Install the bearings in the wheel and you are all set for many miles.
I have used Lucas Marine grade synthetic grease for years and recently began using the Redline synthetic grease that RPM sells.
I also ALWAYS put a thin coating of grease on the entire axle shaft before I install the wheel.


Fred

[Firehawk068]

I have had All-Balls rear bearings ( all 3 of them) on my FJ for over 50,000 miles.
I check them each time I swap a rear tire on.
I have never noticed anything wrong with them.

[ribbert]

I have used All Balls Bearings for years and have had them fail, but I never thought about pointing fingers at the bearing manufacturer. Wheel bearings are a consumable item, they take a lot of abuse in often times very adverse conditions.

Not everyone may agree here but this is my take on bearing lubrication;

I was trained by the military as a Helicopter mechanic. Part of our job was to maintain the drive train which contained more than a dozen drive shafts with bearings connecting them. I was trained that when greasing the bearings, to pump enough grease in until you saw old grease beginning to come out of the outer seal. This procedure was held in very high regard, as a bearing failure on a helicopter flying at 10,000 feet can have catastrophic consequences.

To relate this to motorcycle wheel bearings. Regardless of the brand of bearing that I install in my wheels, I do the following.
When I am ready to install new bearings, i use a small pick and remove the dust cover from both sides. You may be surprised at the amount of grease actually there, or lack there of. I use WD-40 and douse the bearings and work the bearings until most of the original grease has been removed. I wipe everything off and then repack the bearings as full as I can. I put one dust seal back in and work the bearing, then add more grease. Enough that when I put the other seal on that grease oozes out as I am installing the seal. Install the bearings in the wheel and you are all set for many miles.
I have used Lucas Marine grade synthetic grease for years and recently began using the Redline synthetic grease that RPM sells.
I also ALWAYS put a thin coating of grease on the entire axle shaft before I install the wheel.


Fred

Fred, I have great respect for your knowledge on bike maintenance and you are probably one of the very few people here who've actually had 'formal' training in this area. I know exactly what you're talking about on the heli's but the sealed-for-life bearings we use on our bikes are a different thing.

Why would these giant manufacturers who literally keep the wheels of industry turning not know how much and of what type and viscosity grease to add to their bearings?  If you took it on yourself to modify a bearing as you describe before fitting it to a plane or heli, they'd hang you out to dry!

Good advice about the greased shaft.

Noel