While doing some work on my 88 XLH 1200 while it was on the lift I noticed side to side movement of the wheel. The wheel turned freely with no noise but I figured that the bearings are shot or I needed to add some shims to tighten it up. After reading the manual it looks like getting the right preload using spacers & shims is APITA. I saw an add in one of the parts suppliers catalogs that showed a "Double-Row Retro-Fit Rear Bearing Kit" that replaced the Timken bearings with sealed ball bearings and included the inner & outer spacers. I know the later model Sportsters went to sealed ball bearings and was wondering if anyone had tried one of these kits on the earlier models with successful results?
Regards,
Ken
If they have one for your bike I would say go for it. I put one in a friends bike and it worked great. The sealed bearings are much better.
Yes, I have installed FTM sealed wheel bearings on my 1993 XL, the ones seen at http://www.ftmbiz.com/harley_double_wheel_bearings.html (http://www.ftmbiz.com/harley_double_wheel_bearings.html)
The tricky part is to get the spacers correct length. An added twist for me was that I no longer used the mechanical speedo on my Sporty and the speedo drive unit is part of the spacing up front. If I remember correctly, I didn't have to do anything special for the rear - I think I used the supplied spacers, but possibly reused the existing one. For the front, I had spacers machined in a machine shop after some measurements and calculations I did.
Thanks guys, for the info & advice, I'm definitely going to try a set
at least on the rear wheel.
Best Regards,
Ken
You know Ken. I bought a bike with the stock sealed bearings in it. It's really a good idea, BUT with the old style I always packed my bearings with each new tire and when they went bad, I installed the bearings myself insuring correct fit. All I'm sayin' is there is a little more peace of mind when you actually TOUCH the bearings once in a while.
Randy