The picture quality's not great but I though I'd share this one of three bearings replaced a few days ago.
They're from Magnet's F800GS, 3 years old, 32k miles, well maintained, but ridden all year round in all weathers.
The one on the left is from the nearside of the wheel hub and failed fairly comprehensively just over a week ago. It would appear moisture got behind the bearing seal. The one in the middle is from the offside of the hub, is pretty clean, and would probably go another 30k miles. The one on the right is the one that sits behind the sprocket carrier and is showing signs of corrosion on the face despite inspection and re-greasing at tyre changes.
She does occasionally jet wash the bike after muddy excursion but avoids the relevant area so I'm assuming it's just the riding in all weathers and seasons that contributes to the condition of the 'exposed' bearings. The bearings are SKF so they're apparently as good as any others you can currently get, although there are arguments as to whether the bearings are as good as they were.
We were lucky because if the bearing had failed next week we'd have been in the Alps and it would have been fairly inconvenient.
So the thought is that, given they aren't a service inspection or replacement item on the BMW schedule (it would appear only the steering head bearing is checked at major services for obvious reasons) what's best to do? For there sake of £30 for a set of three bearings (or £20 for the front) I think there's an argument for changing them on a preventive basis but at what mileage? My own bike is an 800GSA with 12k on and one of the bearings is showing some sign of corrosion already.
They're from Magnet's F800GS, 3 years old, 32k miles, well maintained, but ridden all year round in all weathers.
The one on the left is from the nearside of the wheel hub and failed fairly comprehensively just over a week ago. It would appear moisture got behind the bearing seal. The one in the middle is from the offside of the hub, is pretty clean, and would probably go another 30k miles. The one on the right is the one that sits behind the sprocket carrier and is showing signs of corrosion on the face despite inspection and re-greasing at tyre changes.
She does occasionally jet wash the bike after muddy excursion but avoids the relevant area so I'm assuming it's just the riding in all weathers and seasons that contributes to the condition of the 'exposed' bearings. The bearings are SKF so they're apparently as good as any others you can currently get, although there are arguments as to whether the bearings are as good as they were.
We were lucky because if the bearing had failed next week we'd have been in the Alps and it would have been fairly inconvenient.
So the thought is that, given they aren't a service inspection or replacement item on the BMW schedule (it would appear only the steering head bearing is checked at major services for obvious reasons) what's best to do? For there sake of £30 for a set of three bearings (or £20 for the front) I think there's an argument for changing them on a preventive basis but at what mileage? My own bike is an 800GSA with 12k on and one of the bearings is showing some sign of corrosion already.
