Bad All Balls Bearing episode on rear bearings

[cranky]

Bottom line - do NOT use All Balls bearings!!!!! You might get lucky, maybe
I got unlucky.. but it cost me a lot of bucks!!!! YMMV

I was going to swap out my ebay final drive I put in during a diagnostic event
while troubleshooting a vibration bug... wasn't the problem but left it in and
kept my old one on hand.. in case... Well, the in case came to pass and
I swapped my original back and while at it, my scoot has @75K and I thought
I might as well put in new rear wheel bearings. Did not need them!!!

Well, it was suggested to me that All Balls was an OK brand and I bought some.
When I told my wrench I was going to use them, they told me that they've
had bad luck with them and suggested I do not use them.

Well.. I was there and did it anyway... I noticed bearing noise right off, no
break in time needed!!! About 43mph and slight acceleration, I could hear
the warble of a bad bearing! Went for a short 12 mile trip, let the bike
set for about an hour and drove home, and on the way home it was more
noticeable!!!

My wrench suggested stock Kaw bearings, so I ebay'd a set. That fixed it!!!
When the wrench took my rear wheel off, the inner race did not want to spin,
the new Kaw bearings were OK. I took the side of the All Balls and one of the
old Kaw bearings off for a look-see... Not much grease on one side of the All
Balls...

The first pic shows a dry side of the All Balls, the second pic is my old 75K
mile Kaw, and it looked the same on both sides, the third pic is the "wet?"
side of the All Balls... bearing grease was NOT abundant on the All Balls!!!

[Thud300]

Yikes, this is the brand I just put in my rear wheel. I haven't reassembled the bike yet. So this is what you found after popping out the seals between races?

[cranky]

... picture of brand new All Balls, with @ 30miles on 'em... YMMV

They did NOT work for me! Ya might check around... my wrench
recommended the stock Kaw bearings...

[Thud300]

Well, think what I'll do is get a grease needle and add some Mobil synth grease to them before I reassemble the rearset that's been apart since I dunno, dirt... then see what happens. Thanks for the heads up, will report back.

[cranky]

Be interested!!!! Very Best to Ya!!!!! Good grease is always a +

BTW, give it a good spin ( I know you will) in both directions so the lube
will be well distributed....

[ekap1200]

I had that issue at about 45-50 k ago. Thought while I had it apart to change out the rear bearings. After market lasted about one oil change. Went to Kawasaki OEM bearings , and will never go cheep again.

[cranky]

Gene, I'd a been scared to go on a trip with these.. after my short run and
return, the return was a louder trip... I ride in desolate places.... did NOT
want that on my mind!!! That's why I'm very conscious of my scoot!!!

[Van Voyager]

I read years ago that in the past All Balls bearings were made in Japan and were high quality. Of course, like everything else, production change to India or China and quality has suffered.

[cushman eagle]

We have seen enough new ball bearing failures in our repair shop to pop the seals off and make sure there is grease in them.
It does not necessarily mean a brand name, is not one which has been relabeled,and has no grease in them.

[Barry]

I too was told All Balls were a good product. Sure wish this post was made in January when I had my bike all apart. I had completely rearranged my shop for my winter maintenance. Everything is now back where it belongs and am waiting for dry weather for a test ride. Looks like I will be paranoid for a few hundred miles. Thanks for the words of caution.

[cranky]

... listen @40-45 with slight acceleration... mine was worse
after @15 miles, sit for @1 hour, and drove home.. notably
worse... best to ya!!!

[the2knights]

I did front and rear with All Balls a bit ago. Had 165,000 on original, so far only about 15,000 on the All Balls but fine so far.

[cranky]

... what little grease I saw, was on the ball cage and not the balls...
Mine were noisy right off.. glad I got 'um out! 'spensive little
venture, sigh.....

[Barry]

'spensive? Mine only cost $20. Now my time, well that's another matter.

[cranky]

... I pay a wrench.. too old and don't have the tools, for which I'm
thankful... or maybe I'd be stoopid enough to try it!!!! GBG

I got good'un and I like to keep him in business..... they treat
me right....

[Barry]

Oh, the advantages of living in the big city.... I've been burned too many times by "mechanics" that had good reviews or were 'highly recommended' . Happy you have someone trustworthy.

[Barry]

Bill,
I'm on vxii number 2 of 3 in the last 20 years. All of them had noisy rear ends. Here's my question. Would your bearing noise go away when you pulled in the clutch? My noise is only present when under load. It sounds like an old bias ply snow tire. It was doing this for the last 6 years which is one of the reasons I changed the bearings and tires. I would think if the new bearings were bad they would make noise all the time, regardless of acceleration or deceleration. Gene suggested I decrease my axle bolt torque to 70, but that didn't change anything.

[cranky]

.... real long story, but I had a second final drive while shooting a
bad drive shaft bug, ebay trash, it was noisy, had to put old one back in,
I thought at @75K while the back tire was out, might as well change
bearings.... the stock bearings were good, so I shot myself in both feet!!!!!
GBG + sigh ... cause I had to go back and replace the All Balls trash!!!
So I replaced 'um just because..... and got to do it again!!!!

but I heard the new ones (All Balls)
growling right away!!!! I will say, they did sound off with
more noise with a little throttle rather than clutch in...
Yes, they still made themselves known with the clutch in!

Best I can tell the All Balls had NO grease on the bearings...
musta been a new vendor that didn't know what they were
doin'......

[Thud300]

Yeah, I'm getting this too, despite adding grease to the All Balls bearings before wheel install, I used Mobil synthetic grease. At first the noise wasn't noticeable, but after about 100 miles of riding started getting the old familiar decel whine at 45ish mph. Not as loud as before, but it's there.

The final drive was replaced along with the rear bearings. I have access to a device called a chassis ear, which uses wireless mics clipped onto different places to try and zero in on noise sources. If I can figure out a way to keep everything secure while riding, might try it and see what's up.