pivot bearings K1100LT

[matjas]

Hi
wanted to grease the splines waiting for the weather to clear a bit and new tires /t32 radials/ arrive and found out the pivot bearings are shot at almost 50kkm. what is your experience with longevity in these?
no rust, no heavy pitting but one can see delicate grooves and feel them when rotating the bearing so this is done. not going back.

bearings were greased with moly lube but I am guessing this is not the factory grease. possibly.
luckily enough the FD Ujoint and splines are in as new condition.

these FAGs are not accessible in the market at normal prices - almost 100USD per piece :/ As far as I managed to find out I am in no option for alternatives. Right? Feck :/ Was not expecting this hit on the balls.

ALSO - on the reassembly what is your experience with the OEM torque value for the setting pin - is the 7Nm ok? Chris Harris in his vid claims this is too low and this is the reason these fail - should be 10-11Nm according to his words. Too early to make up my mind yet but this will come so I am asking.

[Laitch]

. . . found out the pivot bearings are shot at almost 50kkm. what is your experience with longevity in these? 

Pivot bearings fail often enough that Ted Porter is offering this modified part.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I would clean them well, lube them and install with the torque that Chris Harris recommends.  Then check them by first grabbing the rear wheel at the 6 and 12 0'clock position and trying to rock the wheel.  Then grab it at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, trying to push the wheel back and forth.  Any motion means the bearings are worn and need replacement. 

I realize that others here will say I'm full of sh!t, but those bearings only rotate through a few degrees at relatively low rotational speeds and as long as they hold the swing arm securely to the frame allowing only vertical motion in the rear wheel they are okay. 

I have had five bricks with mileage as high as 130,000 miles and none of them had worn pivot bearings.  I guess it depends on how aggressively the bike was pushed on lousy roads.  I suspect that most riders are fairly easy on those bearings.   

[jbt]

I've seen worn bearings at less than 30000 kms , and other OEM still OK at 200000 kms...
Curioulsy, most (all, in fact!) of early paralevers on R100GS, K1, K1100LT, R100R, R1100GS I have or had were equipped with long lasting bearing whereas R1150 bearings were all dead young. Quality issues of post Y2K BMW? Possible. Probable. Parts or mounting procedure...
Anyway, it's right that they don't rotate through enough  degrees to divide the wear on all the space between rollers location; that's why they wear so quickly. But even if it may seem counter-intuitive, I think that an agressive riding on bumpy roads will make the bearing work at a wide angle, whereas a gentle riding on flat tar will concentrate the wear at the same spot.

IMHO, bushings is a serious alternative to be considered...

[matjas]

I decided to cannibalise my now dormant r1100gs for bearings - not ideal but much much better. The cost of the new ones is just boiling my mind especially I just shelled out for new rubber.
Has anyone had a long lasting experience with these bushing quoted above? In k1100 I might be tempted to give them a go when the time for GS comes - but this may take a while.

In my whole wrenching life I have never had to spend such a prohibitive amount of money for two little bearings. I just bloody hate it.

[frankenduck]

The OEM plastic bearing races are garbage. That said, since I have Scottish blood I've been a cheap-ass and I've redone them with old OEM parts from parts final drives too.

Another (cheaper) alternative to Rubber Chicken or Ted Porter bearings is:
https://nushings.com/#/
 

[KCinSB]

Pivot bearings fail often enough that Ted Porter is offering this modified part.

+1 on those!  Work well.