[QRO]

I have tracked my front wheel wobble under hard braking to play in the front wheel.

Easy job, swapping front bearings, right?

The job itself is easy (hopefully!), but getting the right parts? Seems pretty evident to me that all the 'genuine KOYO' etc, listings on ebay are fake.

Then I read this;-

Warning: Counterfeit/B Grade SKF and NTN bearings - Hambini Engineering

and now I am thinking that there is no way I can protect myself if I do not have a way to check the supply chain myself.

What to do and how to do it?

I'm thinking I am damned if I try to make sure bearings are genuine, damned if I don't.

Bearings on mine are ~6k old, I guess not too bad but who knows if they were genuine or cheap stuff.

The conclusion I am rapidly coming to .... just buy the cheapest bearings and swap them out regularly!

I can buy a half dozen pack of cheap bearings and replace them once a year for the same price as a genuine bearing that probably won't that long. I mean, it is road sludge that kills bearings, and a more expensive bearing is no less likely to be sludged up with road filth?

Anyone had similar thinking? How did you deal with it, cheap and just swap out when needed, or go with top quality and how did you authenticate?

 

[2017Dave]

Easy way is to pay up for oem parts. Im in the usa so I would buy them from a company like Motosport or Partzilla. Not sure what you have over there. Maybe go to the dealership if you are unsure.

 

[QRO]

Yeah, but where do they get their parts from?

See that page I linked to, who can tell the difference?

In a previous company we received submodules from some other company that were filled with counterfeit parts that they later figured out. They had what appeared to be traceability back to manufacturer, as we did.

It's a real problem for many industries now, the fakes are so good. I wish the fakers just put a bit more engineering effort in so they were as good as what they were faking, at least!!

Not forgetting that the military of several countries have suffered from this too, and you'd think they would not shirk on checking.

Fake Parts Still a Real Problem (pcea.net)

"Hello, Suzuki dealer, I want to buy front bearings"
"Sure, QRO, those are £35 each"
"OK, but for THAT price I want a copy of complete traceability back to supplier"
"Do you want it signed by Osamu Suzuki too?"
"Yes, please"
"Sorry, not going to happen"
"But I can buy replacement bearings for £2.50 each"
"Yeah, but they will not last as long"
" ..... for £2.50! ...... ???? You're saying yours will last 14 times longer!? So I replace these once a year, and yours will last at least 14 years?"
"Errrr, yeah, I'll get you that signature ...."

I mean? It's like buying a Bic pen. You know it isn't going to last and you're going to chuck it away, but costwise ... and who knows, miracles might happen, that 'fake' SKF bearing might actually be an SKF bearing and last years!!

I'm basically not that willing to pay full dealer prices for parts for which I will not get proper traceability for anyway ..... but I am thinking about it ....

 

[TwistedMister]

find a bearing supply store, walk in with your bearings, get a good top quality sealed set, should not be more than $100 usd for both wheels, OR, you can go ceramic and improve everything for like $350usd, bearings do make a difference and ceramics are proven, a guy does a coast test on youtube it's ridiculous how much longer ceramics coast..

 

[le skid]

Look, it's not rocket science. Just go to the parts counter at your Suzuki dealer or order from any of the reputable vendors on this forum.

If you want a bobblehead, a coffee mug or anything that isn't a safety or reliability concern, ebay and amazon are great but if you order something important on ebay, don't act shocked when you learn that you bought garbage. That's on you.

 

[BillV]

It seems to me that the bearing manufacturers have brought this on themselves by selling B grade bearings without marking them as such. I don't see Koyo mentioned in your link so they may not be doing this. I'm aware that bearing suppliers oftentimes buy from middlemen who get them from anywhere. Years ago I wanted some genuine New Departure bearings, long out of business, and was able to find some that way - from who knows where. Beyond that, as stated above, buy from a reputable source.

Having said all that, my impression is that the wheel bearings in our bikes are commonly improperly installed and that this can cause short life. So check your procedures and installation tools before you blame the bearing. To my considerable surprise, not even the Suzuki service manuals follow the installation procedure for needle bearings that every manufacturer, including Koyo, recommends. Go figure. Maybe it doesn't matter in swingarm service.