OK first question.....

I'm just in the process of changing the rear wheel bearings on my XB12XT. I'm surprised that the bearing spacer is made of aluminium (perhaps I shouldn't be given EB's philosophy on weight etc). Every other bike I've owned has had steel bearing spacers which last the life of the bike. Is there any reason why I shouldn't buy a new pair of spacers(front and rear) from HD, then get them copied in stainless steel by a good machinist, and then forget about having to replace them again?

Only cos if the bearings are good and you don't over tighten the axle they will last you forever...

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08 Specialized Langster

Fair enough, my rear spacer looked fine when I changed the bearings yesterday so I reused it. I just wondered why there seemed to be posts on several Buell forums suggesting you should change the spacers when you change the bearings. It seemed a little excessive to me?

I've not had a problem with the ones on my XB. You can tell if it is fooked as it shouldn't be loose when you put new bearings in.

On my tubers though, the fronts have been a disaster (previous owners) and I made a load of new ones up (out of ally but much thicker wall).

The problem occurs over tightening the axle, especially with worn bearings, but I'm sure you knew this...

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08 Specialized Langster

I'd bet a lot of those that get damaged are when people take their bike in for new tyres and the fitter torques the axles up too tight as the XB axle torque is much less than most other bikes specify. This is all the more likely as a lot of mechanics tighten stuff up by feel, which is fine, but if you think the axle torque should be 100NM (most Japanese bikes), but it is actually 70NM (Buel XB), you can see how damage can occur.

spot on, and guestimating by amateurs too

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Feros Ferio