Crank bearings

[dwil4]

When it comes to engine parts I really prefer to stick to OEM parts but I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on Moose Racing bearings... I am redoing an old Yammie and I am looking for all the lower end bearings. Crank bearings and such..

[ohiodrz400sm]

When it comes to engine parts I really prefer to stick to OEM parts but I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on Moose Racing bearings... I am redoing an old Yammie and I am looking for all the lower end bearings. Crank bearings and such..

OEM's don't make bearings and neither does Moose. They are most likely the exact same thing, Koyo bearings made in Japan.

[BOAB]

38 minutes ago, ohiodrz400sm said:

9 hours ago, dwil4 said:

When it comes to engine parts I really prefer to stick to OEM parts but I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on Moose Racing bearings... I am redoing an old Yammie and I am looking for all the lower end bearings. Crank bearings and such..

OEM's don't make bearings and neither does Moose. They are most likely the exact same thing, Koyo bearings made in Japan.

Probably not.  A good example is All Balls.  Their bearings are junk lightweight Chinese garbage.  Weigh about half as much as an equivalent Koyo.  Buy OEM, they will be high quality.

[ohiodrz400sm]

Probably not.  A good example is All Balls.  Their bearings are junk lightweight Chinese garbage.  Weigh about half as much as an equivalent Koyo.  Buy OEM, they will be high quality.

Moose is using Koyo. My 03 YZ250 OEM's were Koyo.

[BOAB]

Just now, ohiodrz400sm said:

Moose is using Koyo. My 03 YZ250 OEM's were Koyo.

Good to know, pretty rare to use quality in the aftermarket nowadays.

[ohiodrz400sm]

Good to know, pretty rare to use quality in the aftermarket nowadays. ?

I work for a bearing manufacturer. Being in service I talk with not only our direct customers but also their customers, the end users of the equipment. It is not unheard of for our direct customers to sell our bearings as spare parts for over 4x mark up. I imagine it's a similar situation with the motorcycle manufacturers selling their supplier's components.

[BOAB]

1 minute ago, ohiodrz400sm said:

10 minutes ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

Good to know, pretty rare to use quality in the aftermarket nowadays. ?

I work for a bearing manufacturer. Being in service I talk with not only our direct customers but also their customers, the end users of the equipment. It is not unheard of for our direct customers to sell our bearings as spare parts for over 4x mark up. I imagine it's a similar situation with the motorcycle manufacturers selling their supplier's components.

Speaking of bearing companies I recently took some All Balls linkage bearings to a local bearing house to see if they could match them up, took the stock Koyos I had removed, too.  They actually started laughing at how weak the Chinese All Balls were compared to the stock Koyo.  Gave them their funny for the day. ?

[ohiodrz400sm]

Speaking of bearing companies I recently took some All Balls linkage bearings to a local bearing house to see if they could match them up, took the stock Koyos I had removed, too.  They actually started laughing at how weak the Chinese All Balls were compared to the stock Koyo.  Gave them their funny for the day. [emoji38]

That's a good heads up on All Ballz.

[BOAB]

2 minutes ago, ohiodrz400sm said:

4 minutes ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

Speaking of bearing companies I recently took some All Balls linkage bearings to a local bearing house to see if they could match them up, took the stock Koyos I had removed, too.  They actually started laughing at how weak the Chinese All Balls were compared to the stock Koyo.  Gave them their funny for the day.

That's a good heads up on All Ballz.

It was discussed previously in the All Balls wheel bearing thread a couple weeks ago.

[allrightythen]

The above exchange is why going OEM is the best recourse for quality. You know there is a standard that has to be met.

 

[ohiodrz400sm]

It was discussed previously in the All Balls wheel bearing thread a couple weeks ago.

What happened to your PETA monkey face? I found that to be much more attractive. Does that make me a furry?

[BOAB]

1 minute ago, ohiodrz400sm said:

6 minutes ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

It was discussed previously in the All Balls wheel bearing thread a couple weeks ago.

What happened to your PETA monkey face? I found that to be much more attractive. Does that make me a furry?

He got retired, I didn't want to infringe on his copyright.   BTW, that case was finally settled the other day, the monkey and PETA lost.

[Into the sunset]

38 minutes ago, ohiodrz400sm said:

47 minutes ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

Good to know, pretty rare to use quality in the aftermarket nowadays. ?

I work for a bearing manufacturer. Being in service I talk with not only our direct customers but also their customers, the end users of the equipment. It is not unheard of for our direct customers to sell our bearings as spare parts for over 4x mark up. I imagine it's a similar situation with the motorcycle manufacturers selling their supplier's components.

That’s pretty much what happens. I owned a 1989 Yamaha and when I removed the head head bearings the Koyo numbers were stamped on the side. I was able to source the Koyo bearings from a local shop for about $18 and the Yamaha part was crazy expensive if I recall it was close to $60! On the same bike I discovered that the bottom end bearings were a proprietary size that could only be ordered through Yamaha. 

[BOAB]

1 minute ago, Dklassen said:

That’s pretty much what happens. I owned a 1989 Yamaha and when I removed the head head bearings the Koyo numbers were stamped on the side. I was able to source the Koyo bearings from a local shop for about $18 and the Yamaha part was crazy expensive if I recall it was close to $60! On the same bike I discovered that the bottom end bearings were a proprietary size that could only be ordered through Yamaha. 

The guys at the bearing house told me they are seeing those proprietary bearings more and more in all vehicles.  Sorta sucks for them.

[dwil4]

Thanks for all the replies. I learned some things I did not know. Now I'm wishing I had not used All Balls steering stem bearings on my other bike..

[BOAB]

47 minutes ago, dwil4 said:

Thanks for all the replies. I learned some things I did not know. Now I'm wishing I had not used All Balls steering stem bearings on my other bike..

Read that thread I referenced.  Some people claim not to have had problems.  I just found the cages to be very fragile.

[Chuck.]

The title is "Crank Bearing" and for crank bearings you should buy OEM because crank bearings operate in a dynamic thermal environment, especially 2Ts, and need other than normal bearing clearances.  

Edited April 25, 2018 by Chuck.

[6bt]

The guys at the bearing house told me they are seeing those proprietary bearings more and more in all vehicles.  Sorta sucks for them.

It's a cat and mouse game. Manufacturer makes a proprietary part/bearing, aftermarket follows. The cycle repeats itself.

[2FlatsandBent]

8 hours ago, ohiodrz400sm said:

17 hours ago, dwil4 said:

When it comes to engine parts I really prefer to stick to OEM parts but I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on Moose Racing bearings... I am redoing an old Yammie and I am looking for all the lower end bearings. Crank bearings and such..

OEM's don't make bearings and neither does Moose. They are most likely the exact same thing, Koyo bearings made in Japan.

 Even if the bearings from different companies (OEM, Moose, etc.) use the same manufacture (i.e. Koyo) that doesn’t necessarily mean the bearings are the same or of the same quality. Bearings, even though they may be of the same size, have different ratings and can be of different type and material.

 The rating (ABEC) of a bearing has to do with the amount of polishing and tolerance of the inner and outer diameter, and the width. The type can determine things like whether the bearing is shielded or not or if the shields are floating or sealed and water proof. An example of this is the stock wheel bearings in a Yamaha YZ250FXs are not shielded (no side plates) while many aftermarket replacements have waterproof sealed shields. This is a case where certain aftermarket products may be better than OEM.

 Other differences are the type, quality and hardness of materials. Also the tolerance of the balls (or needles) and the raceways make a big difference per application.

 All bearing manufacturers make the same ‘size’ bearings in many different types.

 So how do you tell which bearing is better? Unfortunately at a glance you most likely can’t. That’s why there is tread after thread of this very debate. There are a couple of good indicators though. First; you get what you pay for – usually. If you’re dealing with a reputable company you can pretty much count on a more expensive bearing (probably) being better (note that there are some applications where the absolute best bearing money can buy is not necessary – actually with motorcycles this is always the case, unless you want to spend $100 a pop on ceramic bearings). Second, as cjjeepercreeper points out, the weight may tell you something. What was that movie – 1 “Is it heavy”, 2 – “yea”, 1 – “Then put it down; it’s expensive”.

 Essentially you just have to rely on what other people say and, mostly, your own experiences. OEM will get you what you originally had. After that there are certainly worse options; but in some cases there are better options.

[dwil4]

Good info...imma go with OEM I do believe..