Ceramic Wheel Bearings?

[Elimax]

Hi all:

Has anyone here ever installed ceramic wheel bearings in their beloved Suzuki, and if so, where did you purchase them?

Thanks very much.

Elimax

[wraith]

I know cars use them, and they don't last as long as steel type and if not fitted with the right tool fuck up very quickly.

[Gixer1460]

Not here for an argument but several Drag racers tried ceramic wheel bearings back in the 90's and 00's. Ceramics are actually harder than steel so a Ceramic ball on a ceramic track should last longer and without requiring lubricant as well. Brad O'Connor did some calcs based on the claims for the bearings and deduced if they were true, a steel bearing should heat up to the equivalent of about 100w ie. you should be able to feel distinct warmth. He never found this to be true in the real world, so draw your own conclusions. They are good bearings and are very low friction but unless you are sponsored would you use them? Probably not!

Steel bearings DO heat up if you push them to the extremes of their operating window ie. machinery spindles rotating at 20k rpm and Land Speed vehicles going mile after mile at V max! These applications must use 'special' greases in correct quantities - they are that fussy!

[Joseph]

On a quarter ton bike with shoddy frame ancillaries, it's probably not worth it

[dupersunc]

1 hour ago, Gixer1460 said:

Not here for an argument but several Drag racers tried ceramic wheel bearings back in the 90's and 00's. Ceramics are actually harder than steel so a Ceramic ball on a ceramic track should last longer and without requiring lubricant as well. Brad O'Connor did some calcs based on the claims for the bearings and deduced if they were true, a steel bearing should heat up to the equivalent of about 100w ie. you should be able to feel distinct warmth. He never found this to be true in the real world, so draw your own conclusions. They are good bearings and are very low friction but unless you are sponsored would you use them? Probably not!

Steel bearings DO heat up if you push them to the extremes of their operating window ie. machinery spindles rotating at 20k rpm and Land Speed vehicles going mile after mile at V max! These applications must use 'special' greases in correct quantities - they are that fussy!

This.  Very much this.

[cnap504]

They are low drag low friction.  The street racers round here (on barely used highways) use them along with non o-ring chains and some kind of springy deal that keeps the brake pads from dragging on the discs

[slayer61]

I raced (flat track) with another guy who had them in his vintage Yamaha. Pushing his bike was like pushing a bicycle around. He was the son of one of the major players in American flat track racing.

[TLRS]

Iirc some bst wheels came with them. Someone I know replaced them because something was wrong with them.

I’d look at the other stuff first too.