SKF, Koyo or FAG bearings?

[Hornstar]

Replacing a load of bearings around the SV and wondered what peoples views were on the 3 makes in title? SKF and FAG seem to be more widely available but didn't know if that was because they were of a lesser standard.

Don't know much about bearings.

[Jayneflakes]

I have used SKF and never had a problem with them, but that was in my Mountain bike. Seals were good and the balls were well made. I would have no worries about using them on my SV. I think that the Woodman triple bearing headset on my Racing Mountain bike uses two SKF sealed bearings on top of a set of needle rollers.

[Dave20046]

I've used koyo and SKF without issue, advised koyo were pretty much the best from a couple of sources (and they sound reassuringly japanese)...not sure about those fags though

Oh and I found koyo readily available at my local bike shop for less than wemoto's pattern bearings whatever they were going to be.

[maviczap]

Used Koyo without issue

[srobrien]

I got bearings from wemoto and they were a mixture of SKF and a company called all balls racing, the all balls ones looked excellent to be honest.

R

[Dave20046]

and a company called all balls racing, the all balls ones looked excellent to be honest.

R

I'd be inclined to buy them on name alone, quality.

[Hornstar]

so it seems Marksman Industrial has pretty much all I need and at a cheaper price than others so will be using them. They also have the seals that I will need for the wheels and sprocket carrier. Does anyone know whether they are as good as OEM or should I get the seals from a dealer?

[embee]

As long as they are indeed genuine, then SKF/FAG/Koyo are all very reputable manufacturers. Beware fakes.

[Spanner Man]

Good morning all.


I have found that Koyo bearings out last all the other common makes. Including NTN, & NSK which are often fitted as original equipment. I stock nothing else. End of.

Back in the days when taper roller headraces were beginning to appear. I found that Yamaha headraces, on say an FJ1100 would last roughly twice as long as Suzuki's, on say a GSXR750. The difference being that Yamaha used Koyo bearings. Whereas, Suzuki used NTN.
I sourced Koyo bearings from a local bearing stockist, & hey presto! bearing lifespan became the same.

SKF, FAG, & NSK have manufacturing plants around the world. Often you will see bearings that have been made in Portugal, Italy, or Poland, to name but a few.
Koyo on the other hand are made in Japan.

Avoid the cheapo tat, available by the bucket load, on ebay & the like. All bearings look & feel ok when new, but they don't last.


Cheers.

[yorkie_chris]

I use the local industrial suppliers, when 90%+ of their trade is bearings I'm fairly confident they're selling the genuine articles :)

And they are almost always cheaper than eBay or others.