Scooterotica

Just about to build an RB 20 the donor engine is an original series 3 li 125 engine which I ran for about 3 years (standard) was ok for 45mph and just right for work and back in the summer in town traffic but got taken out for a 200 engine in the end for rally use.

Just wondering – I’ve took it to bits and have replaced the bearing (crank and flywheel etc) but the rear hub Italian bearing seems mint no play or anything and looks like new- just wondering is it worth replacing or shall just re use it- I know its 40 years old but seems like news and better quality then some of this new stuff you can buy

If it looks good then I would use it. I've stripped a couple of failed repro bearings out of motors so would use a good condition Italian or Spanish original without worry, just pop a new seal in it.

Adam

ahh ive just asked this same question on facebook. I had the opposite advice. My bearing looks pretty good too, and as i have limited funds it would be much easier to re use it. having said that its 50yr old, and seeing as im replacing all other bearings, it doesnt really make sense to reuse it. however, the availability of these bearings atm isnt great, you can either go indian or italian. and there were fakes of the RIV bearings circulating a few years ago. minefield is the word that comes to mind.
so as much as i trust everything that adam W has ever said, maybe someone could give a good description as to how to judge if an original bearing in a casing is still good or not?
best of luck to both of us i imagine!

all I can say is that I went through a similar period of replacing everything in an engine rebuild- often replacing good stuff with remade crap.

Now I always reuse the original rear bearing so long as there is little or no movement in it.

Chris

Good condition original for me . wash it out in petrol and re-use. it wont have had much hammer in a standard 125 LI. some bearings get changed for no reason, with plenty of life left in them. me mate used to change EVERY bearing in his standard 200 EVERY year! and he was always moaning he was skint..........

phoned harry barlow today with regard to a crank im having built, and asked him what he thought. He said get the bearing under a bright light, and with a magnifying glass, look for any pitting to the cage and race. if there is, change it. obviously clean it and also check for play etc. thought that was good advice. He also said he'd had no problems with jbl i.e indian bearings.

JBL bearing seems ok, watch for fake SIL especially on eBay.

I've several original bearings but can never convince myself there's not a little play in them

Darrell Taylor was advertising a full set on FB that included a quality hub bearing, might be worth a look.

I use and have fitted loads of JBL without any issues - all in TS1 and RBs

JBL made them for SIL (so did NBC)