Aftermarket linkage rebuild kits

As you alluded to, some brands just need to be avoided regardless of what the product is. All Balls, Bike Master, had a HORRIBLE Athena gasket and seal kit for my 2013 CRF450 so they are on my no buy list too, but the pivot works kits have been good for me.

all balls and pivot works are owned by the same company if it matters. 

FWIW.  Pivot Works is now owned by All Balls Racing Group. I suspect the quality is the same (low.) 

For something like rebuilding a linkage, I would personally replace with OEM bearings and seals.

I use aftermarket stuff in my non-race bikes. The worst issue with them is their lack of quality control. I have multiple times opened up packages with parts missing. For a casual rider I think it's a decent way to save a little bit of money. 

I wouldn't be putting All Balls stuff in my supercross bike, but in my 2000 YZ250? Absolutely. 

I was unaware, thanks for that info. Looks like that happened in 2022

• Arrowhead Engineered Products is the parent company that manages the All Balls Racing Group, a portfolio of brands including Pivot Works, Vertex Pistons, Cylinder Works, Hot Cams, and Tiger Lights.

I haven't purchased in that time period, had to take 24 and 25 off in fact over wrist issues so not enough riding to wear it my pivot bearings. Worth monitoring those brands for quality now.

This was from a Tusk kit I used once.

OEM is the way to go, or cross reference the bearings to a quality name brand that may be a little cheaper than OEM for the same quality. 

OEM bearings are usually just relabeled NTN, SKF, or Koyo bearings. But sometimes they are proprietary. If you do go non-OEM, be careful you match up the bearing load ratings (most notably, don't substitute a caged needle roller bearing in place of a full compliment bearing on a linkage). 

I prefer OEM, but PROX usually makes kits of acceptable quality✌️ 

ProX used to be great when they sourced OEM equivalent parts from Japan. They’ve since been bought out by private equity (maybe twice?) and now source from China, Taiwan, etc. 

Pro X and Pivot works are usually good quality for aftermarket kits.  Yes, they are MAED IN CHINA, but over the last 5 years, I have seen some really hgih quality pieces come out of China.  OEM is always the best option for best quality.  

Example:

Fastway YZ450 linkage runs a caged needle bearing. OEM Yamaha is a full compliment needle bearing. The load rating of the full compliment is nearly 1.5x the rating of the caged bearing. 

With a few exceptions, aftermarket is looking for the cheapest way to get parts out the door even if it means sacrificing durability. 

You can always go to a bearing house and get anything that you have an industry number for.

Not to be stupid, yet I am, how do I get an industry number for a bearing or seal and which bearing house do I get that from? Again, excuse me if this is a dumb question. 

I believe he's talking about the number on the side (such as 6206). Obviously not easy if it's not on the bearing (no room).

The biggest issue I've come across with aftermarket bearings is that they never use enough grease. So, first thing I do is pop the lip out and pack them with more grease. 

Factory Links, I've used a lot of them and they have been great.

Most part fiches have the bearing number somewhere in part description if you know what to look for, or using a set of calipers to get all dimensions and then entering them in google is pretty easy. 

For sure, I was just trying to clarify what was meant by the term. Used to get most of my bearings from local bearing suppliers (pre-internet days); the pain was the proprietary/OE stuff and of course the bushings, etc. Some of those things were priced like they were made out of platinum with diamond inlays. 😬

Lots more options these days. 

Like mentioned above by many, I prefer to get OEM, especially when I'm pressed for time. If I'm thinking ahead, then I run the numbers and get good bearings through McMaster-Carr or other supplier using our work account.