wheel bearing maintenance?
 

Is this one of those replace it if its broken? Or is it one of the mileage specific replacement time? Just curious restoring a bike and thinking about replacing all the bearing just for heck of it.

If they're really old - they're more likely to go bad from not a lot of speed - so since they're not too terribly expensive, go ahead and change them.

I don't know how old the bike is in question...

03 but its been beat to living he**.

Haha, my first reaction to reading "03" was "Phff, that's still new!". Then it dawned on me that it's 11 yrs old!

If it's truly been beat on - it may be worth the peace of mind. What do the dust seals look like? And, have you rode it yet? If so, did you get any funny vibrations or anything?

theres really no maintenance for sealed bearings. just get the rims off and spin them with your finger to check, they should be completely smooth, if there is any sort of rough spot or resistance theyll need replaced.

Yeah I'll check them when I strip the wheels for powder coating. The main reason I asked is my buddy replaced all the bearings in his gixxer and it rolls effortlessly. Like that same thing on mine once its done, also I just pulled the calipers apart for the powder coater. Is it neccesary to replace the seals as well they look to be in great shape.

Yep for me, I just keep a spare set in the garage and just make sure when I wash the bike, I do all the wheels properly... at the end of the day they're sealed and they'll just wear...

As for replacements... not sure whether you would go cheap Chinese versions or genuine? Is there any difference as I'd like to know this?

As far as replacements, AllBallsRacing bearings are better than OEM, and they're very reasonably priced. They'll come with dust seals, too. They make all kinds of bearings - many people consciously switch to AllBalls because they're better. And like I said - they're cheap.