Mk3 belt drive bearing issue.

There has been some debate in January this year on the forum as to whether or not a belt drive on a MK3 Commando with a functioning starter motor is a good idea, in view of the fact that the needle roller bearing 06-4711 will run dry as belts that I am aware of are not to be run in oil and the primary case is therefore dry, and that this will mean a high risk of premature failure of said bearing, because of this.

I run a belt drive on a set-up as above, and I was told by a certain Mr. Emery that if I periodically greased this bearing all would be OK. And so it has been with over 2,000 miles done and one re-grease.

The reason for this post is that a friend of mine and fellow Norton owner has found that you can get this bearing , but with a rubber grease seal on it (both sides of course), which will help to keep the grease in the bearing, and any belt debris out.

For anybody interested in getting one of these, the bearing No. that I have is NBS HK25202RS. He was advised to replace the inner race Norton part No.06-5820 which is scrolled, with a plain (non-scrolled) inner race. They are apparently standard easily found bearings.

I have just received mine, and I will fit this prior to next seasons riding, and although mine has not failed yet, I will have slightly more confidence in its durability.

Very nice info to have, expecially coming from someone with first-hand experience.

I really try to shy away from recommending anything I have not personally done or personally used, with at least a reasonable useage timeframe / track record, so recommendations like this go in the "good" reference file.