wheel bearing life

[Wishbone]

how long should a rear wheel bearing last? i know stuff wears out but 17k seems low and i just smoked the one/ones in my rear wheel. does 17k seem like anormal life span or did i do something wrong? i changed my sprocket 700-900 miles prior and made sure it was strait and torqued to spec.

so any one know any other causes of bearing failure?

[Currently]

Bearings can last 1 mile to several hundred thousand miles.

Question to ask yourself ... when ever you had the wheels off and the bearings exposed to open air ... did they get contaminated?

I never leave bearings exposed to open air .. I always cover them with clean shop rags or duct tape the openings.

[KB]

I have 50k on my superhawk bearings neglected abused ridden in snow salt cald wet hot you name it.

makes no sense to me why short failure occurs. I think neglect is the key to longevity!!!

KB