How many miles?

You could be right about the bearings.
What happens when you spin the front wheel while the front is lifted (can do it on the side stand get a friend to help).
Any reason it started, like a drop or something replaced....?

Don't overlook the rear end either. What condition are the chain and sprockets?

Surely you can find a buddy with a set of stands.

I ride a lot of off road mostly in the winter because of fire danger. I go thru a shit load of wheel bearings. A quick test for me is to get on the side of the bike and grab the top of the tyre with one hand and the other on a frame member or seat and rock the two back and forth. If you have play or spent bearings you will feel it. I have seen teck inspection for cars at races where the teck will squat down on the side of the tyre and grab the top of the tyre and shake the bejebis out of the wheel to see how loose the bearing are. Shake the shit out of yours to kick the brake puck out of the way.

My front wheel bearings were shot after 8000 miles of natural causes which was causing a vibration.

In my experience when a bearing goes the vibration is constant and not periodic which if I understood the description was more the case here.

Cyclical stuff is usualy more to do with out of balance issues (Discs, Tyre, Wheel Etc)


Good luck

Wheel balance weight loss usually starts to be felt at speed.

Wheel bearing wear, is a constant and felt as per your description. One check is running a dial gauge on the rim or disc, but from your description and without riding the bike, it sounds just like early onset of bearing failure. If in doubt replace. Sticking your finger in the bearing centre and rotating may not pick up early wear which would give you the sensation felt.

The front wheel bearings are expensive as compared to the back, but go to a bearing specialist and get SKF, original install make in my bike, and they’ll cost less than a KTM dealer.