Consolidated Statements Of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Jan. 01, 2011	Jan. 02, 2010
Consolidated Statements Of Income [Abstract]
Net Sales	$ 2,808,332	$ 2,237,978	$ 1,826,277
Cost of Sales	2,142,343	1,688,628	1,402,053
Gross Profit	665,989	549,350	424,224
Operating Expenses	410,276	311,615	264,704
Income From Operations	255,713	237,735	159,520
Interest Expense	31,116	19,576	23,284
Interest Income	1,740	2,570	1,719
Income Before Taxes	226,337	220,729	137,955
Provision For Income Taxes	68,317	66,045	39,276
Net Income	158,020	154,684	98,679
Less: Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests, net of tax	5,730	5,305	3,631
Net Income Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation	$ 152,290	$ 149,379	$ 95,048
Earning Per Share Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation:
Basic	$ 3.84	$ 3.91	$ 2.76
Assuming Dilution	$ 3.79	$ 3.84	$ 2.63
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding:
Basic	39,687,559	38,236,168	34,498,674
Assuming Dilution	40,144,481	38,921,699	36,131,607