Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Income (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 02, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Income [Abstract]
Net Sales	$ 807.9	$ 662.7
Cost of Sales	610.3	497.9
Gross Profit	197.6	164.8
Operating Expenses	118.5	100.7
Income From Operations	79.1	64.1
Interest Expense	11.8	5.1
Interest Income	0.4	0.3
Income Before Taxes	67.7	59.3
Provision For Income Taxes	17.8	18.5
Net Income	49.9	40.8
Less: Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests, net of tax	1.2	2.0
Net Income Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation	$ 48.7	$ 38.8
Earnings Per Share Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation:
Basic	$ 1.17	$ 1.01
Assuming Dilution	$ 1.16	$ 0.99
Cash Dividends Declared	$ 0.18	$ 0.17
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding (in millions):
Basic	41.6	38.6
Assuming Dilution	42.0	39.1