Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Income (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		15 Months Ended
	Sep. 29, 2012	Sep. 29, 2012	Oct. 01, 2011	Oct. 01, 2012
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net Sales	$ 779.5	$ 2,451.3	$ 2,081.3	$ 736.9
Cost of Sales	586.9	1,841.0	1,586.2	557.3
Gross Profit	192.6	610.3	495.1	179.6
Operating Expenses	109.3	344.6	298.0	101.5
Income From Operations	83.3	265.7	197.1	78.1
Interest Expense	10.6	33.6	20.4	10.5
Interest Income	0.4	1.2	1.2	0.5
Income Before Taxes	73.1	233.3	177.9	68.1
Provision For Income Taxes	17.9	63.9	53.6	20.6
Net Income	55.2	169.4	124.3	47.5
Less: Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests	0.9	3.7	5.5	1.8
Net Income Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation	$ 54.3	$ 165.7	$ 118.8	$ 45.7
Earnings Per Share Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation:
Basic	$ 1.30	$ 3.98	$ 3.04	$ 1.14
Assuming Dilution	$ 1.29	$ 3.94	$ 3.00	$ 1.13
Cash Dividends Declared	$ 0.19	$ 0.56	$ 0.53	$ 0.18
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding (in millions):
Basic	41.7	41.7	39.1	39.9
Assuming Dilution	42.0	42.0	39.6	40.4