Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Jan. 02, 2016	Jan. 03, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net Sales	$ 3,224.5	$ 3,509.7	$ 3,257.1
Cost of Sales	2,359.3	2,576.5	2,459.8
Gross Profit	865.2	933.2	797.3
Operating Expenses	544.6	600.5	516.3
Goodwill Impairment	0.0	79.9	119.5
Asset Impairments	0.0	0.0	40.0
Total Operating Expenses	544.6	680.4	675.8
Income from Operations	320.6	252.8	121.5
Interest Expense	58.7	60.2	39.1
Interest Income	4.5	4.3	7.9
Income before Taxes	266.4	196.9	90.3
Provision for Income Taxes	57.1	48.4	54.2
Net Income	209.3	148.5	36.1
Less: Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests	5.9	5.2	5.1
Net Income Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation	$ 203.4	$ 143.3	$ 31.0
Earnings Per Share Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation:
Basic (in dollars per shares)	$ 4.55	$ 3.21	$ 0.69
Assuming Dilution (in dollars per share)	$ 4.52	$ 3.18	$ 0.69
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	44.7	44.7	45.0
Assuming Dilution (in shares)	45.0	45.1	45.3