A spherical plain bearing comprising: an outer member with an inner engagement surface configured or contoured to slidingly engage or receive a correspondingly configured or contoured outer engagement surface of an inner member, an axially split outer race (100, 200) having a first outer race member (102, 202) and a second outer race member (104, 204) that form an annular ring or outer member with a concave spherical interior surface; an activation member or inner member having a convex spherical exterior surface rotatable from a first position to a second position, the activation member at least partially disposed in the annular ring; and at least one locking feature defined by the first outer race member (102, 202), the second outer race member (104, 204) and the activation member, the outer race members (102, 202; 104, 204) having at least one circumferential interlocking indentation (110, 210) and tab projection (120, 220), the at least one locking feature having an unlocked position and a locked position, the unlocked position corresponding to the first position of the activation member and the locked position corresponding to the second position of the activation member, characterized in that the tab projections (120, 220) are configured to exhibit a slight interference "i" with the activation member, the interference "i" is determined by the following relationship: i = D k − D o / 2 1 − cos γ where "i" is the interference; "D k " is the outer diameter of the activation member; "D o " is the inner diameter of the outer member (or a section thereof); and "γ" is the actual circumferential tab angle of the tab projection (120, 220). an outer member with an inner engagement surface configured or contoured to slidingly engage or receive a correspondingly configured or contoured outer engagement surface of an inner member, an axially split outer race (100, 200) having a first outer race member (102, 202) and a second outer race member (104, 204) that form an annular ring or outer member with a concave spherical interior surface; an activation member or inner member having a convex spherical exterior surface rotatable from a first position to a second position, the activation member at least partially disposed in the annular ring; and at least one locking feature defined by the first outer race member (102, 202), the second outer race member (104, 204) and the activation member, the outer race members (102, 202; 104, 204) having at least one circumferential interlocking indentation (110, 210) and tab projection (120, 220), the at least one locking feature having an unlocked position and a locked position, the unlocked position corresponding to the first position of the activation member and the locked position corresponding to the second position of the activation member, characterized in that the tab projections (120, 220) are configured to exhibit a slight interference "i" with the activation member, the interference "i" is determined by the following relationship: i = D k − D o / 2 1 − cos γ where "i" is the interference; "D k " is the outer diameter of the activation member; "D o " is the inner diameter of the outer member (or a section thereof); and "γ" is the actual circumferential tab angle of the tab projection (120, 220).