S-Westerly Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Took my bike in for an 18000 mile service at independent Motovation in Cheltenham. Told Tim that where I'd got it MOT'd in South London (so I could legally ride it home) they reckoned the rear wheel bearing was dodgy. Turns out they were right, it had virtually collapsed. A rather scary thought had it actually collapsed on the road. My question is - what could have caused this? My own theory is riding through the winter and then putting the bike away for months without ensuring all salty residues were gone. Any other ideas? Not sure if it's a known issue as I can find no references to it but my last dealer service in Bristol records it as having been checked but I think they were lying through their teeth as when I got my chain and sprocket set renewed by an independent a few weeks later they swore the rear hub set hadn't been touched since new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
husoi Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Poorly lubricated bearing (normal from factory) may have been the cause of it. I always dismantle the bearing and put some lithium grease before fitting a new bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 Hmm, as my approach to motorcycle maintenance is limited to cleaning it a bit and cleaning / lubing chain plus tyres and oil this is a possibility. As my mechanic skills are rudimentary I rely on servicing to pick up on any issues. Unfortunately it looks as if my local dealer is crap and that's fairly well established on owner's forums hence my now using an independent with an excellent rep. An added advantage he's about half the price. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldgrump Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Bearings normally last for years, winters don't normally do any damage because seals keep them sealed, one thing that will do it is pressure washers!!! Lots of people tend to clean their bikes a lot. In fact my old VFR I changed the fronts at 21000 because dealer blasted with pressure washer!!! And they collapsed just after I brought it!!! New one's are still in there at 106000 miles, and my other VFR I use, noticed the front's were gone in the wind on the Severn bridge last year, they lasted 108500miles. Never touched the rear bearing's yet Are you sure they were gone !! You would know if bearings were gone, bike would feel wobbly or very loose! Once had a bike in for MOT failure on both wheel bearings, I checked both wheels nothing wrong with bearings, rear wheel was loose and sod all wrong with front, tightened the rear wheel and guy took it back to MOT centre and they passed it!!!!!! Yea?? p.s rarely clean my bikes the rain does that. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 (edited) Never pressure wash the bike, lives outside and gets cleaned with a bucket of water. Don't disbelieve Tim saying it was on its way out as he was the second bloke to raise it. The cost of changing it given the other work he was doing wouldn't be huge either. A standard SKF bearing is about 15 quid maybe less. Of course I have no idea as to what dealer in Bristol did to the bike. Edited August 1, 2022 by S-Westerly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeHorton Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 I had issues with my RE himalayan when I had it. I heard rumours of headstock bearings not being properly greased on manufacture. I think the decent dealers made sure they were packed with grease before sale. I had the issue with it dealer stated they were fine I asked them to take a look as it wasn't right and no surprise it was shagged they denied k owing about the issue everyone else knew about A good dealer/service agent is key 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldgrump Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 1 hour ago, S-Westerly said: Never pressure wash the bike, lives outside and gets cleaned with a bucket of water. Don't disbelieve Tim saying it was on its way out as he was the second bloke to raise it. The cost of changing it given the other work he was doing wouldn't be huge either. A standard SKF bearing is about 15 quid maybe less. Of course I have no idea as to what dealer in Bristol did to the bike. It was just a suggestion, anyway least you know if they are fitted correctly they should last for a very long time, as for what Bristol guys did, I wouldn't have thought they could do any damage to bearings just fitting a chain and sprockets. And who did you use in Bristol, just out of interest? And yes independent dealers are best, luckily been doing my own for 51 years, but there is 1 guy in Dorset I would trust, if needs be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Possible fault in manufacturing of bearing, most likely seal failure and crap getting in, is it taper bearing or parallel, is it an excentric rear hub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 3 hours ago, oldgrump said: one thing that will do it is pressure washers!!! This is false! I tested the theory a few years ago and posted the results on here I took two sealed bearings which where for my zxr400 front wheel I then proceeded to jet wash them at point blank range to the point that it marked the outside of the plastic seal Opened the seals up and there wasn't a drop of water inside Bear in mind that you also have an outer dust seal on bearings too and you don't wash them at that close proximity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, oldgrump said: It was just a suggestion, anyway least you know if they are fitted correctly they should last for a very long time, as for what Bristol guys did, I wouldn't have thought they could do any damage to bearings just fitting a chain and sprockets. And who did you use in Bristol, just out of interest? And yes independent dealers are best, luckily been doing my own for 51 years, but there is 1 guy in Dorset I would trust, if needs be. Riders of Bristol. It wasn't them who fitted the chain and sprockets, it was my local guys who flagged up an issue with the bearing. Edited August 1, 2022 by S-Westerly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldgrump Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Stu said: This is false! I tested the theory a few years ago and posted the results on here Hi Stu, All I can say is 20 years ago, when I brought my first Vfr, after the wheel bearings collapsed on a very fast corner!!!, I went back to the dealership, the owner I knew very well and just mentioned it. He admitted that he had a few bikes over a year with bearing failures, and put it down to a very over zealous mechanic cleaning their bikes, with a very powerful industrial pressure washer they had. Mind you on closer inspection of my wheel at the time, we found out that in had in fact been powder coated at some stage, so bearings could have been a cheap set, I know the seals were cheap pattern ones, which didn't fit to well. 2 hours ago, Stu said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 Bearing failure at such a low mileage is most often a build defect of the bearing itself. Not always, but the most often in my experience. The bearing may have not been given enough lubrication prior to sealing (assuming it's a modern sealed type), or internal clearances that aren't to spec accelerating the wear. If the seal was compromised and corrosion was able to get established, this is another mode of failure. Usually quite hard to do on a bike so long as the dust seal is intact though, which is why my vote is on a build defect at the moment. Have you got the bearing? Or did the garage that took it out explain what they saw on it? The last failed rear bearing I dealt with had only done 25k miles, but it was heavily corroded internally, the grease had gone waxy as well, but the bike was 30 years old and ingress of things you don't want in your bearing is only a matter of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 Here's a couple of pics of the dead bearing. It was pretty close to letting go completely which is worrying. According to Tim Hyatt it's not a standard Ducati fit either which is worrying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 Oof, looks pretty knackered. Which side of the wheel did it come from if you know? Sprocket side or brake disc side? That was right on the edge of complete failure, balls are missing, corrosion setting in and bad pitting on the balls. And not even a standard Ducati bearing. Did someone own the bike prior to yourself? Maybe someone had a dodgy bearing and did a "cost effective" replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) It was the right hand bearing (disc brake side). I've had the bike from new and never changed a bearing myself nor asked anyone to do so. I've never been charged for one either so all a bit of a mystery. Keep an eye on them in future! Edited August 2, 2022 by S-Westerly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 Sounds like something dodgy happened at the factory, but I think you've set a record for the most eff'ed bearing I've ever seen that hadn't shattered Thank your guardian angel for that one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mississippi Bullfrog Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 Sounds like the factory ran short of their usual supplier when yours was built then. Unfortunately the alternative wasn't checked enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted August 7, 2022 Author Share Posted August 7, 2022 Could have been. At least the issue was identified and rectified without great drama. But a rather sobering "what if" moment for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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