Bearing Failure Ruins Bash Plans

fallenarch

THE SLOW RIDER
Registered
I am not going to mention the dealer specifically because I believe this was a freak thing with them. They have played a role in making my Busa the great bike it is, so they get a pass on my slandering their name all over this site. This was my email to them:

Dear ****,

Last weekend I had **** install new tires on my 2009 Hayabusa. The bike felt pretty good on the ride home from your shop with the exception of the chain, which was not properly adjusted and was so lose you could lift the chain off the sprocket. As I pulled into the garage I noticed a grinding sound which I assumed was related to the chain adjustment, as there were no other indications of the problem. I adjusted this properly, including aligning the rear wheel with an alignment tool I have.

I left yesterday morning to go to The Dragon in Robbinsville, N.C. for a Hayabusa meet & greet. At about the South Hill area, the grinding got so loud I could hear it through the music in my ear buds. I stopped and checked the bike out, and decided it was too bad to continue. I rode the bike another 2 miles or so to get to a safer area to take a more through look at things. I determined that it was a blown rear bearing as there was shards of metal visible and the rear wheel was moving side to side about ¼â€￾. So rather than spend the last weekend I have this year at the Dragon, I was in a tow truck towing my bike 111 miles back home (AAA paid for all but $40 of this).

I can’t say that this was due to something your shop did in changing the tire but Suzuki dealers don’t even stock rear wheel bearings because they never go bad. It seems quite a coincidence that this occurred immediately after the wheel was changed, although I don’t know how an experienced mechanic could screw up such an easy task.

I would also like to point out the scratches on the swingarm. I had this on the last tire change and just touched up the swingarm and forgot to mention this. This comes from not adjusting the rear stand properly prior to lifting the bike. It is a common occurrence but I take great pride in my bike and it is one of the finest setup Hayabusas in the country. So I really don’t appreciate this kind of treatment to it.

I did not return the bike to you because it is a lot of trouble to bring my bike there to your shop. I live at the other end of Virginia Beach, 15 minutes from the NC border. I would have to get someone to endure the tunnel traffic to pick me up or I would have to patiently sit in your showroom all day waiting for the bike. I have done this however because of the quality of your work, so this is very disappointing.

I just sent this this morning so no response yet. A bearing failure will definitely kill you. I was lucky because I felt something was wrong and turned off my audio. Then I hear metal grinding and slowed down to around 30 mph. I was on guard (both hands on the bars, feet on tippy toes) and waiting for something to happen as I looked for a good stopping place. Suddenly the bike pitched sideways in a complete fish tail, then swapped back. Had I been going 50=70 mph I would be writing this from a hospital bed right now. I don't know how to catch something like this as it's hard to get to the bearings for inspection without taking the wheel off. Only Raydog seems to be able to do that! Anyway no Bash for Me! Here are some pictures:

Damages dust cover.jpg


Loose Bearings closeup.jpg


Loose Bearings.jpg


Swingarm Scratches.jpg
 
I'm glad this didn't result in a serious incident for you, but bearings do fail. Some last longer than others, but they are moving and load bearing parts which will eventually fail. That said, it's possible that improper wheel installation was also a factor.
 
Let us know when you need to sick the power of the org on this dealer :)

Glad you're ok, sucks about the bash.


Look at the bright side, at least you won't be there to drop it :hide:
 
This sux.. But doesn't that mean you tacked on another life? So 6 of 9 now? :banghead:
 
Let us know when you need to sick the power of the org on this dealer :)

Glad you're ok, sucks about the bash.


Look at the bright side, at least you won't be there to drop it :hide:

That does I'm unfriending you.:laugh:

Update: Looking at the manual and talking to the dealer they left out the spacer, which allows you to torque the axle bolt against the bearing. Since these guys aren't Suzuki dealers they probably didn't know how it goes together. Now the question is when was the spacer lost? It might have been lost the last time I changed tires (Spring Bash) and it took this long to destroy the bearings. Not knowing how it gors together, this last guy may have just put the wheel back together the way he took it apart. Either way the last 3 times the wheels were off they did it. That's over 5,000 miles andthe Suzuki guys says it wouldn't take near that long to cause the bearing to fail.
 
Are all the spacers there installed properly? There are 3...
 
One short, one eaten beyond re-use. They definitely left one out. I'm replacing all bearings, spacers, and dust covers - about $200 in parts. There was so much debris in the wheel I would never use any of the bearings again.
 
Then that's what happened. When one was left out, there was pressure on the bearing races not stopped by the spacer sitting on it...
 
Keith is right. Tell the dealer you have 30,000 witnesses it was right when you took it in. I bet it even destroyed your wheel and since you cannot mismatch them a new set may be in order. Fact is I bet they can buy you a set of Ozs for less than the oem ones will cost so offer to do them a favor and take the Ozs to help on lessor cost :whistle:
Again let us know when the power of the org is needed to whip em into shape.
 
Sucks you have to double check mechanics these days. Hope you get it lined out in a timely manner, the last person that put it together shouldve caught it.
 
And this is why I never... ever... ever... ever... let anyone else work on my bike.

Glad it didn't turn into a disaster and do more damage or worse yet, get you hurt.

Stands, tools, and do it yourself my friend..:thumbsup:
 
Keith is right. Tell the dealer you have 30,000 witnesses it was right when you took it in. I bet it even destroyed your wheel and since you cannot mismatch them a new set may be in order. Fact is I bet they can buy you a set of Ozs for less than the oem ones will cost so offer to do them a favor and take the Ozs to help on lessor cost :whistle:
Again let us know when the power of the org is needed to whip em into shape.

I don't believe in benifitting unreasonably when something like this happens. Also I don't want to maybe do something that might hurt the dealer and put some poor entry level mechanic out of his dream job. If I went in and tried to get as much out of these guys as I think I can over this mistake I would never feel safe on those wheels. Maybe it's silly superstition, but I keep my Karma clean brother. If they want to step up and make it good that's great, if not then I'll just buy my wheels, brembo, Bazzaz TC, and next bike from someone else. That's punishment enough. As for warning other riders, this can happen at any dealer, especially one who doesn't know your specific bike. Bottom line is work on it yourself or look over the work with a fine tooth comb. Nobody cares about your azz quite like you do!
 
I am sorry to hear this Willie, I know how dissappointed you must be. Good on you for taking the high road. :beerchug:
 
I don't believe in benifitting unreasonably when something like this happens. Also I don't want to maybe do something that might hurt the dealer and put some poor entry level mechanic out of his dream job. If I went in and tried to get as much out of these guys as I think I can over this mistake I would never feel safe on those wheels. Maybe it's silly superstition, but I keep my Karma clean brother. If they want to step up and make it good that's great, if not then I'll just buy my wheels, brembo, Bazzaz TC, and next bike from someone else. That's punishment enough. As for warning other riders, this can happen at any dealer, especially one who doesn't know your specific bike. Bottom line is work on it yourself or look over the work with a fine tooth comb. Nobody cares about your azz quite like you do!

Listen by the time I get thru with them they will beg you to take a set of BSTs :)

You ever see the commercial where the guy knocks over tv stand and tells wife it happened on its own and he needs to buy a new one? You were just talking about new wheels :whistle:
 
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