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:
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: