Rear wheel bearing toasted

[Red wolf]

On Friday night I took both wheels off my bike in order to change the tires and noticed that the bearing on the hub side of the rear wheel was misaligned, so instead of playing with it I took it to a Honda dealership to replace the bearings.
Turns out that three of the four bearings on the rear wheel were seized and two of them were fused to the spacer separating them...the only way the tech could remove them was by cutting them out, also the seal was shot.

About two weeks prior I noticed that at parking lot speed there was a dragging/grinding noise coming from the rear wheel and I thought it was just the brakes failing to release fully, thinking back I think this is around the time the bearings started to fail. That was the last time I rode it and it was for only a few miles.

Thankfully the fourth bearing never went and that I decided to change the tires before riding it 300 miles to where I'm working for the summer

 

[Red wolf]

around 105,000 kms (~65,000miles)

 

[caldercay]

around 105,000 kms (~65,000miles)

And the mileage when the bearings were last renewed ?

 

[Red wolf]

No idea, I bought it used with 78,000kms (~48500 miles) and I haven't changed them until now.

 

[970mike]

I just replaced all of my bearings on the ST1300 after 115,000 miles and they were still in good shape, not sure why some last and some don't.

 

[Kevin_56]

Must be the weekend for rear bearing failure. I had replaced the ones in the flange housing at 82k miles. The bearings in the wheel felt good. Well they no longer feel good. 121k miles. Time to order up another set or at least the flange bearings. I really did not feel any problem. Scary. It was an experience getting the race out as the shoulder at the bottom of the bearing pocket was covering up the race. Measure and strategically drilled three holes in the lip and was able to drive the race out. New bearings in and tires mounted. Hope to do a test ride tomorrow. Glad I had the bearings on the shelf.

 

[Red wolf]

It was a hassle just to find a place that had the bearings, turns out the dealer with the smallest stock room carried them. The others said they carried the 08 and newer bearings, not sure why if they're supposed to last a while.

 

[Red wolf]

Turns out it is $280 CAD for the service and parts, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be

 

[TourNut]

When I change tires on my bikes , I always use my grease injector ( needle with a zerk fitting , from NAPA ) on my wheel bearings and that way I pack the bearings with E.P Moly grease. I found out long ago some bearings only get a minimal amount of grease from the get-go from the factory. If it wasn't that much , they run out prematurely. but since they are sealed , you don't know how much they got. You just slip the needle past the seal lip without snagging it and pump 'er up ! Been doing that to many bearings the past 30+ years.