This feels weird...

[ST1100Y]

Been a while since a rode my GF's NT700VA the last time...
Grabbed it today to do the tire change, instantly thought "... that front feels really strange! ..."
Wouldn't keep the line, even slight winds caused a jerk to the side, ever so slightly use of brakes caused a change of direction...

Once I had the scissor jack under the oil pan in preparation to remove the front wheel, it became quite obvious:

wheel bearing had >1mm radial play - resulting in >10mm offset at the contact patch; no wonder the thing is all over the place...

Turned out those weren't OEM bearings, the PO must have replaced with cheaper pattern parts at some point...



off to order the proper ones

 

[rc_heli_nut]

wheel bearing had >1mm radial play - resulting in >10mm offset at the contact patch; no wonder the thing is all over the place...

That's quite a bit of bearing wear. You may want to check the brake pads, there may be tapered wear.

The OEM bearings are NTN brand, the good stuff.

 

[Coyote Chris]

How many miles?????
Its odd that the bearings were replaced once already, even with cheeper ones then going bad.....

 

[ST1100Y]

That's quite a bit of bearing wear. You may want to check the brake pads, there may be tapered wear.

Yep, been 10,000km since the last tire change, where no bearing wear was felt (I always check them and pack fresh marine grease behind the rubber seals)
Brake pads are due anyway, she's put 22,000km on them, much of that commuting in urban traffic...

Its odd that the bearings were replaced once already, even with cheeper ones then going bad.....

Thought the same, but it appears that humidity came from inside the wheel: the spacer tube shows chunks of rust on it's outside...

One starts to wonder about the history of this bike...
I mean we got it with (aftermarket) rotors installed and (obviously) replaced wheel bearings with 36,000km on the clock, whilst they didn't care to overhaul the forks, or at least change the fork oil...
The corrosion I'd found on the inner handlebar weights are reason to assume the PO was an overzealous, frequent pressure washer... explains premature wheel bearing failure...

 

[rc_heli_nut]

I don't think the seals on the wheels would stand up to repeated pressure washes without some water getting in. Water will tear up a bearing fast. This is a good reason to wash your bike at home with the low pressure garden hose.

When I replaced the front seals on my NT, I bought All Balls bearing sets and just used the seals, it was cheaper than buying OEM seals individually. I didn't need new bearings at the time, just the seals.

 

[ST1100Y]

New bearings, seals + spacer tube, all secure again...

The damaged bearings were All Balls, RS type (installed by the PO), now OEM DU type again (brown covers), way better sealed...