I had my late 2018 Thruxton serviced today at Jack Lilleys. Bad news was that the front wheel bearings needed replacing at just under 5000 miles. Good news was that the Service Manager, Idir, put in a good will claim as the bike was out of warranty and Triumph responded same day to cover the cost of the bearings and the labour. So, all in all a good result, Jack Lilley were observant enough to notice the issue and I didn't have to pay as they followed up the claim on the same day.
It wouldn’t be the first time an incorrectly sized wheel bearing spacer was discovered to be the cause... Glad it was found in the shop and not on a ride. Just seeing the results of a front wheel bearing collapse whist a bike is being ridden is not something I’d wish to repeat let alone experience personally. I’ve been told with the wheel upright the spacer should be able to hold its own weight between ball races but fall when the tyre is given a thump.
Took the opportunity to check my rear wheel bearings today after removing the rear wheel to have a new tyre fitted. All the bearings felt fine and the bearing spacer a good fit between the inner races but unfortunately there were several dents on the rim of the sprocket carrier bearing housing. I’ve never seen this sort of damage pass QC on any new motorcycle before let alone a Premium one!. Maybe the old guy in charge of QC was at lunch whilst the new guy was trying his hand at mullering stuff. I’ve dressed the surface to hopefully ensure there’s nothing remaining likely to cause a stress fracture at some point down the road and will fit a Skefco bearing before refitting the wheel.
Hi, just wondering how a spacer "fall", if the spindle goes straight through the middle of it? A bearing would give plenty of warning before it actually collapses.. Surely??
When the spindle is removed I should think!? If it flops/falls out straight away, the forks/swingarm is/are being "pulled together" as the spacer isn't the correct size when the spindle is removed. I had a rear sprocket carrier bearing fall apart when the rear wheel was removed on a gen 1 fireblade. No advance warning whatsoever. Happy to be wrong of course!
Christ on a bike, wheel bearings failed at 5k miles that's ridiculous. Unless you've done the Paris-Dakar on it.....
Failed wheel bearing inner ball race removed from a 2015 Royal Enfield after 2,600 miles caused by an incorrect spacer length. I superglued a thin washer onto the end of the spacer tube as a temporary solution - it was still stuck in place and working fine over 20,000 miles later! File photo from BARDEN PRECISION BEARINGS showing clearer view of similar damage
