Wheel bearing failure at 27,000 miles

So a couple of questions here, I am going to pull the front wheel off and take it in to get the bearings replaced, but is this normal mileage for them to wear out? I was almost 100 miles from home on a ride with the group when over about 10 miles my front end got lose. Over that 10 miles it got worse to the point I thought my front tire had gone flat. You can see the wheel wiggling on the axle shaft so I realized they were gone and had it towed home to be safe. The wheel still rolls but it doesn't sound pretty lol....

Should I have them replaced at 20,000 miles moving forward to avoid this headache again. Also - my Chinese 150cc scoot now has almost the exact same mileage 26,400 so I am wondering if I should have them replaced before they give way.

My buds were giving me a hard time since the Honda broke down before the Chinese scoot.... If the little 150cc makes it to 27,151 miles (or next week) without problems then its official the Honda had the lowest mileage failure of the two and I will be collecting 57.00 bucks from them. It was a stupid running bet we started over a year ago since they all hate on my Chinese scooter

Thanks for the advice guys. I just want to make sure I replace them in advance next time.

Did you buy this scooter used?

If so, the previous owner might have used a power/pressure washer on it to clean the wheels...Big mistake. Water intrusion will destroy wheel bearings in short order.

Just a thought

Thanks DennisB - I did buy it used about 1.5 years ago, it had 1800 miles on it then. The dealership could have used one, but I am not sure.

I found alot of posts about people worrying over failure of them, but not much in the way of failure stories themselves so maybe this is just not my lucky weekend and I'll just replace them and start having them checked every-time I take the front wheel in for a new tire.

27,000 is mighty early for wheel bearing failure. Someone may have used alloy wheel cleaner in the past. And while that stuff does do an impressive job of cleaning grime off the wheels it also causes the wheel bearing seals to deteriorate over time. Rain water, etc will then get into the bearings --and, well, you know the story from there. DAMHIK

acworthpatrick wrote:

Should I have them replaced at 20,000 miles moving forward to avoid this headache again.

I asked a similar question a while back -here is the tread:
https://www.silverwing600.com/t4486-life-expectancy-of-wheel-and-steering-bearings-seals

When I sold my last SWing (2003) it had 35000 miles on it and the front bearings were still just fine. Got another SWing (2008) and at 10000 miles the front bearings were very stiff - and there was corrosion on one side of the wheel shaft (guessing power washed and then sat in one position for a very long time) - so I replaced them. I guess there is no harm in replacing them every 20000 miles but there is an associated cost. I check my bearings every time I change the tire (or have the wheel off for some reason), ride the bike as suggested on this forum, and wait for a problem to develop (no preemptive bearing replacement) . Lately I have taken to 'stocking' parts (in my garage) that I am pretty sure are going to need replacing at some point (e.g., tires, o-rings, seals, brakes) so that I can effect an immediate repair instead of waiting up to a week to get the parts - then wait until I can get them installed - which gives me more time to ride! I am not sure that I would need/want to stock wheel bearings - I need to think about this. One good thing with my dealer is that they will take back Honda OEM parts as long as they are in the original packaging.

Well the other interesting thing about it is the suddenness of it, I've never had any car wheel bearings go from nothing to unusable in 10 miles. That makes me very anxious to not replace them often. Going to chat with the guy at the bike shop who will do the work for me and see what he thinks caused the sudden failure. The dust seals are still in place and look fine.

Are you sure your 150cc scooter has 27,151 miles or is it reading kilometers, My TaoTao 150cc scooter reads in kilometers, Just curious ! Thanks !

Nope - its miles. I confirmed this when I got it because its clocks 39.6 miles to my office and my TomTom sayes it 40.1 so its pretty accurate for a Chinometer LOL...

The wheel is off and things are alot worse than I thought, here is a pic of whats left of the wheel bearings. Strange thing is the ones on the other side are fine, at least visually anyway.

Wow am I glad I didn't try to ride even a mile on these, so thankful for that roadside assistance.


There is something wrong with a Chinese Scooter taking a Honda part in for repair LOL!!!! Dropping it off tomorrow.

So far this Chinese bike has dispelled every negative thing people told me about Chinese scooters, don't get me wrong now its not a Honda!!!!

Everything on it is much cheaper, thinner and flimsy compared to the Honda, but its not been junk though. I've never been left on the side of the road nor has it ever failed to start. The 5k belt life is annoying though, but they are easy to change so that's OK. 20 bucks each to so you can't beat that.

I agree the Chinese scooters are cheap and cheap built, I like mine NO its not the Silver Wing but it is fun around town, All the Neg about the Chinese scooters are not all true, The only problem I have had out of mine was the fuel pump, I put a 35 liter a hour mikuni on it so its good to go !

acworthpatrick, That is a mighty nasty front wheel bearing failure! Do I see 'rust' in there? Thanks for sharing this.

I wasn't sure if that was rust or discoloration of the medal. It's totally smooth so I didn't think it was rust, but my neighbor did. Looks like maybe that dust seal had failed. I do commute some on this bike in the rain so its possible for sure. Punishing the little 150 as a pickup truck LOL!!! Dropping it off today so I will get the professional opinion and I'll post back tonight and let you guys know. This is the first problem I've ever had in 27k so I am not complaining. Just scary how fast it went bad.

Silverwing28681 wrote:

I agree the Chinese scooters are cheap and cheap built, I like mine NO its not the Silver Wing but it is fun around town, All the Neg about the Chinese scooters are not all true, The only problem I have had out of mine was the fuel pump, I put a 35 liter a hour mikuni on it so its good to go !

Yeah - I think the people who buy cheap Chinese scooters don't care for them at all and expect them to run forever like that. Granted the Honda will take it alot longer, but nothing will run long without maintenance. Lucky for me mine is the touring 150 so it had the pump stock since the tank is lower than the carburetor

The 150 is just better for commuting and handling in traffic not to mention the additional 30mpg improvement. I don't need horsepower to go from light to light in Atlanta traffic.

acworthpatrick wrote:

Dropping it off today so I will get the professional opinion and I'll post back tonight and let you guys know.

You may wish to bring your axle in with the wheel - might be some sort of axle damage - also, have them check the axle for any corrosion/pitting.

acworthpatrick wrote:

I wasn't sure if that was rust or discoloration of the medal. It's totally smooth so I didn't think it was rust, but my neighbor did.

That IS rust/corrosion call it what you may!

And that bearing is what I would call catastrophic!!!

The failure of one bearing cannot make the Silver Wing a bad machine. It is simply one of many components that has managed to sneak past quality control. It could/would happen to any machine. Just goes to prove the 'Wing' isn't totally bullet proof.

Waspie - I wasn't calling the silverwing junk at all, I love this bike.
Everything breaks down one day, nothing lasts forever.

acworthpatrick wrote:

Waspie - I wasn't calling the silverwing junk at all, I love this bike.
Everything breaks down one day, nothing lasts forever.

Don't recall saying anything regards 'Junk' come-on play fair!

Don't mind being castigated for saying something wrong but that is a blatant mis-quote!

Waspie wrote:

acworthpatrick wrote:

Waspie - I wasn't calling the silverwing junk at all, I love this bike.
Everything breaks down one day, nothing lasts forever.

Don't recall saying anything regards 'Junk' come-on play fair!

Don't mind being castigated for saying something wrong but that is a blatant mis-quote!

Sorry - didn't mean to imply that you used that word specifically, just didn't want you thinking that I was putting down the silverwing for this one problem that's all. Wanted to make sure what I was said interpreted correctly.

acworthpatrick wrote:

Waspie wrote:

acworthpatrick wrote:

Waspie - I wasn't calling the silverwing junk at all, I love this bike.
Everything breaks down one day, nothing lasts forever.

Don't recall saying anything regards 'Junk' come-on play fair!

Don't mind being castigated for saying something wrong but that is a blatant mis-quote!

Sorry - didn't mean to imply that you used that word specifically, just didn't want you thinking that I was putting down the silverwing for this one problem that's all. Wanted to make sure what I was said interpreted correctly.

Everyone has their opinion of the Wing and at some stage bits will fail. I think you have been mighty unlucky with a bad component. The bearing does a hefty job and unfortunately for you this one has failed. (Badly).

I learned on my previous machine the Burgman 400 that due to poor front seals that the front wheel bearings needed replacing half way through there expected life.

What your experience has highlighted for me is to check the front wheel more regularly.

Wow I can't believe how quiet it rode tonight, clearly what I thought before was tire noise from my cheap Shinko tires was those bearings, there is no moaning or any other noises even when turning. All this time I thought it was just the noise of the tires. Now it rolls as quietly down the road as the new Aprilia I bought with 3000 miles. I will know what that noise means next time.

I find this remarkable. I know a guy who bought his 2007 Swing and didn't believe in maintinence. After 40,000 miles he had to get the drive belt changed cause he couldn't get it to pull away from a stop light anymore and at that time had them change the breakin oil. Went on to 68,000 miles with no maint then traded for a Goldwing. Never even washed the scooter.

The luckiest man in the world??????

I have had people at work tell me stories like this but I don't believe them. Of course its possible some people just get really lucky though.

swingkeith wrote:

I find this remarkable. I know a guy who bought his 2007 Swing and didn't believe in maintinence. After 40,000 miles he had to get the drive belt changed cause he couldn't get it to pull away from a stop light anymore and at that time had them change the breakin oil. Went on to 68,000 miles with no maint then traded for a Goldwing. Never even washed the scooter.

Welcome to the sight, hows about introducing yourself in the 'Introductions' section that way everyone will be able to welcome you correctly!

I asked my dealership last week if I should have my wheel bearings changed and he said "no they are sealed bearings" and need not to ever be changed.

He's right they are sealed and should have lasted longer than 27,000 miles, but to say "Never" needs changed is incorrect and dangerous advice. You should inspect them every time the front wheel is off, making sure they turn smoothly, spin the wheel making sure it turns freely and quietly and replace them at the first sign of wear because when they fail you'll be stranded.

All wheel bearings sealed or not fail at some point. I didn't expect it at 27,000 miles though I don't know how it was treated before I bought a 1.5 years ago so that could be responsible for my bearings early demise.

As others have stated, the use of a high pressure car wash is probably the cause of a lot of problems. They force the water inside and then the scoot gets parked in the garage for who knows how long. It's a recipe for disaster.