Wheel bearings

[jackw13]

I have play in the rear wheels wheel bearings . The front wheel bearings are good with no play. I had one of the rear bearings , on the left go bad and honda replaced at 1700 miles. 225 miles later I now have both rear bearings with play in them. They don't have as much play as when the one bearing was replaced , but they both have appox. 1/4 " of movement when lifting up on the tires while jacked up off the ground. I don't know if there is a spec as for allowable movement or if I'm back into the honda warranty waiting room. Everything is stock I ride in all different trails . No water in the dessert. Machine drives good no noise .

 

[HBarlow]

If you want Honda to cover the cost of parts and labor you have no choice but taking it to a dealer and hoping they have or can get the parts through the Honda supply chain.

If you're willing to buy the parts out of your own pocket and able to do the work and live in a big city with many resources you could remove the wheel bearings and take them to a parts counterman in a NAPA or other parts store. It might be possible to match the bearings?

 

[PaulF]

I have play in the rear wheels wheel bearings . The front wheel bearings are good with no play. I had one of the rear bearings , on the left go bad and honda replaced at 1700 miles. 225 miles later I now have both rear bearings with play in them. They don't have as much play as when the one bearing was replaced , but they both have appox. 1/4 " of movement when lifting up on the tires while jacked up off the ground. I don't know if there is a spec as for allowable movement or if I'm back into the honda warranty waiting room. Everything is stock I ride in all different trails . No water in the dessert. Machine drives good no noise .

Carefully check your radius rod ends. It is easy to mistake loose radius rod ends for bad wheel bearings.

Wheel bearings are not a common problem on the Talon. It uses off the shelf bearings (40X74X36) that fit compact cars like the Lancer and Sentra that weigh twice what the Talon does so they are pretty stout.

If the bearings are loose and you don't want to hassle with the dealer, you can get them at any parts store. Get a quality brand, the National/Timken part number is 510061

 

[Silveradodriver]

Do you grease your wheel bearings? I bought a tool that is used to force the grease in-between the 2 bearings. If you would ever cut apart a new wheel bearing you would crap at how little there is in the bearing.

 

[jackw13]

I checked all the normal issue first. Honda checked and replaced the one bearing. I still can not find how much play is ok. I will not take over Honda's job. I am trying to find facts, and did not realize there is maybe no hard and fast anserw. I know there are many places I could buy bearings, but again i will not void 4 1/2 years of warranty. I replace the bearing and if drive compontent breaks , honda is off the hook for warranty. As I've said machine drives and handles great . Thanks PaulF for your time and toughts. 👍

 

[PaulF]

I have 2 machines, one with 3,500 miles and the other 16,000. They both have some play at the wheel and it is all suspension movement. It feels like a bearing but it is not. I suspect what you are feeling is not actually the bearing but rather other suspension parts. The rear suspension (not the bearings) on these Talons are loose from the factory for some reason. See this thread,
@HondaTech confirms that new machines with zero miles have play...

Radius rod bushings

Ok. I have a 2020 Talon x4. Has roughly 1500 miles on the machine. Had the machine up in the air last night just inspecting everything before my next ride and noticed that both rear wheels had play if you grab them from the top and bottom and move them. Thought wheel bearings at first but both...

hondasxs.com

The service manual is not specific, this is the only mention of bearing play...

 

[jackw13]

I have the same play in the rods. If you watch the movement it's plain to see where the play is happening. My machine had slight play in the joints since new. Wheel bearing movement is also plain to see when you know where to look . Key word from Honda is EXCESSIVE. My does make a slight clunking noise now , their reason for the first bearing being replaced was the noise was louder than now. I too have a service manuel since I first bought the machine. I thank you for your time to reply and help. My goal was to get a more direct anserw in talking to the service mang. Also I'm trying to advoid a break down while riding. I do have 4 1/2 years of warranty left so at least in the future they will have to address this issue . Honda tells me my machine looks like it's never been driven not many marks and so clean , but still ask me if it was rolled.