The DR650 thread

[Brainflex]

Hmm, seems that they have non left. When I first checked yesterday, DR 650 showed in black disc n silver bracket so I assume they have sold out.

[Okey Dokey]

Hi guys. Mr Okey Dokey's back wheel sprocket hub bearing collapsed yesterday while he was out on a ride. The bike is only a couple years old and he is conscientious about maintenance, etc.

Has anyone else experienced this type of problem with their DR650? Any ideas about cause?

I did try to search the site before asking here, but couldn't find anything. Thanks for any and all advice. Cheers.

[pomgolian]

Hi its no big deal but a bit of a weak point especially if your going through water crossings like any bearing, comes down to maintenance once you know about it check it when you check the chain by seeing if there is any movement in the sprocket carrier.

If your doing wheel bearings change it as well as its pretty cheap peace of mind, on a long ride carry a spare like you would wheel bearings but use only quality bearings which will last far longer and replace the seal. Not that you should anyways but dont go near it with a water blaster.

[Okey Dokey]

Thank you for the reply and advice. The bike had just reached 12,000km, and I guess we didn't expect something like this to fail. Also, I think it is a rear sprocket drum not hub; sorry for the confusion. Mechanical terms are not my forte.

[MarkH]

back wheel sprocket hub bearing collapsed

Now, I'm not entirely sure if this bearing in question is the one I'm thinking of or not but there has been mention in the hugely long DR650 thread on advrider forums about some wheel bearing that quite a few DR riders have replaced with non-OEM ones that have seals on both sides rather than the OEM bearings with a seal only on one side.

Regardless: If the OEM bearing has failed then I would suggest replacing it with a good quality bearing made by someone else that will hopefully last MUCH longer. Why buy the same as the one that failed?

[JATZ]

I did try to search the site before asking here, but couldn't find anything. Thanks for any and all advice. Cheers.

I generally replace the bearings including the sprocket carrier every 2nd tyre change which is about 17-20k k's for a rear and a bit more for a front. They're only around the $7 mark each so it's not a huge expense.

[Bass]

Hi guys. Mr Okey Dokey's back wheel sprocket hub bearing collapsed yesterday

Has anyone else experienced this type of problem with their DR650? Any ideas about cause?

Yes, it's a weak point with the DR design, but it's cheap and easy to get at to change.
My personal preference is a 2RS bearing as mentioned above (rubber seals both sides) but I also re-pack the new bearing with any one of the highly water repellent greases that are now available.
I also deliberately overfill the new bearing because it's slow turning, so heating isn't an issue and the extra grease helps to keep the water/crud out.

[RMOTO]

The bike had just reached 12,000km, and I guess we didn't expect something like this to fail.

Hi ya Okey Dokey, 12,000 is a bit on the low side but not uncommon for adventure riding, bearing life can vary considerably in this environment. Wheel bearings can be treated like a consumable item for adventure riding and the reason why spare bearings in the toolkit are commonplace for adventure riders.

Replacing a bearing mid trip (with a deluxe adventure hammer)


Interesting fact about Suzuki OEM bearings, Suzuki do not manufacture bearings, they simply source and supply bearings produced by quality manufacturers. Depending on availability, oftentimes Suzuki will supply a different brand of bearing packaged up in Suzuki box. The brand is irrelevant as Suzuki will only supply high quality bearings (as with most bike manufacturers).

If you are going aftermarket bearings, this is an industry list that contains some of the high quality bearing manufacturers NSK, SKF, FAG, IKS, NTN, Koyo, Timken, Nachi

Personally I'd steer clear of cheap bearings, especially the market saturated All Balls brand. All Balls are cheap Chinese bearings produced by KML in Hong Kong and are white labelled by many companies including All Balls. Although some riders claim they get a good run from them, many (including myself) have experienced a high failure rate in tough adventure riding conditions. Here is my experience with them: All Balls Bearings Review

This is an article based on some bearing failures and research: Wheel bearings for adventure bikes - Avoiding the pitfalls

I also re-pack the new bearing with any one of the highly water repellent greases that are now available.
I also deliberately overfill the new bearing because it's slow turning, so heating isn't an issue and the extra grease helps to keep the water/crud out.

+1 Bass

[speights_bud]

+1 on the All Balls crap.

Don't bother with the primary output shaft replacement collars. I bought a kit for the KTM and they don't even know how to machine them properly.

The collars arrive blackened & rough turned. They should be polished so that the seal actually 'seals' against the sleeve. Funnily enough...

Deleted the photos but took a screenshot of the messenger pics I sent at the time.


Top pic is of my old one (left) next to the new (right). I decided to polish the old one (bottom left) as the new one was probably shit material as well.

[Okey Dokey]

Guys, this is all so hugely helpful. I will direct Mr OD here for a read tonight. I really appreciate you taking the time to help us out.

And love the photo!

[Tazz]

Saeco is a really good company to deal with/source bearings and seals too, just fyi.

[Okey Dokey]

Guys, this is all so hugely helpful. I will direct Mr OD here for a read tonight. I really appreciate you taking the time to help us out.

And love the photo!

Hi All, Thanks for your help, as Rose said the bike's not very old, so surprised me when the bearing went. Lucky the dealer was on the ride at the time, also on a DR650, so he was surprised as well. Anyway as it turns out one of his mechanics also had the same problem at about the same Kms, it appears to be a bit random when the bearing go but water does seem to have an influence. I spend a far bit of time going through river crossings. sometimes when the bike is hot, others not so, so that was probably my demise. The bearings that are in the bike are NTK's and the wheels bearings are fine, but I will replace them at the same time. There was not much sign of rust or dirtiness in the bearing that failed so I would say that contamination wasn't such an issue and maybe it's alignment considering the sprocket is constantly trying to pull the hub around. Anyway the dealer is trying to get any info from Suk NZ that he can and in the meantime I'll change the bearing and carry a spare and I might also carry a hammer and bearing punch as I'm not sure Remote-Moto's hammer was that great! Thanks.

[bart]

My bearings seem to go at between 10 and 15k. I just thought it was normal.

[Muzz67]

on older XR500/600's, there is enough meat in the hub to have the bearing seat deepened to allow an extra bearing on the chain side,
which obviously takes the majority of the strain. Plenty of grease between the pair, and they lasted almost for-ever.

[pomgolian]

Normal road use it would probably last for ages but you throw in submerging it in water crossings, sand and dusty from gravel roads and it seems to be the norm 10-15k I'm on my third at 40k