Any upgraded rear wheel bearings available?

I don't, but I'm sure Funcycle, ejford and others have put close to or over 100,000 miles on one (or if you count the swing arm recall two) sets of bearings. As Polaris tech center says, of all the bearings they received back under warranty for being noisy, only 5% of them were actually bad. For what that;s worth

Quote from Funinthesun

I don't, but I'm sure Funcycle, ejford and others have put close to or over 100,000 miles on one (or if you count the swing arm recall two) sets of bearings. As Polaris tech center says, of all the bearings they received back under warranty for being noisy, only 5% of them were actually bad. For what that;s worth

I was on my third set of bearings when the swing arm recall came out. That was with greasing them every 5,000 miles. @Summer Breeze's bearings totally disintergrated at 6,000 miles and that was with geasing them once. We videoed the whole thing when we greased them at the time and Polaris replaced the swing arm bearings on both of our Slings under warrenty. Within three months the swing arm recall came out. After that I never had another problem, Sling I now has 103,000 miles on it. I have not had any problem with the 2016 Sling II. This was a real problem with the 2015 SlingShot's. Personally I think that the belt tension was too tight from the factory.

I have 94k on my 2015 with no bearing issues to date. But it is making alittle noise now. Not crunching.

Quote from Mascman

Mine was bought used...a 2017 with 16k miles.

I first noticed it while backing into my garage. Now it's a slight noise while driving forward. I think belt tension may be what hurt it.

I plan to do bearings and adjust belt a little looser.

Sounds like ordering OEM will be fine.

Thanks!

i carry a spare set of bearings with me in the Sling all of the time. In the early days you may or may not get replacement bearings in a timely fashion. The first person this happened to was from New Jersey and he was at the SSITS 2015 and it took 4 months or so to get the bearings to Aiken, S.C. I think he picked his Sling up in November after the bearing replacement. The one bearing you can get after market the other with the sensor/magnet you have to get from Polaris. The one side is a bitch to replace without special tools.

Went out to turn wheel so you could hear sound. It's at all speeds.

Quote from Mascman

What is the special tool? Just an installer or are you taking anput a puller?

An inside bearing puller

The 4-wheel conversion kit is reported to eliminate bearing noise! I just wish I could afford one of the kits!

Just my 2 cents... The rear wheel pulley is a hefty 14 lbs in weight. THAT can all by itself damage bearings... Imagine slapping your hand against the ground. No big deal. Now imagine slapping your hand against the ground with a 14 lb weight on top of it. The pulley is part of the unsprung weight of the rear axle assembly. It's only cushion is the tire. Still, when driving over a rough railroad crossing you can hear the rattles coming from the rear axle and swingarm. I changed out my OEM iron pulley with a lightweight aluminum pulley within a year or two of getting my slingshot (a '15). No bearing problems.

2015, 10,000 miles when the swing arm was replaced due to recall, 32,000 miles today, no bearing problems!

Bill

Quote from EricRedSL

Went out to turn wheel so you could hear sound. It's at all speeds.

If I may say, after owing our SlingShot for over six years, I have recognized that it is not a quiet machine, it has all sorts of operating noises associated with it, and so far nothing have come from any of them. If I had attempted to track each and every lil noise, I would have become frustrated and had gotten rid of the SlingShot long ago. Today I am betting that if something is really going majorly wrong, it will most definitely let me know.

Otherwise, concerning your video, if you are referring to the squealing, that is the belt, quite normal when turning the rear wheel at slow speeds like you are. Otherwise, I am not hearing anything of concern?

Bill

Well I got fooled. 94k on the belt and never heard this before. I would have sworn it was not the belt. But took advice and sprayed on belt conditioner. All is good now at least for the time being.

Has belt squeal ever caused a major problem on a Slingshot? Is belt breakage something to worry about because I have quit worrying about squealing?

I do not believe that I have ever seen a post where anybody has yet to express need to replace the drive belt?

Bill

Regular maintenance replacement of the drive belt is not scheduled until 150,000 miles.The belts have held up under considerably more HP than the original motors produced. Some owners have exposed their drive belts to more than 500 HP for many miles.

I believe the bearing issue came about from the belts being too tight. We've only replaced one set of bearings ever and when they came out they looked fine. We learned early on that belt tension was set a little too tight from the factory (specs) and we've set almost every belt to date about 4mm looser than spec. As the belt warms up it gets tighter, not looser. Also, everyone running bigger wheels than factory also needs to look at belt tension. Because the drive system is not concentric as the swingarm rises the belt gets tighter. These bigger wheels a lot of people are running means their belt should be set looser than spec to avoid any issues.

Belt tension and keeping the belt clean are the 2 most important things you can do to avoid issues. Clean belt regularly with soap/water and a brush. Belt tension should be checked at least once a year. Belt should be clean/dry. Do not put any chemicals or products on the belt.