Tri-Hub Failure

[FrozenTows4]

....anybody need a brand new tri-hub that i pulled from mine before its first ride?

Heck, I'll give you $20 shipped just to take it apart and see what's going on in there! Would be interesting to see how much grease is in the bearings.

I've come to grips that there is no such thing as a sealed bearing. At least one that can be trusted. This is not from a snowmobile, but have seen the same grease quantity in many idler wheel bearings.

I repack every allegedly sealed bearing because of this.

No matter the brand, if we're not inspecting, servicing, and/or replacing idler bearings every 3-4000 miles, we're asking for trouble. As for the Tri-Hub, it most certainly should last beyond the second oil change. Some do, some don't. Very disappointing.
I hope to have 1200 - 1400 miles on mine by the end of the weekend. It's coming out this summer and some form of replacement is going in.

Serioously, BigDog Mike, I've thrown away $20 on worse things. Let me know and I'll PayPal you immediately. Or, You peal the seals back and show us what's really in there. Cheers.

 

[cannondale27]

They already did upgrade the bearings compared to 12,13 the bearing upgrade about doubled the life of them but even a good bearing will not save a bad design. When one side goes it takes the other with it. Doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out why. They are connected! Cant believe they are still using this setup.

 

[FrozenTows4]

At first glance, in theory, on paper, or on the engineers computer, the Tri-Hub is a pretty rock solid good idea. No axial bearing load, better tracking verses 2-4 idlers wiggling around, simple, light weight, and durable. In the real world, thanks to everyone here, we know it just doesn't work that way.
I have not decided on a 2 or 4 wheel alternative. Either way, mine or BigDog Mikes TriHub will be dissected to see if there are any clues when that time comes.

 

[sabrecat]

Heck, I'll give you $20 shipped just to take it apart and see what's going on in there! Would be interesting to see how much grease is in the bearings.

I've come to grips that there is no such thing as a sealed bearing. At least one that can be trusted. This is not from a snowmobile, but have seen the same grease quantity in many idler wheel bearings.

I repack every allegedly sealed bearing because of this.

No matter the brand, if we're not inspecting, servicing, and/or replacing idler bearings every 3-4000 miles, we're asking for trouble. As for the Tri-Hub, it most certainly should last beyond the second oil change. Some do, some don't. Very disappointing.
I hope to have 1200 - 1400 miles on mine by the end of the weekend. It's coming out this summer and some form of replacement is going in.

Serioously, BigDog Mike, I've thrown away $20 on worse things. Let me know and I'll PayPal you immediately. Or, You peal the seals back and show us what's really in there. Cheers.

I can tell you there is very little new grease in the bearings. They can look almost as clean as your pics sometimes. So a cheap quality bearing with little grease on top of a under sized bearing doing a big job is what you get on your $12,000 sled. The bearing is my J&T kits is close to twice that size. I got over 9,000 mile on one of my stealth big wheel kits and the bearings are still tight and smooth.

 

[FrozenTows4]

Believe me, you're at the top of the list. If possible, I'd like to call on the phone this spring.

 

[hauler]

Another one bites the dust 2200 miles

 

[planner]

Knew better but tried to get one last ride in this season and change the trihub for next year. Big mistake. Could have been worse but bad enough. Broke 15 miles outside of Parent Canada. Four hours later got the sled into Parent. There is nothing in Parent and I mean nothing. Cllosest dealer is a 4 hour dirt road ride away. Hired local guy with pickup and dropped sled at Mount Lauier dealer @9 pm. Got room and next morning dealer had it repaired by 10 am . Met up with 4 buddies that afternoon and continued on trip. It would have been so much easier and a lot cheaper if I had just taken the time to replace it this past Fall. Dealer in ML said he replaces for his customers at 3,000 miles and also replaces drive shaft lower bearing with aftermarket at same time.

 

[morepower=morefun]

... and yet again, same design for 2017's... wha-wha-whaaa... Had 2 Yamaha reps, not dealer, but actual Yamaha reps tell me that the Sidewinder chassis and rear skid are all new, NOT the same as used on the Viper. That the only part that is the same on chassis is the "center" or where the VIN # stamp is.... are they really trying to say that because they drilled a few more holes for rear heat exchanger mounting, that is a different chassis?!? If so wouldn't they be broadcasting this, a NEW chassis? As far as the rear skid, where are the changes?!? Again, are they saying new because of shocks? No way they designed something NEW and kept that goofy Tri-hub in there!

 

[rbell14]

Bummer to hear planner...
I thought the same and didn't make it which is why I warn everyone to consider the upgrade, especially if you made it through this season. Some do better than others but it's a poor design.

 

[sabrecat]

... and yet again, same design for 2017's... wha-wha-whaaa... Had 2 Yamaha reps, not dealer, but actual Yamaha reps tell me that the Sidewinder chassis and rear skid are all new, NOT the same as used on the Viper. That the only part that is the same on chassis is the "center" or where the VIN # stamp is.... are they really trying to say that because they drilled a few more holes for rear heat exchanger mounting, that is a different chassis?!? If so wouldn't they be broadcasting this, a NEW chassis? As far as the rear skid, where are the changes?!? Again, are they saying new because of shocks? No way they designed something NEW and kept that goofy Tri-hub in there!

It is very hard to believe cat has not made a heavy duty trihub after 5 years and even more hard to believe Yamaha did not fix it. Just because the bearing is now changeable it still is border line strong enough to handle the job. If they want to keep building cheap junk I will sell my premium replacement trihub parts and Stealth big wheel kits. Every year I sell more then the last.

www.jtatv.com

Todd

 

[yamaha06]

I have ran a 4th wheel kit on my viper since new. I am selling the viper to buy a sidewinder. I was just wondering if anyone has ran the aftermarket tri hub kits?? Are the pretty durable or are you still better with getting the 4th wheel kit?

 

[TOMBOB]

Dropping $17000 down for a 2017 and have that happen, that is bull #*$&@

 

[rbell14]

I just added the J&T replacement tri-hub (2 separate wheels with bigger stronger bearings in place of the origianl tri-hub) along with the 4th wheel kit on the outside of skid and all of it looks to be top notch and heavy duty. Comes with new axle too. Ran it for about ~500 miles so far and no issues. Even makes track alignment easier since you can see gap between outer wheels and edge of track.

This should have been the first upgrade I did on this sled.

 

[Joe ltx-le]

Tri-hub held up, problem is the crappy bearings they use from the factory. I'm installing the J&T tri-hub replacement and 4th wheel kit. All parts have much better bearings which was the problem here. They also offer a stealth big wheel kit which has 4 independent wheels and upgraded beards vs. factory.

www.jtatv.com
http://www.jtatv.com/4th_Wheel_Kit_p/trihub-repl.htm
http://www.jtatv.com/4th_Wheel_Kit_Procross_Proclimb_XF_p/pcwk-rear.htm

My bearings were dry by the time I was able to inspect them

J&T 2 wheel kits? Are they good without the 4th wheels? I really like the tri-hub idea, and look.

 

[rbell14]

Absolutely! The two wheel kit that replaces the "tri-hub" are slightly larger wheels, larger and stronger bearings and are independent wheels vs. the tri-hub design. I went a step further and added the 4th wheel kit as it reduces the load by 50% on two wheel kit.

Call Todd at J&T for more details but It a pretty nice beefed up kit vs. stock!