2003 Honda VTX1800

Owner complaints

What owners report most

1. Power train20
2. Suspension17
3. Wheels11
4. Tires3
5. Steering2
6. Exterior lighting2
7. Engine and engine cooling2
8. Structure1
9. Fuel system, other1
10. Vehicle speed control1

Latest complaints

• Mar 28, 2017MO
  Suspension
  Just had rear tire replaced on my vtx 1800r at honda dealer. Was informed by technician that my rear bearing needs replaced. The bike only has 13,500 original miles on it. This seems way to early for this to have worn out already. I see on this forum that this problem IS enormously common on the…

  Just had rear tire replaced on my vtx 1800r at honda dealer. Was informed by technician that my rear bearing needs replaced. The bike only has 13,500 original miles on it. This seems way to early for this to have worn out already. I see on this forum that this problem IS enormously common on the 1800s. Pretty disappointed in this. Ordering replacement parts and hoping the bearings have been upgraded in the last 13 years.

• Oct 29, 2014TN36,897 mi
  Wheels
  Noticed odd tire wear on the rear tire of the motorcycle while away from home. Tire seemed to have worn down very quickly. After another 100 miles ridden, noticed tread on left side of tire was worn down to the cords of the tire and very close to having a blow out. removed tire and wheel to…

  Noticed odd tire wear on the rear tire of the motorcycle while away from home. Tire seemed to have worn down very quickly. After another 100 miles ridden, noticed tread on left side of tire was worn down to the cords of the tire and very close to having a blow out. removed tire and wheel to replace tire. Discovered that the bearing in the flange was destroyed, this bearing was on the same side of the tire that had worn down to the cords. bearing had metal pieces loose inside and ball bearings were loose and scattered around bearing. I am the second owner of the motorcycle and have found no evidence of previous failure. *tr

• Aug 9, 2013WI32,000 mi
  Wheels

  The rear wheel flange bearings were found damaged and missing. *tr

• Apr 5, 2013NV10,000 mi
  Steering · Vehicle speed control · Wheels

  Major front end wobble (especially if not gripping with both hands) between 35-50mph. Several hundred complaints online, but nobody has a 100% fix. Almost caused an accident during a turn with the wobble. Almost feels like you're going to lose control. Brought it to the honda dealership and they said several people have also brought in there bikes with the same issue, but no known fixes. *tr

• Aug 6, 2012MO26,429 mi
  Wheels

  I heard a noise when turning or cornerig both directions. Removed rear wheel and found drive flange bearing had failed breaking apart into small pieces. *tr

• Mar 30, 2012TX4,000 mi
  Power train

  Rear drive side flange bearing total failure 4 times before 30000 miles. bearings totally ground down and rough. T $220.00 a pop, it IS becoming expensive and an imminent danger to all riders. *js

• Jun 25, 2011MO14,200 mi
  Suspension

  When changing rear tire checked flange bearing and noticed bearing was coming apart. Seal gone and metal pieces present along with rough and loose bearings. 14,000 miles on 03 1800 vtx c. *tr

• Mar 5, 2011OH11,000 mi
  Tires

  Flange bearing worn at only 11,000 miles...luckily I had to replace the rear tire for a 1200 mile trip I was getting ready to take or else it could of made for a really bad trip for something that I believe shouldn't happen after only this many miles...spent 35 bucks and got them replaced.. *tr

• Sep 20, 2010SC23,000 mi
  Wheels
  The rear flange bearing on my 2003 honda vtx 1800c failed resulting in a very scary driving situation for me. It hasn't happened since the initial failure on or about september 2 of last year, but the rear wheel IS starting to turn a little harder again recently and I am looking into replacing the…

  The rear flange bearing on my 2003 honda vtx 1800c failed resulting in a very scary driving situation for me. It hasn't happened since the initial failure on or about september 2 of last year, but the rear wheel IS starting to turn a little harder again recently and I am looking into replacing the bearing soon. The dealership (honda/yahama of savannah, ga) replaced the bearing at my cost and told me that it just happens and it's a part of the design. I wasn't aware that this was supposed to be an item subject to wear and tear replacement. *Tr

• May 31, 2010VA11,000 mi
  Suspension › Rear

  While removing the rear tire for replacement I noticed the flange bearing has failed. 11,000 miles, first time inspecting the bearing. Will replace with new bearings and possibly machine the flange for better fit. *Tr

• Feb 23, 2010ILCrash2 deaths
  Tires
  2003 honda vtx1800 mc bike started to shake resulting in an accident. Two people were killed*cw according to witnesses the rear tire started to shake as the consumer was riding. Seconds later, he lost control of the bike and went down on the pavement. the second person, the consumers wife was on…

  2003 honda vtx1800 mc bike started to shake resulting in an accident. Two people were killed*cw according to witnesses the rear tire started to shake as the consumer was riding. Seconds later, he lost control of the bike and went down on the pavement. the second person, the consumers wife was on a separate bike tried to swerve to avoid the accident, but lost control instead. Husband and wife were pronounced dead. According to the decedent's son, the consumer had placed a car tire on the rear of the motorcycle and had been riding that way for about a year. *Jb

• Jun 28, 2009LA27,000 mi
  Suspension › Rear

  Honda motorcycle vtx-1800 rear wheel flange bearing failure. *Tr

• Dec 4, 2008FL14,465 mi
  Suspension › Rear

  When the rear tire was replaced, I had the technician check the condition of the rear flange bearings. They were very rough. I ordered two bearings and replaced them on 12/04/2008 with 14,465 miles on the motorcycle. Upon removal from the flange, the bearings were in a state of total failure. *Tr

• Nov 10, 2008IL30,200 mi
  Power train · Power train › Driveline

  Rear tire was worn out upon replacing tire I inspected bearings and they fell out. Ordered new bearings on line and replaced them. *Tr

• Sep 7, 2008OH9,500 mi
  Power train › Driveline
  I was removing rear wheel on my 2003 honda vtx c model to replace worn tire and with the wheel off I did a check of the wheel bearings. I frequently visit the honda vtx owners site to keep up on maintenance issues and have found that many other owner have had a failure of this one particular…

  I was removing rear wheel on my 2003 honda vtx c model to replace worn tire and with the wheel off I did a check of the wheel bearings. I frequently visit the honda vtx owners site to keep up on maintenance issues and have found that many other owner have had a failure of this one particular bearing assembly referred to as " final driven flange a , honda part number 42630-mch-000. I did a check of the bearing and found that it would barely rotate, it had completely failed. Considering this IS on a motorcycle, I think this IS a serious safety issue. I have ordered a new part from honda and I hope that they have addressed this manufacturing defect. *Tr

• Jul 25, 2008KS8,371 mi
  Suspension › Rear

  Honda vtx 1800c during rear tire replacement at 8,371 miles discovered wheel bearing on the right side (brake side) was very bad...had no warning but wouldn't have been very long. longest trip has been 100 miles rest IS all city. no reason for this failure! *Tr

• Jul 24, 2008VA30,000 mi
  Suspension · Wheels

  Driven flange bearing set failure discovered when rear tire was replaced. *tr

• Jul 13, 2008OH9,560 mi
  Power train › Driveline

  Flange bearing on motorcycle final drive engagement fell apart after 9500 miles. *tr

• Jun 29, 2008TX37,000 mi
  Suspension

  Flange bearing failure approximate date of failure: june 2008 year of manufacture: 2003 model: r mileage: 36,000 bearing condition: inner bearing completely destroyed...found when I changed out the tire....seal bulged out and metal pieces everywhere. accident : no how fixed: purchased part from bearing supply store and replaced it myself.......hoping it won't happen again! *Tr

• May 19, 2008TX35,000 mi
  Power train › Driveline

  Honda vtx drive flange bearing failure. repaired at home. no accident. *tr

• May 9, 2008CT9,000 mi
  Suspension › Rear

  Failure of flange bearing, rear wheel at 9000 miles check bearing at tire replacement replace flange bearing unit-honda does not sell bearings only. *tr

• Mar 19, 2008CA
  Suspension › Rear · Wheels › Hub

  Honda motorcycle 2003 vtx c rear wheel bearing. *Tr

• Jan 16, 2008TX31,300 mi
  Suspension › Rear

  Rear wheel flange bearing failure. *tr

• Aug 3, 2007FL3,000 mi
  Wheels › Hub

  Changing tire on my 2003 honda vtx 1800 s model, removed rear wheel and found that the final drive flange bearings were bad. Balls fell out of the races when I removed the bearings. This was at my first tire change so I don't know exactly when they failed. I ordered new bearings and replaced them myself. Old parts were thrown away. This motorcycle was purchased new on 9/2005. *jb

• Jun 27, 2007WA11,467 mi
  Suspension › Rear

  Failure of flange bearing on 2003 honda vtx 1800s motorcycle

Service bulletins

Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.

• 10128559Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, American Honda announced three recalls for various 2001-11 Honda models. As of July 23, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and service bulletins 14-040, Safety Recall: Accord, Civic, and Others ? Front Passenger?s Airbag Inflator Can Be Over-Pressurized, 14-045, Recall: Front Driver?s Airbag Inflator May Produce Excessive Pressure After Long-Term Exposure to High Absolute Humidity Recall, and 14-046, Recall: Front Passenger?s Airbag Inflator May Produce Excessive Pressure After Long-Term Exposure to High Absolute Humidity have been posted to ISIS. However, due to the large number of affected units, American Honda is still in the process of populating the VIN status inquiry function on iN, which is expected to take several days. When this process is complete, American Honda will notify all dealers again via iN message. Until that time, the existing acknowledgement procedure must be used for all potentially affected vehicles.
• 10128531Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, American Honda announced three recalls for various 2001-11 Honda models. As of August 4, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and VIN status inquiry has been updated.
• 10032953Honda: warranty extension-vehicle warranty mileage. Class action lawsuit alleging that the odometers on certain 2002-2006 honda models were overstating mileage. Federal court provided final approval of settlement on 12/29/07. No models listed.
• 10025523Load carrying capacity reduced label for all honda vehicles.
• 10018357Stuck fuel pump. Honda. The wrench.
• 10016287No start condition. To include honda vtx1800 2004.
• 10009060Trippy trip switch. Honda. The wrench.
• 10005969Primary drive gear assembly. Honda technician newsletter.
• 637056Information on servicing a stumble condition and fi light flash with no codes stored vtx1800c, r and s models.

Every Honda VTX1800 model year

Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.