IllustrationFAILURE OF FLANGE BEARING, REAR WHEEL AT 9000 MILES CHECK BEARING AT TIRE REPLACEMENT REPLACE FLANGE BEARING UNIT-HONDA DOES NOT SELL BEARINGS ONLY. *TR
2003 Honda VTX1800
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all VTX1800 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
310–25K
1025–50K
050–75K
075–100K
0100–150K
0150K+
41 reports with mileage · 12 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Wheels. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
53 reportsHONDA MOTORCYCLE 2003 VTX C REAR WHEEL BEARING. *TR
REAR WHEEL FLANGE BEARING FAILURE. *TR
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 AW…
Read full complaint
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
FAILURE OF FLANGE BEARING ON 2003 HONDA VTX 1800S MOTORCYCLE
FAILURE OF REAR BEARINGS ON MOTORCYCLE. DEALER FOUND AT TIME OF TIRE CHANGE.
2003 HONDA VTX 1800C ALL FLANGE BEARINGS DESTROYED NEAR 50K MILES INNER WHEEL BEARINGS STARTING TO HAVE PLAY FOUND WHEN CHANGING TIRE, I'VE BEEN ON A HONDA SINCE I WAS A KID NEVER SEEN HONDA HAVE THIS POOR A A DESIGN! ESPECIALLY ON A TWO WHEEL MACHINE. SHOULD BE A RECALL !! I DID NOT KNOW OR HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS OF FAILURE.…
Read full complaint
2003 HONDA VTX 1800C ALL FLANGE BEARINGS DESTROYED NEAR 50K MILES INNER WHEEL BEARINGS STARTING TO HAVE PLAY FOUND WHEN CHANGING TIRE, I'VE BEEN ON A HONDA SINCE I WAS A KID NEVER SEEN HONDA HAVE THIS POOR A A DESIGN! ESPECIALLY ON A TWO WHEEL MACHINE. SHOULD BE A RECALL !! I DID NOT KNOW OR HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS OF FAILURE. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS HURT OR KILLED. *NM
(1)VIBRATION IN REAR WHEEL OF HONDA VTX1800C 2003 (2)UPON DISASSEMBLY OF REAR WHEEL, BEARINGS IN THE SPLINE FLANGE WERE FOUND TO BE TOTALLY DISINTEGRATED. ALTHOUGH THE BEARINGS HAD NOT YET WELDED THEMSELVES TOGETHER. (3)MOTORCYCLE HAD HONDA WARRANTY, HONDA REFUSED TO REPAIR,FIXED MYSELF. STILL HAVE OLD PARTS. *NM
FLANGE BEARING FAILURE. *NM
2003 HONDA VTX 1800C FLANGE BEARING FAILURE. DISCOVERED WHILE REAR WHEEL OFF FOR POLISHING. INNER 6905 BEARING OK, OUTER 6905RS BEARING ROUGH TO TURN. HATTIESBURG HONDA WOULD NOT EVEN TALK TO ME ABOUT IT, COLUMBIA HONDA REPLACED BOTH BEARINGS UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY. *NM
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.