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Very interesting read. I had this exact same problem, with the exact same reel, in the exact same size. It was driving me insane. I never was able to identify the cause of the handle slop but I helped correct for it by shimming the main and pinion gear. I didn't realize it was from the bearings. Why do you suppose that the bearings do this?
Btw, check out this thread: http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=11156.0