FZ6 Steering head bearing went bad

[littlelamb]

I have an FZ6 bought new in August 2006. Two years later the steering head bearing went bad at 5600 miles. The dealer checked it and found it was rusted badly. Since it was out of warranty (I did not buy extended warranty), it cost me $380.00 to have it fixed. I took this matter to the Yamaha manufacturer customer service, but they would not do anything to compensate me. Is it normal for the steering head bearing to go bad at this young age? I did not abuse the bike, did not stun it. I maintained and washed it the same way as my other bikes. Did not use pressure washer. Has anyone else had the same experienced it? Did I have a lemon? Should I cover this part when I wash the bike in the future? I never had experienced this with my other bikes.

 

[sideshow_downs]

First off :welcome: to the forum


I have heard of a few storys of the steering head bearings going bad. There have been people here that have replaced the bearings themselves without too much trouble. I feel that it is premature failure but maybe its just a FZ6 thing.

 

[littlelamb]

I have an FZ6 bought new in August 2006. Two years later the steering head bearing went bad at 5600 miles. The dealer checked it and found it was rusted badly. Since it was out of warranty (I did not buy extended warranty), it cost me $380.00 to have it fixed. I took this matter to the Yamaha manufacturer customer service, but they would not do anything to compensate me. Is it normal for the steering head bearing to go bad at this young age? I did not abuse the bike, did not stun it. I maintained and washed it the same way as my other bikes. Did not use pressure washer. Has anyone else had the same experienced it? Did I have a lemon? Should I cover this part when I wash the bike in the future? I never had experienced this with my other bikes.

 

[CanadianFZ6]

What's up with the double post?... We all got your first post...:spank:

 

[FZyLarry]

I replaced the bearings in my 06 at around 13 months (yeah, just out of warrantee). I checked with a local dealer and they couldn't do anything for me - I had torn down the steering head myself and took the parts you see below to show them. I will say I was pretty disappointed in Yamaha on this point. I am a sunny day only rider, been caught in the rain here twice, so there is no real reason for the bearings to rust up like that. Except of course that they put very little grease on them at the factory (see pics)

This seems to be a common problem, if you check on a different FZ6 forum you will see many posts and even a poll about what year bikes had the most incidents of this problem.

The good news is if you have the bearings replaced with AllBalls or another tapered roller bearing, you will have a much nicer front end than stock. I hope they did something like that for the $$ you had to pay them.

 

[urbanj]

Hmmm I should repack mine before the new season.

 

[Hellgate]

Yup, the stock bearings suck. You're not along.

You want All Balls > All Balls Racing Home

 

[VEGASRIDER]

There are several threads regarding steering wheel head bearings, I myself have experienced the same problems. I had mine tightend up at the stealership for $90 around 14,000 miles as they were becoming loose. Now at 22,000 miles, I find my front end starting to rattle pretty good again. I suspect the head bearings again. This time, I will probably need to get them replaced. So my question to you is.....was your bike rideable? If the headbearings get too bad, I wonder how difficult it is to ride?

FZyLarry, thanks for the pics, I was wondering what they looked like. Any special tools you suggest that we have in order to do this repair? It would be nice if some member could provide a "How to replace" thread, with step by step instructions and pics.

 

[wrightme43]

Yes that would be extra cool.

Also I dont understand why some bikes are rusting and some are not.

I ride in the rain alot, and just checked mine again a few nights ago and they feel perfect.

Maybe rain is good for them? LOL

 

[littlelamb]

Answer to Vegasrider:
It was rideable but dangerous because when I tried to make a slow turn, it did not turn freely and I almost fell over. I thought I lost balance due to the road being too slipery, or the front tire was underpressure. That was what prompted me to have it checked.

 

[FZyLarry]

Answer to the "was it rideable" - yes, I was riding it with no scary results until the day I tore it down and found what you saw in the pics. What I noticed was an increasing amount of "thunk" when I went over bumps, potholes, etc. and in general a "loose" feeling to the ride. I had tried grabbing the forks and wiggling them forward & back with no noticeable movement until the very end when a slight amount of movement was noticeable. When I went to tear it down the steering head adjuster nuts were less than finger tight.

Regarding how to tear it down, I didn't take any pictures other than the ones I posted. However, it was relatively easy if you have the Yamaha Service Manual. I followed the steps in there and it went pretty smoothly. My only struggle was removing the lower bearing's races from the steering stem and frame. It says use a flat chisel to get under the race and pry it up off the stem. I couldn't get it to budge at first so I used my Dremmel motor and a small cutoff wheel and put several slices into the race. I didn't cut it all the way through because I didn't want to nick the stem. The several slices were enough to allow the ring to flex a little and then the chisel lifted it up & off. I used a long aluminum (aluminium for you Euro folk) rod to pound out the race from inside the frame. (it was a rod from a wind chime - maybe grab one without the wife noticing)

The All Balls bearings cost less than the OEM replacement parts and are great! Installation was a snap with one exception. I didn't have a spanner to fit the adjuster & lock nuts. I used the spanner that comes with the FZ tool kit but it really doesn't fit well. After I got it all reassembled, I read a post where a guy made a spanner by welding a pair of 1/4" square rods to a socket wrench - brilliant idea and one I will copy when I go to adjust the nuts next time.

One other thought for anyone thinking of replacing their bearings. I also replaced my stock fork springs at this time because I had to have everything apart anyway. Between the new bearings and the new springs, I felt like I had a completely different handling bike - better than new!

 

[FZ1inNH]

I'll be installing the racetech springs in another month or so. I think I'll just bite the bullet now and get the All Balls and do both jobs at the same time. It might save my arse down the road and certainly some aggravation!

 

[Denver_FZ6]

Look at the highlighted section in the pic. It actually looks like water has condensed at on the main tube. My question is how is the water getting in there?

FZyLarry, were you able to look around inside the yoke area and determine where the moisture was entering?

 

[ant_mb]

Yup, the stock bearings suck. You're not along.

You want All Balls > All Balls Racing Home

How about the exact bearing for us to lazy to do the search? im going to replace the bearing this spring on my 07(regardless of condition), and am looking for the exact bearing to buy.

 

[mstewar1]

I think that they only sell one set that fits the fz. I had the same question when I got mine -- for an '06 -- and the response I got was to that effect.

 

[mabbott]

I replace my stock junk with the All Ballz (sp) and I love them. If your bearings are bad, change them now. It is very dangerous to drive with bad steering head bearings. The lubrication you use is important too! If you use good stuff, then you won't have to change it as often.

BTW, it only takes once of getting caught in the rain to get the water in there!

 

[FZyLarry]

I'm not sure how the water gets in but I imagine it seeps around the seals and maybe some condensation. The mechanic at the dealership here in town mentioned that all bikes have minimal lubes applied because of the rules on shipping things. If it drips a fluid, that's a big fine so they apply minimum lube and only if necessary.

That makes sense to me and from my perspective, if there would have been a good slathering of grease on the stem & bearings when assembled, it wouldn't have rusted.

I couldn't find my invoice for the all balls but here is the number of the package they came in;
22-1004

When you assemble the new bearings and all, smear some grease on the stem too!

 

[bmccrary]

Hey guys, I just pulled my front end down the other night and check all this. To start with I pulled it down to replace the fork oil and replaced with 15wt. I hoping this helps a good bit.

But then I went ahead and pulled the tripple tree apart to check on those bearings. Now my bike has 22000 miles on it. Of which the first 11000 I didnt do. The lower bearing was rusted pretty good and the races had some pitting. However... I took the bearings out and cleaned them using diesel fuel, along with the seals. Then I took a dremel tool with a wire brush attachment and some sand paper and went to work. I polished all the balls and races, then took the sand paper and smoothed out the pits in the races. The top bearing and races were fine, it was only the lowers that was rough, due to the moisture.

Once cleaned up I packed the heck out of the bearings. I mean I had so much grease in those things it was unreal. Then I had alot on the lower races and seals. A great deal around the seals. I did the same up top with a great deal of grease. GREASE EVERYWHERE. Grease helps seal as well as lubricate. Then put it back together.

The bearings still need to be replaced, however I didnt have time with school starting back up to wait for bearings to arrive so I did the best I could to clean them up and with enough grease they feel much better. Now this isnt a perfect solution and like I said they need to be replaced, but this should get me through the season.

-bryan

 

[FZyLarry]

I'll give you 10 points for ingenuity on polishing the bearings but it is definitely not a good way to fix the problem. Bearings are ground using specialized machinery to very exact tolerances in both diameter and roundness. Although you probably didn't remove much material, you can bet that the balls are no longer round or uniform in size. I'd order a new set of All Balls now and do a swap at the earliest opportunity. I'd also keep an eye on how tight the retention nuts are because I think the unevenness will cause the bearings to need frequent readjustment.

just my 2¢ worth

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Everyone has said to replace the bearings, and get All Balls Bearings, but what type of grease should be used?