Did you replace steering head bearings?

[interactive3]

The '06 has 13,000 miles and there's something strange with the steering. In the past three rides it sometimes has a tight spot at one point in the steering. It kind of feels like a hard side wind is pushing the bike. I might as well change out the headset bearings if I'm going to take the front end apart and look at them. Are there any good links for changing out the bearings (and races)? Thank you.

 

[dean2287]

Great thread, I've been looking into this as I'm at the 12,500 mile mark. Mine are fine, although I rarely ride in the wet. Just the same, its on the short list.

 

[Def]

I am currently in the middle of replacing my steering head bearings right now. Decided to change the fork oil too at the same time. The fork oil was surprisingly clean but the bottom steering head bearing looks like the ones pictured in this thread. Top one is fine but will change it out anyway. I've gone with all balls. Bike has 46000 kms on it. Bike is torn down and I've installed the new races and the bottom bearing. I'll piece everything else together tomorrow.

Quick question though for those of you who have done this. Can the bottom bearing be pressed on too tightly? My newly installed one won't spin by hand, but seems to spin fine when I slide the steering stem through the frame and mate it up with the race. Any thoughts?

 

[FIZZER6]

Mine are fine at 14,000 miles and my bike is now over 5 years old! I attribute it to never riding in the rain and not spraying the triple tree when I wash the bike.

 

[greg]

is there an easy way to check them, or at least to get some grease in there?

mine feels fine, but i should probably keep on top of it

 

[chemicalsmile]

Put the bike on the centerstand and prop the front end up with something under headers then pull back and forth on the forks and see if there's any slop or clicking/clunking. You can take the top triple off and try tightening the steering stem nuts - this helped mine for a little while but to re-pack them with grease you'd have to tear it all down and you might as well replace them at that point.

Mine were shot at 13k but they had a couple hard slams and a fair amount of rain riding. Very happy with the all balls bearings.

 

[fb40dash5]

to re-pack them with grease you'd have to tear it all down and you might as well replace them at that point.

After replacing mine, I'd disagree with this statement. The teardown was child's play compared to getting the crown race off, setting the lower bearing, and setting the head tube races (especially the bottom one) in square! I'm glad I have access to a press, cuz I would've been SOL without it, and I wish I'd just popped the steer tube out from the get-go instead of messing with getting the crown race off manually.

Woulda been easier if I paid more attention to the instructions for the head tube race installer too, I didn't think the races would be so easy to get in there misaligned. Tapered wood blocks or maybe a bicycle headset press would've made that a LOT easier.

The All Balls definitely make a difference. I cranked them pretty tight after the first ride, because I thought I'd left them too loose, it was so smooth. Turns out they just feel that smooth. In keeping with the theme of the thread, I did mine at about 12k, though mostly by coincidence. My original bearings were a little rusty, and my bike has been living outside for a few months, and getting ridden in almost any weather. I did them to see if they were the cause of my front end brake shudder, along with wheel bearings. So far so good on that, but too many variables got changed to pinpoint one as a solution.

 

[regder]

Small update, replaced my shot oem bearings at around 15k km's with All Balls. Over 65k km since and they're still great, haven't repacked them or adjusted them either, outside of a small adjustment after 1k km.

 

[FIZZER6]

I'm considering doing this when the bike is down in January-Feb.

Where are you finding the best prices on the All Balls bearings? are they complete sets with everything you need?

 

[04fizzer]

I'm considering doing this when the bike is down in January-Feb.

Where are you finding the best prices on the All Balls bearings? are they complete sets with everything you need?

I went through my dealership to get them from Parts Unlimited. They come with everything you need.

 

[fb40dash5]

Dealership here too. I couldn't find anywhere online that beat going price with shipping. They're only ~$25 anyway, not much room to save big.

Mine still included the way-too-small upper seal. At first I thought the larger one was the new upper seal and thought "well that's not too far off"... nope, the new upper seal is WAAAAAAY too small!

 

[FIZZER6]

I went through my dealership to get them from Parts Unlimited. They come with everything you need.

Thanks, looks like bike bandit and motorcycle superstore both have them for around $30 shipped. May just go that route.

 

[REDHAWK22]

Just bought mine last February, 2011 (2009 FZ6). I was just wondering if Warranty will cover this Steering head bearing problems.
My front tires have an uneven wear, it's wobbling bad on decelaration between 57-60mph. Could this be a Steering head problem?
If warranty will not cover this, then I will have to replace it myself, which I have no experience with. What special tools will I need?
Also, where can I get or order the whole set of bearings & seals? What are the part nos. for this parts?
Thanks

 

[REDHAWK22]

Well, after i went to the Stealership for warranty work, about my issue about the wobbling. After they raise my tire pressure to 36psi and still wobbling and uneven front tire wear, they said it's a tire problem & not a steering bearing problem. What they want me to do or pay for is a set of new front tires (Bridgestone BT023) & sell it to me, balanced & installed for $109.00...hHe guarantees that after putting the new tire, that the wobbling will go away.
I heard good things about those BT023s though.
That's why, I don't like getting those extended service plans, it's because they always make it sound like it's always not covered or they're going to give you a hard time about doing any service for free. They always want your $$$$$, even if you know for a fact that you're still covered under warranty.:Flip:

Just bought mine last February, 2011 (2009 FZ6). I was just wondering if Warranty will cover this Steering head bearing problems.
My front tires have an uneven wear, it's wobbling bad on decelaration between 57-60mph. Could this be a Steering head problem?
If warranty will not cover this, then I will have to replace it myself, which I have no experience with. What special tools will I need?
Also, where can I get or order the whole set of bearings & seals? What are the part nos. for this parts?
Thanks

 

[FloppyRunner]

Hate to dig this thread up from the dead (again), but would it be logical to assume that this is the correct P/N we're all talking about?

22-1004 All Balls Racing

Gonna have to take mine apart to regrease them and may see if I can replace them. I never did the 8,000 mile greasing, and now I'm at 12,100...

 

[djstrong]

I regreased my steering head bearings at 22,000 miles. Never touched before that.

They were in perfect condition with no signs of wear, failure or rust. There was an adequite amount of factory grease, but not as much as I prefer.

No need to change the bearings for me. I did pack them with good water resistant grease and made sure there was a lot of grease behind the seals.

I think the failures / rust problem some experienced might be due to the upper head and how the seal fits to the frame split. It is not a perfect seal, and there must be water getting past the seal. I ride in the rain regularly, and when I wash my bike, I only spray water lightly. I don't think water was getting in the bearings on my bike.

 

[bob808]

You can use the rear shock tool to loosen/tighten the stem nut. Just have to use another allen tool like in the picture. This way it won't slide off, it improves the tools angle as it is wider for the rear shock. I could tighten it real good without problems.

 

[mayassa]

I replaced mine with all balls on my 2008 only had 2000 miles but, I figured 5 years it might be worth it and I had the forks off for new springs. Anyways they looked brand new with no corrosion, and I put the new one's in.

 

[SteveH41]

Changed mine 3 months ago when I felt the front end becoming a bit noisy / knocking. Easy enough job if you have the right tools, dremel cut the old race off the lower triple and used it as a drift to mount the new bearing.

Bike had done 20K (miles) when done, old bearing had rusted and pitted.

 

[carbonar1]

I have a 2005 FZ6N with 10,000kms on it. I replaced the steering head bearings, seals, forks seals and oil at 8,000kms. Not because they were notchy but because of something my mate told me. He's a Yamaha trained mechanic who now runs his own workshop, he was head of a Yam dealership workshop in my city. He said the early model frames that are bolted together at the headstock, the silver ones, have a tendency to develop knackered bearings. Not necessarily due to the bearings themselves, but due to the fact that the headstem was made in two halves, and the hardened bearing seat would become loose in the frame, giving the same sensation as worn bearings. Yamaha apparently washed there hands of any blame and instructed their mechanics to tighten the torx bolts holding the headstock together. Incidentally, any non dealership tampering with the torx bolts automatically voids the warranty.There were no recalls offered. But they reverted to single piece headstock design the following year. So , before anything bad happens to my old style, two piece headstem, I changed to tapered roller bearings which spread the load over a greater area than ball bearings. :thumbup: