FZ6 Steering head bearing went bad

[Denver_FZ6]

Thanks for everyone's tips! I'm disappointed Yamaha would scrimp on the bearings and seals, but it happens and it's not unique to Yamaha.

I've ordered the AllBalls kit from my local dealership. Expecting about a week delivery. Will give me time to finish researching install process. Think I'll change out fork oil while I'm at it.

Sounds like I need a spanner wrench too. Anyone have source for that?

 

[Fred]

If you're talking about the wrench for the two nuts on the steering stem, the manual has a part number to order.

Or you can do what I did, and use a hammer and a flat punch to loosen and later tighten the nuts.

Remember to recheck the tightness of the bearings after 500 miles or so. They will settle in.

 

[Cali rider]

If you're talking about the wrench for the two nuts on the steering stem, the manual has a part number to order.

This is the tool I use to adjust these locknuts: Stanley Proto Industrial Tools: JC471

About $28.00

 

[mstewar1]

I thought I read somewhere that you can also use the shock adjusting tool that comes in the stock tool kit.

You can get a suitable tool at Graingers. And you can get a tool that will work at a bicycle tool place like this.

 

[FZyLarry]

I used the shock tool and it doesn't really fit that well. The next time I pull my top triple to check the bearings I'm going to make a socket to fit the nuts. I think I can take a standard 1/2" drive socket and cut away the "open" end to leave two tines that will engage the slots in the nuts. I imagine this would be a bit of a throw away since the two tines won't be as strong as regular socket but I figure I can get at least a couple servicings out of it.

 

[Denver_FZ6]

Researching bearing install, but couldn't find torque specs for ring nut. Finally located specs in assembly manual. Thought I'd post it for anyone installing the factory bearings:

1. First, tighten the (lower) ring nut to approximately 52 Nm (5.2 m/kg, 38 ft/lb) with a torque wrench, then loosen the ring nut completely.
2. Retighten the lower ring nut 18 Nm (1.8 m/kg, 13 ft/lb).

 

[Frostbite155]

Yeah I just went to get my 2005 FZ6 inspected, and I've been feeling the slack in the fork so I told them to check it out. I bought the bike last fall, and the front fork was really really bad then, so they tightened it up and it was nice again until it slowly started to loosen up a bit again. This time they tried to tighten it up more but wouldn't pass it for inspection unless i get the steering head bearings replaced... which sucks... just paid $300 for replacing the rear tire, and they want another $300 for changing the bearings... this is the only thing i hate about being 17 and having a bike but no job... Haha. I don't feel the slack in the front fork after they tightened it up this time though, and i know of other dealerships that are not nearly as thorough with their inspection, and because i don't know how much longer I'm going to keep the bike (due to college next fall) i don't really feel like replacing them if it holds up. Thanks for providing info on the subject though, I wasn't sure if the stealership was trying to trick me into getting new bearings or what just because the fork was loose. I thank God for this forum

 

[deeptekkie]

While I haven't crossed this bridge yet, from what I've seen and heard it appears to me that water, (the likely cuprit on most of these), is getting into the bearings at the top and not getting out the bottom. I know the schematics show a bottom seal but it appears that there is only a cover or guard on the top. Perhaps water pressure during washing of the bike puts the water in there? Maybe being kept outside? Dunno. Just wondering myself. If we could make something that just sort of seals around the outside of the top crown bearing between the moving upper and the static bottom, maybe.....?

 

[Denver_FZ6]

While I haven't crossed this bridge yet, from what I've seen and heard it appears to me that water, (the likely cuprit on most of these), is getting into the bearings at the top and not getting out the bottom. I know the schematics show a bottom seal but it appears that there is only a cover or guard on the top. Perhaps water pressure during washing of the bike puts the water in there? Maybe being kept outside? Dunno. Just wondering myself. If we could make something that just sort of seals around the outside of the top crown bearing between the moving upper and the static bottom, maybe.....?

There is a real seal at the top and bottom of the stem. I changed my bearings to All-Balls and while I didn't have any corrosion issues, my interpretation of the problem was two fold:

• The seals are attemping to mate to a surface on the frame and since our frame is made up from two halves that come together at the stem, it's possible the two halves were not joined perfectly, allowing a gap between seal and frame which could allow water to ingress.
• The second issue is simply lack of grease around the bearings. I'm not sure it's reasonable to not expect some moisture to get in, a little more grease in there would offer some protection.

There is a small vent hole behind the stem which vents into the battery compartment area, but I don't think there's enough airflow though it to really purge the steering stem when moisture gets in there.

 

[MattyA]

As far as doing up tapered roller bearings with a torque wrench, i think its a bit hit and miss. What you want it to have them as loose as possible but still have 100% contact through the entire face of the roller.

What the manual says would be for thr ball roller which comes standerd.

After i read this thread i got a set of all-balls bearings cause its such a better piece of equipment. For 27 bucks i cant go wrong and mine were coming loose frequently from doing lots of wheelies and stoppies.

Il do a write up on the process, and post it up if you guys want it. Il put it up on another forum that i frequent.



sorry denver i just realised you stated your post was for the factory bearings, good research for us. :thumbsup:

 

[FZ6771]

I'll be checking mine next week, I had the same problem with the swingarm bearings. The guys at the yamaha factory are not greasing the bearings. I use Bel-Ray waterproof grease and so far no more problems.

 

[Denver_FZ6]

As far as doing up tapered roller bearings with a torque wrench, i think its a bit hit and miss. What you want it to have them as loose as possible but still have 100% contact through the entire face of the roller.

What the manual says would be for thr ball roller which comes standerd.

After i read this thread i got a set of all-balls bearings cause its such a better piece of equipment. For 27 bucks i cant go wrong and mine were coming loose frequently from doing lots of wheelies and stoppies.

Il do a write up on the process, and post it up if you guys want it. Il put it up on another forum that i frequent.

sorry denver i just realised you stated your post was for the factory bearings, good research for us. :thumbsup:

Not to discourage, but I believe BD43 has done a good write up of the process.

Even though I was installing the tapered bearings, I used the factory method of torque'ing the stem, then backing it off and re-torque'ing to slightly lower amount (don't have specs with me). I believe this is a sound process as many bearing installations require some type of seating method. Using this process, the steering was extremely light and zero slop despite the amount of torque applied. It wasn't until I installed the top seal I noticed any appreciable amount of steering resistance. The point being that any steering resistance is coming from the seal friction (and it's not much!)

 

[MattyA]

Sweet il have look for it when im doing them, Thanks!
Il post a pic of them if they are abnormal.

 

[deeptekkie]

In my opinion the obvious suspects would be: 1)Bad bearings to start with, 2)Lack of lubrication, 3)Water damage, or 4) Abuse by owner. In my biased, unprofessional opinion I think that:
1. Yamaha has been doing this (right) for many years. They surely have their act together on the metallurgical aspect of bearings as well as the bearing's resistance to brinnel from being impacted in the exact same spot all of the time. (Unless something is terribly wrong, we always hit bumps with our bars dead-ahead don't we?) 2. I would not think that a major player such as Yamaha would scrimp on bearing grease during assembly at the factory - if that were case the same may be suspected in premature swingarm bearing failure. Too, if additional lubrication was needed more frequently surely they would provide us with a grease fitting on the crown/neck area of the frame and on the rear swingarm. 3. Water getting into the steering crown would most likely be the culprit to cause the damage I am seeing in so many photos here. Too, keep in mind that after parking, the heat from the engine would rise directly under these bearings and if they are already wetted, oxidation may be greatly accelerated. That being the case, you would assume water getting into the top seal and not out the bottom seal would be the real problem. (If you look at the schematics it does appear that there is a good seal on the bottom but only a cover on the top) This one, (# 3), is my bet. Is this from the bike living outside, being ridden in the rain often, or too much washing by the owner? 4. I seriously doubt that abuse by the owner is the cause, though it is possible I guess. Unless you just beat the heck out of your front end every single time that you ride your bike, how can coming down from a wheelie do more damage than repeated heavy braking or traveling on very rough highways often? Just my thoughts. Flame away!
P.S. Maybe a poll of folks that have had problems concerning riding, washing, and storage habits would answer these questions?

 

[mogs08]

Im wondering, is it diffrences in the beringproblem if there is naked bike or with fairing.
Maby a poll could give statistic over that issue? opcorn:


:norway:

 

[mfgp]

I have a 2006 FZ6 and have had problems with the steering bearings since I bought it in 06. They have come loose several times and this morning I had to repack them. The lower one was rusted badly. I repacked them for now but need to replace the lower soon. Thanks for the input on the AllBalls...I will use those instead of stock.

Bottom line is that moisture is getting past the bottom seal and entering the bottom bearing. I suspect this is an aerodynamic issue....bear with me.

I believe the front end design, particularly the faring, causes air to be directed right at the lower headset seal, pushing water up into it when riding in the rain. Here is why I tend to think this is true: shortly after the first time I tightened the headset, I took the bike up to 100 mph plus, at which time a bunch of rusty water and grease blew up between the fork and gas tank and all over my arm and shirt. This, I believe was due to the pressure within the steering tube housing in the frame increasing from air being pushed directly into it at high speeds. Air went in, pressure increased, grease (and water) came out. I cranked it up to high speeds again, and the same thing happened. The headset became loose soon after. I believe at lower speeds, water is caught up into that same air stream path and pushed past the seal...water being heavier gets past more easily. The seal wasn't designed to handle these types of forces...so I believe this is a Yamaha design problem. From what I've seen, the problem is not reported as frequently from owners of 07 FZ6s and up when the faring design changed...but I believe the fork, bearings and seals are basically the same.

Anyway, my $0.02 for what it's worth. It seems to make sense.

 

[DaveOTZ]

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?

Just thought Id share... My wife saw this pic and thought it was chocolate cake...

 

[Cali rider]

I have a 2006 FZ6 and have had problems with the steering bearings since I bought it in 06. They have come loose several times and this morning I had to repack them. The lower one was rusted badly. I repacked them for now but need to replace the lower soon. Thanks for the input on the AllBalls...I will use those instead of stock.

Bottom line is that moisture is getting past the bottom seal and entering the bottom bearing. I suspect this is an aerodynamic issue....bear with me.

I believe the front end design, particularly the faring, causes air to be directed right at the lower headset seal, pushing water up into it when riding in the rain. Here is why I tend to think this is true: shortly after the first time I tightened the headset, I took the bike up to 100 mph plus, at which time a bunch of rusty water and grease blew up between the fork and gas tank and all over my arm and shirt. This, I believe was due to the pressure within the steering tube housing in the frame increasing from air being pushed directly into it at high speeds. Air went in, pressure increased, grease (and water) came out. I cranked it up to high speeds again, and the same thing happened. The headset became loose soon after. I believe at lower speeds, water is caught up into that same air stream path and pushed past the seal...water being heavier gets past more easily. The seal wasn't designed to handle these types of forces...so I believe this is a Yamaha design problem. From what I've seen, the problem is not reported as frequently from owners of 07 FZ6s and up when the faring design changed...but I believe the fork, bearings and seals are basically the same.

Anyway, my $0.02 for what it's worth. It seems to make sense.

100% agreement. Every report of failure has mentioned the BOTTOM bearing being rusted, NEVER the top. Water/moisture is coming up from the bottom.

 

[PhotoAl]

Bought my 2004 FZ6 in March with 2,800 miles on it. Currently it has 9,300 miles. In late August began noticing looseness in the front - stuff slop when going over bumps. Checked steering while on the center stand with front wheel off the ground - everything was tight. Slowly got worse so 6 weeks ago, after reading EVERY steering bearing post I ordered AllBalls and tightened the bearings. It was good for 4 or 5 weeks but the symptoms started to return including a "buzzing" around 9,000RPM and light throttle in first or second. Tore the front end down per the instructions except did not remove the fairing. Yup, lower bearing rusted! Had to cut the inner lower race off - used Dremel tool with a re-enforced cutoff wheel and cut most of the way thru and then used a steel chisel and my "small" hammer to crack it - slid right off then! I spent a good bit of time looking inside the frame to see evidence of water. On the two ridges or landing where the frame bolts go thru on the back side of the steering post there were water spots form water than had run down and pooled before running further down till it reached the bottom bearing. My suspicion is it came in around the top seal on the back side where it is not covered by the top triple clamp. Should have taken a photo but didn't. Below the top bearing there was a flat rubber washer which had rust around the shaft on both the top and bottom sides. Some minor discoloration of a few of the balls on the upper bearing but no real problems.

Many thanks for all who have posted to give me the courage to tackle this fix. Slowly doing more and more to the bike. I don't ride a lot in the rain but will from time to time. Rode from Chattanooga to Birmingham last winter at 42 F, night and raining - very memorable but not for the right reasons.

 

[Cali rider]

...My suspicion is it came in around the top seal on the back side where it is not covered by the top triple clamp...

...Some minor discoloration of a few of the balls on the upper bearing but no real problems...

Thanks for your input and pictures. I assume this picture is the upper bearing, correct? If so, the moisture that damaged the lower bearing did NOT flow past the upper bearing as it would look equally corroded.