tofastgt Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 How can I tell if my steering head bearings are worn out? I have 30,000 miles on my 99 and I want to make sure it's safe to ride. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 How can I tell if my steering head bearings are worn out? I have 30,000 miles on my 99 and I want to make sure it's safe to ride. Thanks, If you're not having any handling problems (like high-speed weave or wobble), you should be safe. The way I could tell that mine needed to be replaced was the popping or ping sound I would sometimes get when I would brake hard. It was kinda like the sound a rusty nut makes when you get it to loosen. With 30K on the clock, my opinion is to go ahead and replace them. It's not a hard job and the bearings are not that expensive. I used "All Balls" tapered bearing kit. Love um. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 IIRC, with the front end jacked up, you can wiggle the forks front to back. The only motion your forks should do is let the triple-T turn left and right smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ActionStarCBRxx Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 I noticed that when I would turn the bars (read push one bar or the other to turn) that I would feel a slowness or heavyness in the bars. Its like it was dragging a little bit. When you go to replace the bearings you will see a noticable improvement in how smooth and easy the bars are to turn. The bike is still in the air as I am replacing the tires... but just the simple physical turning of the bars with out the wheel on, you can feel how easy it is to turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFT Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 IIRC, with the front end jacked up, you can wiggle the forks front to back. The only motion your forks should do is let the triple-T turn left and right smoothly. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Thankfully, these bearings do not go out overnight, so you should check your forks every time you replace the front tire or do anything that gives you a chance to get the front wheel off the ground. Also keep in mind that you might just need to tighten the bearings down, but I'm not sure what the odds of that are since if they were seated correctly, no slack should develop...ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXX Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Every thread you read on this points to "all balls" brand tapered bearings from Chapperal (sp?) ....... about $35 I put in a set in March w/about 35K on the bike. No more shakes or anything. Been 11K since then w/ no problems. Plenty of threads here re: installation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanix Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Here I am, spouting sacriledge again. I had a click sound when braking, thought it was kinda weird. I just pulled the triple tree apart, packed the bearings and put it back together. This was just over 30K and I am over 51K now, no issues. I'm a cheap lazy bastard with lots of grease, oil and cleaning solutions in my garage and a girlfriend I send home when I wanna get dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Eddy Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Here I am, spouting sacriledge again. I had a click sound when braking, thought it was kinda weird. I just pulled the triple tree apart, packed the bearings and put it back together. This was just over 30K and I am over 51K now, no issues. I'm a cheap lazy bastard with lots of grease, oil and cleaning solutions in my garage and a girlfriend I send home when I wanna get dirty. You went through the hassle of taking the whole front end apart just to grease the bearing? You are a cheap one, the ALL BALLS tapered head bearing are like $35 bux! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firedragon Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 The Honda main dealer says my bearings are shot. I find that a bit unreasonable at 3112 miles from new. The taper bearings kits would seem to need a higher degree of headstock machining than the standard balls to align accurately. The headstock may well be machined to that accuracy anyway but then why did Honda not fit them? Just asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrzxxx Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 The Honda main dealer says my bearings are shot.(D) I find that a bit unreasonable at 3112 miles from new.(a) The taper bearings kits would seem to need a higher degree of headstock machining than the standard balls to align accurately.( The headstock may well be machined to that accuracy anyway but then why did Honda not fit them? ©Just asking. a)So would I b)No, the same. c)35 dollar compaired to 3 dollar. D) see a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CxBXR Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Might as well pick you up a set of muffler bearings too. They may be shot depending on your mileage... though Im not sure if they are availible in tapered or not Do you have an annoying rattling in your mufflers? Are they sagging a little? Don't quite sound right? That could be the symptoms of a worn muffler bearing. Allow me to introduce the KaleCoAuto muffler bearing! It's unique iron-graphite composite with pre-grease-packed assembly provides over 200,000 miles of smooth muffler operation! It is most likely they will outlast your mufflers. Also works well on heavy duty exhaust systems. One per muffler http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=...;products_id=10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firedragon Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 My point is Honda, renowned for build quality, use the cheapest option available for even critical stuff like steering. So what on earth do the cheapo manufacturers use? Honda did not even offer the option of a super delux version with proper steering head bearings for an extra $30 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RC Randy Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 My point is Honda, renowned for build quality, use the cheapest option available for even critical stuff like steering. So what on earth do the cheapo manufacturers use? Honda did not even offer the option of a super delux version with proper steering head bearings for an extra $30 . I'm sure Honda hasn't used the same supplier for steering head bearings in the long production run of the XX. It could be one supplier has a lower quality bearing, or you could have just had a defective bearing or it was improperly installed when new. Just a thought. Along the same topic, one of my hobbies if model aviation, and an Engine brand that is know for very high quality engines was having lot of rear bearing failures. After checking bearings in a few engines, I found that there were two different brands of bearings, and one was not up to the job it was intended to do. The cages would come apart and run the debris thru the engine ruining it, in just a few flights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrzxxx Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 My point is Honda, renowned for build quality, use the cheapest option available for even critical stuff like steering. So what on earth do the cheapo manufacturers use? Honda did not even offer the option of a super deluxe version with proper steering head bearings for an extra $30 . I would say that failure on the bearings are rare in typical motorcycle terms. Now proper maintenance is not. The bearings are hardened and if correct adequate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 My point is Honda, renowned for build quality, use the cheapest option available for even critical stuff like steering. So what on earth do the cheapo manufacturers use? Honda did not even offer the option of a super deluxe version with proper steering head bearings for an extra $30 . There is nothing inherently wrong with ball bearings just that the tapered are better, just like most parts, I just replaced my head bearings with tapered at ~70 000km even though the OEM were fine because I was replacing the forks anyway $30 x a million XX's alone is a lot of $$$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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