Steering Head Roller Bearing - Upgrade or Boondoogle?

[Patent1]

There seems to be some debate on the worth of replacing OEM ball bearings with roller bearings (All Balls, etc). See the thread over at Sport Touring Net (https://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,33753.0.html). The arguments against the taper bearing upgrade seem convincing.

I am curious how many FJR owners actually lubed their steering bearings vs. replaced them with tapered bearings. For those who "upgraded" to taper bearings, did you replace them because of wear/corrosion or just because you could? I doubt you would notice any improvement in handling if your OEM bearings had been properly lubed and torqued.

Jim

 

[Ignacio]

Sure, lots of debate...all from Mr. 34 posts. <_<

Regardless of lubing I found the ball bearings built up grooves in the races at about 60,000 and changing out to tapered this winter. All the folks on FJRs I've heard change them out have had nothing but praise...and they're relatively cheap.

It's also been talked about here many times.

If I didn't have worn bearings I probably wouldn't change them though.

 

[weekend rider]

Change them out I did and it makes a difference, it is a plus for your steering.

 

[Geezer]

I've had steering head bearings wear out on other bikes so I changed mine on the FJR to the rollers as preemptive maintenance This seems to be an excellent application for tapered roller bearings rather than ball bearings. With the extra surface area you are less likely to dent a race from hard bumps.

 

[SkooterG]

160,000 miles on my original head bearings. I have never re-lubed them. They work fine.

 

[FJRay]

I have looked at them a couple times because its easy while changing fork oil. Never any problem and probably won't bother again unless a problem is indicated. I think it is a good idea to check and lube once to make sure all is well and then forget it.

 

[Go Far]

My OEM races are pitted at 50K. All Balls bearing set is on order.

 

[profireguy]

I'm "upgrading" mine because my front end took an impact hitting a dog. I had no complaints prior, but thought it would be a good time to make the change while I had the forks out.

 

[S76]

I had steering head problems right from the get go. Torqued, and even over torqued, I still had play in the head bearings. Changed to tapered and no problems since.

 

[Lake Powell]

I replaced my stock set of roller bearings on my FJR when it had a grand total of 6000 miles. After countless Yamaha Dirt bikes and knowing how little grease is used during the build I figured why not. I also had the forks rebuilt at that time as well.

Overall big improvement! It just seems as though surface irregularities do not upset the bike as much and it feels so much more planted and precise.

 

[Diablo1]

I have 75,000 miles on my 2006 AE and the original steering head bearings are doing fine. If/when my bike needs new bearings, I’ll use OEM ball bearings because they are easier to adjust to the correct torque than roller bearings. Roller bearings in the steering neck are more likely to create wonky handling because of their sensitivity to the torque setting.

 

[RossKean]

I have 75,000 miles on my 2006 AE and the original steering head bearings are doing fine. If/when my bike needs new bearings, I’ll use OEM ball bearings because they are easier to adjust to the correct torque than roller bearings. Roller bearings in the steering neck are more likely to create wonky handling because of their sensitivity to the torque setting.

15 year old thread resurrection.
FWIW, I ran the OEM for the better part of 200,000 miles on my '07 and currently over 100,000 miles on my 2011 without any issues. Check lube and torque every couple of years and no issues with vague steering or head shake (except for a bad tire on one occasion). Others have reported head shake problems with standard bearings that were only cured with the tapered set. If it ain't broke, don't fix it but a number of people have found them to be beneficial. Adequate maintenance, of course, is necessary for either type.

 

[torch]

Tapered roller bearings are far less prone to brinelling and far less sensitive to adjustment than their ball-laden cousins. They had been the go-to choice for motorcycle steering heads decades before the FJR. That Yamaha would use anything less on their flagship offering was as perplexing in 2003 as it is today.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with cleaning and repacking the OEM ball bearings -- it's not much more effort to replace them at that level of disassembly. Once the time comes to service the steering head, I swap in a set of tapered rollers.

But that's just my 2¢. And worth every penny.

 

[RossKean]

Tapered roller bearings are far less prone to brinelling and far less sensitive to adjustment than their ball-laden cousins.

I don't disagree but in the absence of any problems on either of the FJRs I have owned, I am not inclined to make a swap "just because", as per my post above.

On the other hand, I would likely switch to the tapered bearings if I ran into "notchiness" in the steering due to brinelling, biased steering, or if I encountered deceleration head-shake that was not attributable to a bad tire. The tapered roller bearing is more robust and the load is distributed over a larger area of bearing/race.

 

[Diablo1]

Tapered roller steering bearings are not less sensitive to adjust than ball bearings. Been there, done that with other motorcycles. While it is true that the larger contact area of roller bearings should make them more durable, I know of no manufacturer that uses them in production motorcycles.

 

[RossKean]

Tapered roller steering bearings are not less sensitive to adjust than ball bearings. Been there, done that with other motorcycles. While it is true that the larger contact area of roller bearings should make them more durable, I know of no manufacturer that uses them in production motorcycles.

Tapered bearings on my 2017 BMW F700GS. Easy to adjust and both handling and bearing longevity are highly dependent upon torque. Quite a few people have had to replace them due to brinelling, usually because the bearings get hammered into the races in rougher terrain - made worse with bearings too loose.

When I got mine, handling felt like I was trying to ride on a steep hump running down the middle of the road- felt like it kept falling off one side and then the other requiring frequent adjustments. Steering didn't feel especially tight but I was constantly correcting. Bike was transformed by loosening the bearing torque. Bearings were still in good shape, much to my surprise.

 

[art miller]

Tapered roller steering bearings are not less sensitive to adjust than ball bearings. Been there, done that with other motorcycles. While it is true that the larger contact area of roller bearings should make them more durable, I know of no manufacturer that uses them in production motorcycles.

Interesting to read the different opinions. I have owned three FJR's and ridden about 200,000 miles combined. None of the bikes ever had a steering head bearing issue. I had the head nut retorqued on the break-in service and once again at about 8000 miles. Never did another torque check after that.

 

[Old Guy]

Tapered roller steering bearings are not less sensitive to adjust than ball bearings. Been there, done that with other motorcycles. While it is true that the larger contact area of roller bearings should make them more durable, I know of no manufacturer that uses them in production motorcycles.

My '99 ZRX1100 came with tapered bearings.

 

[rbentnail]

Interesting to read the different opinions. I have owned three FJR's and ridden about 200,000 miles combined. None of the bikes ever had a steering head bearing issue. I had the head nut retorqued on the break-in service and once again at about 8000 miles. Never did another torque check after that.

Interesting indeed. Just reinforces that not all bikes are the same.

My '07 had the decel wobble from day 1 and zero miles. I had little to no relief with tire pressures, different tires, suspension settings, bearing repack & retorque, fork/front wheel torque sequence, fork service or upgrade, yada, yada, yada. Nothing permanently solved the problem until a tapered bearing install- it never came back. At 140+K miles now. For me this is on 2 different gen bikes as well, the 2nd owner replaced the bearings for the same problem with the '13 I got from him. 14K miles later, not a hint of it.

Be happy you didn't deal with it, but that doesn't mean others of us didn't either.

 

[FJRForever]

Interesting indeed. Just reinforces that not all bikes are the same.

My '07 had the decel wobble from day 1 and zero miles. I had little to no relief with tire pressures, different tires, suspension settings, bearing repack & retorque, fork/front wheel torque sequence, fork service or upgrade, yada, yada, yada. Nothing permanently solved the problem until a tapered bearing install- it never came back. At 140+K miles now. For me this is on 2 different gen bikes as well, the 2nd owner replaced the bearings for the same problem with the '13 I got from him. 14K miles later, not a hint of it.

Be happy you didn't deal with it, but that doesn't mean others of us didn't either.

I thought I would add my two cents worth to this just for others who come wondering about steering head shake. I had a 07 FJR since day one for 13 years. Bought it in 08. It barely had any problems at all. Rode it 144,000 miles. No headshake. Got a new 2022 and it had steering head shake from day one only when I took hands off the handlebars going 30 to 45 mph. Took the handle bars off and the steering nut was finger loose. Torgued it down. Still same steering head shake. Just finally replaced steering head bearings with tapered bearings at 18,000 miles. No more steering head shake. Surprisingly for me the front end felt quite a bit more solid, planted and controlled. Made me feel quite a bit more confident and happy with the front end. I did not expect any of that. Very glad I got it done.