re-using head bearings

Does anyone rebuild(pack) the existing steering tube bearings? Amy advise on how to tell of I need parts for it or not? I think the bearings on Z1 are great but I cant do them on both my bikes.

If you can afford to change over to tapered roller bearings that is the best way to go . The factory ball bearings grease gets old and water gets in making them sticky ,, I dont see why you couldnt clean them up and install them back in.. Make sure you get them all back in ,,, :whistle:

.... a set of rollers is like $35.00. Why wouldn't you just upgrade?

If my plan was to replace, I would have, that wasnt the question. Why even post that? 35 bucks for me is better spent elsewhere, and they are just over 40 for the record. Anyway....... yes I found a place where I can get new ball bearings and will re-grease them and replace. I figure they were designed that way, and new ones are super cheap(under 10 bucks for both bikes) so...

twowheeledterror wrote:

(Gotta love it that you will repost if you accidentally hit the back button. Can't we do something about that?!?!)<br><br>Post edited by: twowheeledterror, at: 2006/03/11 01:24

Wait for a Mod to come along and delete the double post:)
And it's not only the back button, it double posts on me sometimes and I never hit the back button.

As long as the bearings and races are in good condition, repack them and ride to your heart's content

I agree. If you do not see any scoring, why replace? Yes, they are not as good as roller bearings, and you may have to repack in another 20 years, but so what?
They are a bit of a booger to get back in, use plenty of grease to make them stay in place.

Let's keep it civil here

If there were a problem with the original ball race bearings, I am fairly certain there would have been at least one class action lawsuit filed by now. And keep in mind that style bearing set up was used in most (if not all) bikes for over 50 years after tapered roller bearings became available. So I'd say it's a proven fact that it works. Nothing lasts forever, even tapered roller bearings wear out. As long as the races are not dented or worn out, the balls are in good shape, and you keep them greased and adjusted, the ball race bearings will last close to forever. I think someone on here has a 650 with over 160k miles on it still running the ball race bearings.
It's one of those "Nice to have" things, not a "Must have" thing

If you want the ultimate tapered bearing setup, then be prepared to spend somewhere between $300-$500 for ABEC class 7 bearings. As for me, I'll settle for "Good enough"

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/03/11 12:56

pk thats what I thought. But since when I popped the forks and bottom of the tree off of my bike, I may have lost a few! So I counted the top on one of my other bikes and counted 19, can any confirm that:

a) both top and bottom bearings are the same
b) that both should have 19 a piece?

I have actually never heard of a bearing coming out of place, I guess if one re-assembled it loosely it would be possible, but the steering would be unbelievably sloppy.

xc

I didn't post anything that wasn't civil. :thumbup:

And I've seen ball bearings pop multiple times. The problem was the retaining sleeve that the balls were placed in. Over time they get weak and they are relatively thin. Sand and water get in there and deteriorate eventually causing them to fail.

I never said they don't work... but I did say that rollers work BETTER... and they do. But hey, if people don't want to upgrade to make things better thats their choice.

Post edited by: twowheeledterror, at: 2006/03/11 18:50

Any ideas on bearing count anyone???? I think I had 19, minus whatever rolled away!

Edited by "The Posting Police"

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/03/11 20:29

im gonna say 19 tops and 20 lowers they all look the same to me as far as size goes. come on guys lets get back to building bikes here.goodluck happy wrenching!

My factory manual has 19 top, 20 bottom. They are 1/4". When I replaced mine for tapered I noticed the bottom race was dented from the balls. It had a small split starting too.