Tapered Roller Bearings For Front Fork:

I am in the process of rebuilding the front end on my 1980 KZ1000 LTD. I am changing the old ball bearings and will be going with the tapered roller bearings. My question is do I treat these like you would wheel bearings on a car? By this I mean just pack them in axel grease and when tightening them down adjust with some preload.

Thank You
Jim Smith

Yes, regarding the grease. The preload should be very slight. On mine, I kept turning the handlebars back and forth until I just felt some resistance, and then backed off until the resistance was barely perceptible. I know this is an unscientific answer, but perhaps others can chime in with more specifics. I had tightened the original ball bearings, thinking I fould firm up the front end, but they quickly wore notches in the races, giving the steering a notchy feel. Unpleasant to ride.

Also, the bearings are a non-standard size. I thought I would just go down to a local bearing supply store, but they are odd. I ordered mine through Z1-Enterprises.

Absolutley pack them with grease. Look in your Kawasaki Sevice Manual for the torque spec for your bike; it will be there. Use the same torque spec as the old ball bearings. Ed

Thanks for the replays, that is about what I thought. On car and truck wheel bearings I would snug the bearings down, spin the rotor while tightening then loosening several times to get the bearings seated then snug it up then turn to get the nearest hole for the cotter key.

I already have the bearings, can’t remember if I got them from Z1 or Redline.

Jim Smith

I've done wheel bearings on cars and trucks exactly the same way you describe. The steering stem bearings on Kawasakis are done differently. As an example, on the '77 KZ650 the steering stem locknut torque spec is 19.5 - 24 ft lbs. Your bike may be a little different, so check the manual for the correct spec. When torqued correctly, with the front end off the ground the handlebars will still continue to swing from centered to either lock after a light push, but there will be zero fore and aft play in the forks. Ed