2008 Steering Head Bearing Upgrade

[SeattleTy]

I will be upgrading my suspension and need some helpful recommendations.

I am going with a Penske 8987 rear shock and GP suspension upgrade fork kit.

I wanted to do the steering head bearing also.

I would like to know from personal experiences what brand of steering head bearing would be a great choice.

Thank you for your feedback and recommendation.

 

[FJRay]

Some swear by the tapered bearings sold by All Balls. I checked mine and lubed them once just to say I did it but I think the stock bearings are just fine when properly torqued. IMHO

 

[worney]

Some swear by the tapered bearings sold by All Balls. I checked mine and lubed them once just to say I did it but I think the stock bearings are just fine when properly torqued. IMHO

+1 on all balls.

 

[FJRed]

In my opinion, the All Balls tapered roller bearings are definitely worth it. I replaced my stock bearings with them last year and the 40mph deceleration "wobble" is completely gone.

Ed.

 

[RossKean]

In my opinion, the All Balls tapered roller bearings are definitely worth it. I replaced my stock bearings with them last year and the 40mph deceleration "wobble" is completely gone.

Ed.

Ed, I remember you mentioning that you had replaced the steering head bearings because of a wobble problem. I have never had any hint of a decel wobble on this bike. I wonder what the difference is with some who experience this issue? In your case, I'm pretty sure it wasn't simply a lack of proper maintenance!

I had a wobble on a previous bike (Yamaha Venture) and it turned out to be a cupped front tire in combination with head bearings that were not tight enough. The Venture was a bit of a boat anyway and I wasn't tempted to do more than the minimum to optimize steering. I'll leave the steering head bearings on the FJR alone until I have issues.

Ross

 

[Queensland Ken]

All Balls tapered roller bearings are definitely worth it

Couldn't agree more.

Picked up my 07 late last year, rode it back from Victoria to Queensland and had a few issues with it.

The bike was only 11k kms old and did a BIG service shortly afterwards, everything including tapered roller bearings.

The origional roller bearings / race were buggered.

Tapered rollers fixed the deceleration problem even with a stuffed front tyre.

 

[SeattleTy]

I think the best choice for steering head bearing is "All Balls".

Does everyone here agree that this would the best choice?