Lifespan of headset bearings?

[cowboyz]

Finally done in my headset bearings. 125,000km. I dont actually know how long they have been in there. I brought the bike at 68,000km and have never done them so that makes at least 57000km from them.
Been getting alot of comment about the wheelies causing damage to the headset bearings and no wonder they didnt last long.

So having a given as I pull wheelies all the time how much do you think I have reduced the life of the headset by? I would have thought 60k would be ok for a set of bearings.

Thoughts?

[The Pastor]

whats a headset bearing? you mean steering head bearings?

[gammaguy]

a few random streering bearing thoughts.....

wheelies notch them.

more wheelies,more notches.

i have a bike thats 22 years old.i remove and grease them every two years.theyre still in perfect condition.

i dont do wheelies on it even tho i could.

i doubt i will ever replace them as i dont ride the thing every day.its taken me 22 years to rack up 42000 km.

[vindy500]

i dont think its so much the wheelies as much as the poor landing.... ;)

[cowboyz]

whats a headset bearing? you mean steering head bearings?
yep. ok steering head bearings. Now we are on the same page, got any thoughts on it.

a few random streering bearing thoughts.....

wheelies notch them.

more wheelies,more notches.

i have a bike thats 22 years old.i remove and grease them every two years.theyre still in perfect condition.

i dont do wheelies on it even tho i could.

i doubt i will ever replace them as i dont ride the thing every day.its taken me 22 years to rack up 42000 km.
yep. I have no doubt that wheelies damage bearings. How much reduced life is the question though. Seems alot think bearings should last forever, but my gsxf600 had to have the bearings replaced at 60k when I brought it and that was never wheelied. I sold it at 107,000 and they were still good when it left me.


i dont think its so much the wheelies as much as the poor landing.... ;)

true that. dont always get it right. Sometimes it can get a bit rough.

[The Pastor]

what dose it matter anyway? replace them when you feel that they are buggerd.

you know what your doing isnt good for them so just replace them more often, iirc they are not THAT expensive.

[vifferman]

They can notched regardless of wheelies. Mine were, and it had never had any hard wheelie landings from me.
I suspect that aluminium frames don't help their longevity, as the ball races can move slightly, then the little bit of looseness means the bearings have more freeplay which means they wear out faster. And maybe the fact that apart from the initial adjustment, bearings generally get no attention (regrease, adjustment) over their lifetimes doesn't help either.
Mine were replaced at around 40,000 miles (~70,000km). They were quite notched around the straight-ahead position, so the bike had a momentary heistation when tipping into corners. Very perturbing.
Replaced them with tapered roller bearings.

[cowboyz]

what dose it matter anyway? replace them when you feel that they are buggerd.

you know what your doing isnt good for them so just replace them more often, iirc they are not THAT expensive.

Of course, they are being replaced. They arent actually that bad. Cant notice when riding but with the bike stopped there is a little hesitation when the wheel is centre turning the bars. Can hear a little click. Booked into the shop (waiting for the reference to my thread about doing your own mantaince) because after talking to a few people 6/10 of them say the races are almost impossible to get out without some serious tools. That and I havent got a good way to support my bike with the front end missing so I will grumble and cough up for someone else to do it. BTW $84 for bearings $300 labour is the quote.

As for your question, what does it matter.. well, I was kinda interested as both road bikes I have done serious ks on have developed the issue at about the same time. And this is a biking forum. Seems discussion about bike related topics dont do very well however the thread on how to fuck a chicken is getting record hits.


They can notched regardless of wheelies. Mine were, and it had never had any hard wheelie landings from me.
I suspect that aluminium frames don't help their longevity, as the ball races can move slightly, then the little bit of looseness means the bearings have more freeplay which means they wear out faster. And maybe the fact that apart from the initial adjustment, bearings generally get no attention (regrease, adjustment) over their lifetimes doesn't help either.
Mine were replaced at around 40,000 miles (~70,000km). They were quite notched around the straight-ahead position, so the bike had a momentary heistation when tipping into corners. Very perturbing.
Replaced them with tapered roller bearings.
Did you do them yourself? Have any issues? Did you replace them with SKF or similiar aftermarket ones? Price comparision?
Perhaps hard braking in a striaght line has more of an effect?

[NZsarge]

If you want a hand or just someone to hassle you and give you shit let me know when you're gonna fit em...

[The Pastor]

ive replaced them myself, they are easy to do, but yeah the correct tools (bearing puller and suitable drift) make the job way easier.

[cowboyz]

MINT. I have a plan

[NZsarge]

MINT. I have a plan

Not a problem, actually you can bring it over and use the bike lift if you think it'll help.

[cowboyz]

now there is a plan in motion. will the bike lift support the bike without the front forks on the bike?

[banditrider]

If you want a hand or just someone to hassle you and give you shit let me know when you're gonna fit em...

Nice! Stick me in the last category too if you want...

[NZsarge]

now there is a plan in motion. will the bike lift support the bike without the front forks on the bike?

No, it's only really good for getting the bike to a height that more comfortable to work on for long period of time. Not exactly sure how you're gonna suspend the front actually....

[Mom]

Tie Down around frame, to rafter on ceiling?

[NZsarge]

Tie Down around frame, to rafter on ceiling?

Yeah probably unless Cowboyz has some other cunning plan.... which he usually does..

[The Stranger]

a few random streering bearing thoughts.....

wheelies notch them.

more wheelies,more notches.

i have a bike thats 22 years old.i remove and grease them every two years.theyre still in perfect condition.



For the sake of $30.00?
I'd just run them until they are shagged and replace them.

[Mc TOOL]

I had to do the paso at 60,000km's ( when I bought it ) and the 900ss at 26'000 miles ( uk Import ) and I dont do wheelies, both were notched at the straight ahead position

[The Pastor]

For the sake of $30.00?
I'd just run them until they are shagged and replace them.
where do u get your bearings from? mine are like $100 for the set!

[The Stranger]

where do u get your bearings from? mine are like $100 for the set!

Oh no, you didn't use "genuine" did you?
Last head bearings were from Waitemata Hydraulics (SKF Brand) but Auckland Bearing Supplies have a better range - though sometimes, in hard to get sizes they only have cheap brands.

Carrier bearing and seal for the XT from ABS was $14.00 and was an NSK bearing.

[The Pastor]

Oh no, you didn't use "genuine" did you?
Last head bearings were from Waitemata Hydraulics (SKF Brand) but Auckland Bearing Supplies have a better range - though sometimes, in hard to get sizes they only have cheap brands.

Carrier bearing and seal for the XT from ABS was $14.00 and was an NSK bearing.
so you take the old ones out and ask them to find somthing the same size?

iirc mine have a dust seal made out of thin metal - gets destoyed when taking out the bearings (or at least the way i take em out - brute force) and iirc that alone was $30

[The Stranger]

so you take the old ones out and ask them to find somthing the same size?

iirc mine have a dust seal made out of thin metal - gets destoyed when taking out the bearings (or at least the way i take em out - brute force) and iirc that alone was $30

WTF is iirc?

[The Pastor]

btw you can jack the bike up with a car jack then place blocks of wood under it to give more of a stable platform. (but be careful still).

i'd loosen all the required bolts first tho, so you dont have to put much force into loosing stuck bolts.

you're going to need a large socket, and a large wrench bar to get the big steering head nut off and a large somthing that can fit down the stem to smash out the bearing (called a drift) or you might be able to use a bearing puller. (dont have one of them, but aparantly they work wonders)

[The Pastor]

WTF is iirc?
if i recall correctly

[cowboyz]

i have decided to let the shop have their crack at it. alot less stress for me. I will take all bits off the front of the bike before i drop it in to them to save some labour charge. Hopefully it will work out

[The Pastor]

Its a shame your not in auckland, i would of shown you how to do it!

[cowboyz]

it is not a case of not knowing how to do it. I work with heavy machinery on a daily basis. My problem is supporting the bike and not wanting to break anything.

[Maha]

it is not a case of not knowing how to do it. I work with heavy machinery on a daily basis. My problem is supporting the bike and not wanting to break anything.

A golf club is not classed as heavy machinery.....

[cowboyz]

Tuis come in large cans now...............

[gammaguy]

For the sake of $30.00?
I'd just run them until they are shagged and replace them.

truth is,some sickos get a real kick out of riding a correctly maintained and serviced machine,instead of letting it dictate when it will need working on.

im a control freak,clearly.:rolleyes:

[cowboyz]

I took the fairings off and gave ANZA the bike and got it back for a total bill of $196. Pretty good I thought. Havent actually had a chance to ride it since I got it back but seems to be doing the job.