Any UK riders replaced Steering Head Bearings?

[Jez]

Mine's doing the old clunk click over bumps and feels a bit loose. I had it in to the local Yamaha dealer for a TPS recall and just out of curiosity asked them how much to replace steering head bearings. The stock bearings alone (which as we know weren't much good) came to £100 odd. Add labour and VAT and it was just shy of £300.

I've seen US members post about the All Ballz bearing kit, and have found a UK supplier here: All Balls Bearings & Seals from Apico/Vesty UK Motocross Parts & Clothing Distributors

I can't see the exact FZ6 kit in their parts catalogue, but general steering bearings upper and lower come to £29.99. I reckon my local bike workshop would fit it for a lot less than the main dealers as well.

So has anyone had their steering head bearings replaced? If so, what did you use, and how much were you quoted?

 

[mukulu]

Mine's doing the old clunk click over bumps and feels a bit loose. I had it in to the local Yamaha dealer for a TPS recall and just out of curiosity asked them how much to replace steering head bearings. The stock bearings alone (which as we know weren't much good) came to £100 odd. Add labour and VAT and it was just shy of £300.

I've seen US members post about the All Ballz bearing kit, and have found a UK supplier here: All Balls Bearings & Seals from Apico/Vesty UK Motocross Parts & Clothing Distributors

I can't see the exact FZ6 kit in their parts catalogue, but general steering bearings upper and lower come to £29.99. I reckon my local bike workshop would fit it for a lot less than the main dealers as well.

So has anyone had their steering head bearings replaced? If so, what did you use, and how much were you quoted?

Hello mate,
I did my bearings in Jan. You can order the All-Balls directly from the states. They were delivered fairly quickly, and didnt cost too much. I think i paid £40. It was actually $57. That was with delivery.
I was going to use the UK site, but couldnt find the part for th FZ6, and didnt want to guess it. They are really good, and come with the seals. I have read about some people not getting the correct size seal for the bottom, so when you get yours done, mention to them to keep the bottom seal incase it needs to be used again. You could do it yourself, if you are keen. It wasnt that hard, and although I have never done it before, and the bottom bearing was welded to the shaft, It only took me a few hours to complete. You might need to take the triple tree to a workshop and ask them to remove the bearing race. It took my local place about 10mins to get it off, and they only charged me a fiver. It would have taken me a long time! I have since purchased the correct tool to remove them.
If you need any info/help send me a message, and I'll help all I can.

 

[v1jay]

I did mines over a year ago, managed to source mines from a UK Engineering company [cannot remember the name now]. Cost was about 20 odd pounds i think, for the AllBallz head-bearing/races/seals. I have a 2006 FZ6 btw.

Work took us practically the whole day, as i had to pop out and buy a dremel to lop off the bottom race - the bastard thing was so hard to get off, and i was loosing the will to live after about three hours -- just on the bottom race...

mukulu is on the ball, take it to a bike shop [ask em first] and let them remove it quick time. I had a mission finding a wide enough pipe to bash down the new bottom race, but managed to hack-saw a shovel handle, which was just right :thumbup:

I haven't looked back since. HTH's, cheers... vj

 

[Jez]

Bit of a bump here, but I finally got them done.

Having looked at some great write-ups on here, I realised that this job was way beyond my capabilities. I found a small workshop near here who said he could do it, and with tapered bearings too - RW Gibb Bikes, in Knodishall, near Leiston, Suffolk. They don't have a website, don't take cards, and are a bit off the beaten track.

Anyway he's done it. The old lower one was full of rust and muck - no wonder it was rattling around. It feels like a new bike now. The bill was £40 for the tapered bearings (dunno where he got them, but they work alright), and £60 labour. So I saved over £200 by not getting the dealer to do it, and have better bearings to boot.

 

[von_trippenhopf]

I put taper rollers in mine earlier this year, made a hell of a difference!
Surprising what you can ride with when you don't know any different!

 

[sniff6]

This may help :

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRVhPmb7qXo&feature=related]YouTube - Replace your headstock bearings - removing the yokes[/ame]

 

[ozgurakman]

This may help :

YouTube - Replace your headstock bearings - removing the yokes

thank you.

 

[yourebarred]

These? Yamaha FZ6 SA Fazer 2006 Steering head bearings kit | Pyramid Parts United Kingdom

 

[nivag]

WeMoto sell the All Balls ones

Yamaha FZ6-S2 Non ABS / Floating Calipers 06-09 Tapered Headrace Bearing Set (By All Balls USA) Parts at Wemoto - The UK's No.1 On-Line Motorcycle Parts Retailer