76 kz900 steering head bearing question.

I am about to perform maintenance on the steering bearings on my 76 kz900. I'm not having any problems, it's just time to do so. My question is regarding an upgrade to roller bearings. The normal ball bearings seem to be fine. I just regreased the front hub bearings and the old grease and bearings looked just fine so I have no reason to suspect any difference in the steering head.

Is the upgrade worth while? $50 plus shipping vs $0 just to regrease. What are the installation issues? I believe the inner races need to be exchanged. How do you do that?

Thanx for your input.

I say if the old bearings and races are good, clean 'em, grease 'em, put 'em back in. The roller bearings tend to last longer, but they create a tiny bit more drag. I'd wait until the balls have dimpled the races before changing them. The old races have to be driven out of the steering head. The lower one can be a real pita sometimes. You will likely need a pickle fork or bearing press to get the lower bearing off the steering head.
ymmv

definately change em

I have noticed when I have the bike on the center stand, and jacked up so the front wheel is off the ground, there seems to be a detent in the steering at dead center. Is this normal, or is there an issue with the bearings?

I'm a bid of a procrastinator, so I've done the front hub, the rear hub, and swing arm to put off tearing apart the whole front end. Although that probably isn't much more work than the back end.

Wondering about the 1/8th inch thick washer for the right side of the rear axle. After I took it apart, I got things mixed up. Does this washer go inside the chain adjuster next to the spacer or outside the adjuster next to the castlated nut? I'm pretty sure it goes outside, just want to be sure.

Galactica wrote:

I have noticed when I have the bike on the center stand, and jacked up so the front wheel is off the ground, there seems to be a detent in the steering at dead center. Is this normal, or is there an issue with the bearing?

Galactica,
That detent is the beginning of the end in your steering head bearings. Definantly not normal and I would guess that you could not get the preload correct on those bearings without it feeling notchy. The tapered roller bearings are probably overkill, but if you need to replace your bearings, then you may as well use 'em. I have seen bicycles that got notchy with the ball bearing style headsets, so it seems a worthy upgrade. I second what TexasKZ said. My top race came out easy, but the bottom was a fight. Funny, my Clymer manual suggests that you use a wooden dowel to remove the races HAHAHAHAH!

I just changed mine last week. Mine also had the detent which is a sure sign to replace them. It is after all about safety. Here is a quick tutorial on what is involved.

First I used a handle for a floor jack to remove the cups



Here is a pic of the tapered roller bearings. The larger one goes to the bottom.



The top one will end up being flush with the frame, and the bottom one will go all the way in untill it stops

Here is the bottom one driven all the way home


And the top one is flush


Removing the lower race from the stem


And finally the lower bearing installed on the stem with a liberal coat of grease, waiting to be installed into the frame.




All in all it took about 30 minutes to do. Keep in mind my bike was torn down to the frame at the time so it may take a little bit longer if you have to remove the fork tubes and all that is connected. It is well worth the money spent to know it is done and all is good when done. Good Luck