ball vs. tapered head bearings?

been lurking a bit as 10K miles on, my 90' still runs like a champ,

till now at least.... head bearings need replacement.

the originals are ball bearings, a bit expensive at that too.

and then there are the tapered roller aftermarket kits, a tad cheaper

any pros and cons?

fell free to chime in.

ciao

TG

 

As Tink says, tapered head/conical roller/Timken bearings are infinitely superior to bsll bearings, due to their greater load bearing surface area.
I recently replaced my Hayabusa's OEM steering head bearing with a Timken bearing. - The OEM version was $180; the Timken-style bearing, made in the same factory as the OEM one(?!), cost $50.

See if these guys have what you need: Variations Root Page

 

thanks guys

always had tapered in all my bikes, so was kind of surprised to see the VFR OEM's were balls

guess i'll just get a kit with the rigth seals included, as these are specific to the tapered ones.

Cheers

TG

 

I prefer balls cuz i believe they add less friction into the steering system and therefore provide a superior feeling for the signals the front tire sends to the rider.

They do require more maintance and more frequent replacement, however, and unless someone follows the service manual's re-greasing mileages (about 12-15k i think) they are usually spoiled by about 35,000 miles.

It's not about better technology, it's about better feel.

Allballs is Chinese-made cheap junk typical of low quality PRC products. If you want them for the steering head they may prove satisfactory, but i'd never risk allballs in the wheel bearings.

High quality bearings don't come from China; they are manufactured in Germany, USA, Japan or wherever the same standards of materials and manufacture apply. Who would risk flying in a Harbor Freight airplane ?

 

It's all about load dissipation, through greater surface area contact. The tapered bearings are far more efficient that the ball bearings.

 

This is easier than typing (lazy today :smile;

Dictionary

And from:

Difference Between Roller Bearing and Ball Bearing | Difference Between


"Roller Bearing vs Ball Bearing

• Once we know the function and purpose of bearings, it is easy to make changes in shapes and designs for use in various circumstances. This is why ball bearings and roller bearings are used in different applications.

• In the case of ball bearings, the bearings are hardened spherical balls that greatly reduce the friction between moving parts but since the area of contact is a point only, they do not have a great capacity to bear loads.

• On the other hand in the case of roller bearings, the area of contact is a line rather than a point thus distributing the load over a larger area. They have a very high capacity to bear loads."

 

Hence the preference fro roller bearings in dirt bikes, heavy bikes and bikes with heavy owners.

 

What does "efficient" mean in this context, and isn't "efficient" usually sub-optimum some ways ?

It seemed to me that the first time i switched to tapered (in 1992) in my first '86 700 the front end felt a bit less responsive, slightly heavier steering, duller to road inputs. Tapered bearings make more sense on heavier weight bikes. Which do most race bikes use ?? I haven't used tapered again, especially on lightweights like an NT650 for example.

The two different setups do have a different feel, mostly a rider preference thing. The tradeoff is between longer bearing life with tapered and improved steering feedback and sensitivity with balls.*







* Only personal opinion, so please disregard if you opine oppositely.

 

Mines had Tapered since my Mechanic change them in 2006 and wouldn't go back to rollers as 5 years on no evidence of notchiness although some owners say they prefer rollers as they say allow fractionally quicker steering.

He was an Honda Australia mechanic who proved to a visiting visiting Honda Japan engineer in 2002 that installing tapered bearings had partially or fully cured the then recently released ST1300s high speed weave issue that was driving some new owners nuts at the time, the Engineer took it back to Japan as a recommendation but wasn't implemented in production.

 

The ball bearings suck and the tapered bearings rock. I think that is what was trying to be said previous.

 

OK, i'd be inclined to go along with TC's opinion--admitting that i might be deluded and mistaken-- as an example of absolute wisdom as dispensed by the Pope in Rome, but i know that when i was discussing taped vs. balls with Ray Plumb, American Honda team mechanic in the pit garages at the Phoenix AMA races in 1997, he stated flatly and emphatically that Miguel much preferred the lighter feeling of balls, and most racers were using them according to him. True story !

 

I got balls and plan to keep them :thumbsup:

 

Funny how Suzuki went back and forth from balls to tapered to balls to tapered. In the end, I dont know what the hell they ended up using on their Gixxers...Gawd forbid some poor Japanese engineer should lose face due to a mechanical fuck-up.

I replaced mine with genuine Honda replacements after many many miles. The steering is definately sweeter and faster, good thing to do fer sure.

 

I know first-hand that Suzuki put ball bearings in their Hayabusas... yet I switched mine to a tapered roller bearing and it made the handling no different. The point was that the tapered bearing would last a hell of a lot longer, that's all. As Tink pointed out, our bikes are subjected to crappy road surfaces, potholes, running over small trees/children, obese riders, etc, so a longer-lasting bearing would seem a logical choice, no?

 

Steering Bearing Kit For 4th Gen?

Been searching in vain for a source for Timken or other quality tapered roller bearing set for my '96.

Anyone have a direct link to a vendor offering such a kit?

 

All Balls part number, 22-1020.
http://www.allballsracing.com/ymmsearch/index/searchfromhome/