What is the general consensus on steering bearings?
I thought upgrading to tapered rollers was de rigueur, but there's a post on Norbo's LC forum with lotsa smart guys saying standard balls are better. Reasoning is the rollers are too tall, leaving too few threads of engagement on the steer shaft nut.
I did rollers on my KH400 with no issue, but have you to do them on any Yamaha.
What do the smart guys on this forum say?
I have noticed any tapered available for the RD350/400's do indeed not go in far enough, (could refer to as tall) that's why I would not replace in them unless have too. I'm also in general if ain't broke don't fix it guy.
I have tapered on my 400. They are a little taller. I think it has to do with the races that need to be installed with the cages. Plenty of threads to tighten down still.
Saw the steering stem assembly of a Repsol Honda MotoGP bike being cleaned two years ago. Ball Bearings. FWIW
Modern sport bikes have gone to very large balls in races with cages which, despite being a similar appearance, is not comparable to the RD headset balls.
Having fewer threads to tighten is not of consequence provided you have enough to actually tighten and avoid stripping. The distance down your steering stem has zero impact on usage or performance.
Tapered bearings from an engineering perspective are not the best option due to the angle of load on the bearings.
BUT... They are better than the micro-balls that come in the RD.
Some like to debate the optimal 100% best solution but when you are talking about old tech that has so many other obstacles facing it you are literally wasting your time debating it.
The tapered are also easier to deal with and an improvement over stock especially when worn at a lower cost.
I am all for the ease of assembly. Yeah the tapered stick up a bit but who cares, the dust cover still covers it up. As far as the difference in feel...............I'm sure Vale or Marquez could tell the difference but really, are any of us good enough to really tell the difference in everyday riding. I am no longer a racer but still consider myself a pretty good rider and I'd be lying if I told you I could tell the difference from one to the other when riding.
Haha ... yeah, I hadn't event considered "feel" into the equation.
Just looking for info on fitment really. I have only just heard of anyone questioning the upgrade to rollers, so thought maybe there was a (slight) chance I had missed something.
As an aside, I also heard complaints about difficulty removing the roller races when replacing worn ones, but doubt I'll put enough miles on this thing to wear 'em out.
on an older bike where the headlight ears ate dependent upon tree spacing along the axis of the neck, I tend to use the stock type. (r5 stockish rd, etc) I cant tell the feel difference between a sorted set of stockers vs tapered. my experience has been that the tapered always feels better by claim.. because owners typically neglect the stockers, so anything is an improvement. On a track bike I'd go tapered, or on a bike where you can get away w not having the headlight ears rattle and the stock ball races were notched, dimpled, etc. . but otherwise it's not necessary if the stock ones are ok and serviceable IMHO. my .02
I think angular contact bearings would be the way to go. You end up with balls, but you can tighten them up like tapered bearings. This is probably what the new bikes have?
I've never done it, but over at VXB.com you can probably find a set that would drop in.
Couple good points above for fitment. You may get some loose feeling headlight ears as the upper to lower distance does grow when using taller bearings.
You will not notice real difference in 'feel' between good, greased and new stockers or the tapered. You WILL feel a great improvement with tapered over the old stockers currently in there. Tapered are easier to deal with if you will be taking apart multiple times.
Unsure on what the type of bearing used on the modern bikes is but there are around 8 very large balls in the race.
I ordered the rollers.
As usual, I asked the question, then went with my gut before all the answers were in. :bang:
I'll take up the ear slack with some o-rings or whatever.
Quote from: pdxjim on October 15, 2019, 12:43:36 PM
I'll take up the ear slack with some o-rings or whatever.
That's what I did on mine and my sons RDs. You can't even tell.
:agree: That's what I did too. Works great!
O rings worked perfectly for me too.