All Balls steerer bearings GT380 - Who's using them?

[JFISHSOLEVIBE]

The time has come. Going to replace the old steerer bearings. Everywhere I look I see All Balls recommended. Are there alternatives? What do you guys recommend? How was the removal of old and then install of the All Balls?

Thanks guys!

Ps: the bike is not a resto project, so originality isn't of concern. An every day driver that gets about 10,000 a year so durability is preferred

[Suzukidave]

I have used the All Balls taper bearing sets on 5 different bikes and they all worked well , i dont know about the 380"s but some of the 750's need the neck dressed down just a bit so the bearing will slide farther on but that is more a factory thing than something wrong with the bearing .

[yeadon_m]

Same treatment is needed for fitting on all triples, certainly on the 380B, 550B and 750A that I've done.
Pretty easy stuff though. You don't need a lathe though I'm sure its a prettier job if so. I found a few mins with a dremmel and stone was fine.
Mike

[nateryan]

i recently fit the all balls bearings to my 380, it comes with instructions on how to file down your stem a bit to get the upper bearing to fit around it(which you dont even need the instructions really, youll see what you need to do when you put them on) . it took me about 10-15 mins with a file and it was not hard at all.

as for performance, i had the all balls headset for my cb350 and it held up fine, they are smooth as butter , it feels amazing.

if your non sealed ball bearings have lasted this long, imagine how long the roller bearings will last. i would guess for the entire life of your bike.

[JFISHSOLEVIBE]

Thanks a lot fellas. Exactly the info I was looking for. Was a press necessary to fit them? How easily did the old ones come out?

[Suzukidave]

The races in the frame come out easy driving them out with a piece of metal rod or long heavy duty screw driver , and the lower race i drove off with a chisel . To install the lower new bearing i just put the new bearing in its place and assemble the neck and used the top nut to pull all the bearings squarely into place .

[JFISHSOLEVIBE]

Sound simple enough Dave, thank you!

[yeadon_m]

Getting the new, lower bearing in place I found easier if I cleaned up the lower shaft area with some fine emory, popped it in the deep freeze for a couple of hours, warmed up the bearing in a bag in boiling water, greased the shaft then it slipped on no probs. If you get a piece of PVC pipe just the right ID and with thick walls, you can give it a couple of hits with a mallet to ensure the bearing goes down snugly.
Cheers,
Mike

[Coyote]

The messiest job is packing the bearings before final install.

[Suzukidave]

I use the ole grease in the palm method but i have seen at the auto parts store handy tools http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/searc ... /C0164.oap" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... and there use ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlK0ihVu60" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Coyote]

I use the ole grease in the palm method

Ditto. I have heard of bearings packers but have never seen one up close in person. Those are probably more efficient than our method, but it has to be somewhat of a mess as well.

[pearljam724]

I find it extremely difficult for the original ball bearings to get worn to a point that they are no longer useable. All you have to do is remove them. Being careful not to loose any. Clean them , regrease them and the bearing races. It's not so much that they get worn. The problem is dirt accumulating in the old grease over a long time period. With fresh grease, they'll work like the day the bikes were new.

[yeadon_m]

It may be true that the ball bearings take a long while to get worn but all those I've taken apart had some balls which had lost their hardened surfaces due to water and lack of lube. The worst part of the system though isn't the balls, its the cups they run in. From long sitting, those tracks often get pits in them and then you can always feel the bumps as the steering is slowly turned. Lubing helps but the bumpy feel doesn't go away. In two of three cases I had it was so bad that it affected the straight-ahead steering when riding.
Cheers,
Mike

[nateryan]

I find it extremely difficult for the original ball bearings to get worn to a point that they are no longer useable. All you have to do is remove them. Being careful not to loose any. Clean them , regrease them and the bearing races. It's not so much that they get worn. The problem is dirt accumulating in the old grease over a long time period. With fresh grease, they'll work like the day the bikes were new.

i agree, the standard ball bearings really dont take any damage at all, thats speaking experience with anything from bicycles to cars to motorcycles but i always and i mean always lose at least 1 tho. no matter how hard i try! and who doesnt like adding something that seems a little more high tech?

i dont know that much about it but it seems that the roller bearings seal better, they are just called sealed headsets in bmx or road bikes. ive always had a significant drop in crud buildup in the steering bearings with roller bearings no matter how long left alone.

[dyrberg123]

The time has come. Going to replace the old steerer bearings. Everywhere I look I see All Balls recommended. Are there alternatives? What do you guys recommend? How was the removal of old and then install of the All Balls?

Thanks guys!

Ps: the bike is not a resto project, so originality isn't of concern. An every day driver that gets about 10,000 a year so durability is preferred

I personally always use the tape style bearings, it is from my point of view much better than stock. The all balls type seems to Work well, and the usual fit. Also they do conversion kits so you can fit different types of front ends on your bike. If you have acces to a SKF catalogue you can find many taper bearings there aswell.

I saw some calculations somewhere, cant remember where though, about contact surface on std bearings VS taper and it was HUGE different. Much more contact area on the taper style ones...