A little help needed here.

[ZX11D]

I have a 1997 zx11. Tastefully modded and maintained mostly by me. I noticed after i scalloped out a second front tire(5000 miles) i am starting to develope what best can be described
As a flat spot somewhere in the triple tree which i suspect is a bearing. It is pnly noticable at slow speeds . No difficult turning. Just a little hesitationwhen it. Passes throughwhat looks like dead straight ahead. I can live with this for the rest of the season i think and get it corrected on winter teardown. Anybody have an experiance like this and whst was it. Bike turns pretty Well with no head shake or other abnormal stuff. No changes at speed , helP me out hear guys

[SprintPoser]

It does indeed sound to me like a flat spot in the headset bearings, most likely the lower as it bears most of the load.

How many miles on the bike? A 1997 is likely to be high enough in mileage to warrant a look at those bearings as that's not exactly a lightweight bike.

[OreoGaborio]

Yup. Bearings need replacing

[ZX11D]

How big a job is this. I'm pretty handy and have plenty of tools. Might need a spanner wrench though.

[NPDCPA]

Not too bad. Its much easier with a shop manual, bearing tools (Sears), stands, etc. I'm in town so if you need help...

[jwm2k3]

Id be down to help out (watch and drink beer!)...

[SwiftTone]

Sounds fun, I'd like to learn if there is room!

[ZX11D]

Thanks Everyone .You guys R great. I have a week off in October if anyone is still interested.John you can watch if ya like Lol. I have a clymer manual just not sure if I have a spann that will fit.

[NPDCPA]

Let me know when you want to do this. I have a bike lift, tools, etc.

[Garandman]

Here's an example of what happens:


It's common for V-Strom owners to replace the standard ball bearing with a needle bearing. True for this one?

[csmutty]

Yeah I did the same with my ex500. Getting the lower race out can be a pita. Think I ended up cutting it out with a dremel.

[ZX11D]

I think mine might be a tad worse. Ha ha

[gregp]

It does not take much at all, to get the "flat-spot" that you mention. You will encounter two problems: 1) getting the outer races out of the top and bottom of the steering neck - Sometimes you can punch them out with a long rod, or use a slide hammer, and 2) getting the inner cone off of the steering stem itself. The stem sticks up far enough that a regular bearing puller may not reach it, and there is very little room underneath it to get any jaws under it. I have cut some of these off with a Dremel cut off wheel, as csmutty mentioned. Be aware that there is a seal under it, that may be damaged during bearing removal, so you should be sure to buy that as well as the bearings. To re-intall this bearing, you will need a long tube, the OD of which is the same as the inner race of the bearing.

[nt650hawk]

Got this happening with the Hawk. Right Pete. Will be replacing all bearing and races on the winter front end tear down.

[SprintPoser]

Here's an example of what happens:

It's common for V-Strom owners to replace the standard ball bearing with a needle bearing. True for this one?

Needle bearings? I would hope you mean tapered roller bearings. Needle bearings are for radial loads only. Tapered roller bearings are ideal for combination avial & radial load, both of which a headset assembly of a motorcycle will endure.

Is this what you meant?

[gamorg02]

Needle bearings? I would hope you mean tapered roller bearings. Needle bearings are for radial loads only. Tapered roller bearings are ideal for combination avial & radial load, both of which a headset assembly of a motorcycle will endure.

Is this what you meant?

i bet it is, thats what my vmax bearings were. speaking of which they didn't have a lip u could pound out and the blind bearing puller's teeth weren't small enough. i bought one of these:

http://www.powersportsplace.com/part...FclM4AodBn0A_g

and ground down the 'edges' so they were only 1mm thick and were able to just barely fit into a recessed groove. the neck itself was soo much smaller than the seat of the bearing all other tools were almost impossible. didn't like dremelling through and not being able to see. altho if i had access to a welder i guess u can run a small bead and when it shrinks they fall out just about. never tried it though.

i also re-used this tool to remove the rear bearings from my hawk eccentric. so its got lots of uses.

[TTD]

Just a thought, but we'll be up at the track (www.NHMS.com) Oct 5-9 for the races and two trackdays.

That is a great place to do maintenance as there are tons of tools around! (get it... tools?)

Seriously, lots of knowledge and the right equipment makes things go pretty quick. Plus, Pete from GMD is there, so that is also an option... have a beer or two while Pete does the work.