Steering head bearings

Replacing the steering head bearings on my bike was my latest task... and it wasn't an easy one. I was quoted $95 for the part, and about $250 for the labour. Well, I thought I could do it myself, and I did - took about 1.5 hours (which was worth saving the $250).

This needed to be done because my steering was stiff, and I had a severe notch in the middle of my steering. If it is just a minor notch it can sometimes be fixed just by regreasing the steering bearings, but mine was severe. My old bearings were ball bearings, which will wear much quicker than tapered bearings. The new bearings are tapered, which should last the remainder life of the bike.

If anyone has to do this at anytime let me know and I will help out wherever possible. If you are not happy with using a wedge and hammer to knock in the new bearings / take out the old you may wish to let the mechanic at it. It was slow knocking the new bearings in place, and sometimes I was worried if the part was the right one as no-one had the fzr 250 steering head bearing part number on the books.

Speaking of which - it shares this part with the 198x's rz250 (which is on the books). I found this out only after talking to a mechanic who had recently replaced bearings on another fzr250.

The end result - it makes my bike feel like I have power steering. I don't know how I was riding before this. It takes a lot let effort to swerve or turn. Most bikes are probably ok with their bearings, and perhaps (at most) need to be regreased. But if it is getting up there in the k's and a notch is forming this may need to be done.