Timkin (roller or needle)bearing conversion

[OleDoc]

I am thinking of converting to timkin(roller or tapered)neck bearings to tighten up the front end.Has anyone done this conversion and does any one know of a kit?I hear all balls makes a kit for some bikes but i have not seen one.Thanks

 

[xschris]

I have the rollers in my 79 and it works good. My 80 has the stock ball bearings as long as they are in good shape cleaned and greased with no play or sticky spots than I would not worry, unless you plan on racing it (diving into corners) Ebay has a lot of them and I see mikesxs also now carries them.

 

[OleDoc]

I have the rollers in my 79 and it works good. My 80 has the stock ball bearings as long as they are in good shape cleaned and greased with no play or sticky spots than I would not worry, unless you plan on racing it (diving into corners) Ebay has a lot of them and I see mikesxs also now carries them. POST 666, CRAZY MAN LOL

They feel a little sticky.I plan to take it apart to grease it anyway, so why not just upgrade.I plan to ride the @#$% out of it when i am done.What kit did you use?

 

[xschris]

Not sure what brand that is in there came they with the bike. If your currant one are not gulled or rusty they will be fine. I had stock ones in my xs650 and drove the crap out of it with no issues. Allballs is a good brand

 

[OleDoc]

Not sure what brand that is in there came they with the bike. If your currant one are not gulled or rusty they will be fine. I had stock ones in my xs650 and drove the crap out of it with no issues. Allballs is a good brand

Thanks man.I just have bad luck with ball bearings.I allways lose at least 2 of them.And then when i buy 2 more and get everything back together i find like 4 or 5 on the floor.

 

[Shaun Chandler]

there are a couple different brands allballs as were mentioned and pyramid I think (thats what I bought no good reason they were just a decent price). You could just go to a bearing shop and buy them once you knew what size bearing and race you needed.

One thing to know is that mine came with dust seals and they didn't fit so save your old ones you will likely need them. Hopefully they are in decent shape.

Shaun

 

[kirkn]

Went to tapered rollers on a Honda CB750K8. Waste of money. Clean, grease, adjust properly your stock set-up and you'll be good to go, unless, maybe, you're going racing. I've refurbished a dozen stock set-ups of all the Japanese manufacturers and they've all worked perfectly, if you take the time to set them properly afterwards.

http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6730&highlight=steering

Ride the *&^%$ out of it? On a 400cc econobike? Oh please. Keep yer money in yer pocket, and stay stock. Once you have a properly sorted stock system, then, IF you STILL feel a need for an upgrade then go for it. An upgrade to cover up a poorly setup stock system seems like a band-aid at best.

*off soapbox*

Kirk

 

[xschris]

Went to tapered rollers on a Honda CB750K8. Waste of money. Clean, grease, adjust properly your stock set-up and you'll be good to go, unless, maybe, you're going racing. I've refurbished a dozen stock set-ups of all the Japanese manufacturers and they've all worked perfectly, if you take the time to set them properly afterwards.

http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6730&highlight=steering

Ride the *&^%$ out of it? On a 400cc econobike? Oh please. Keep yer money in yer pocket, and stay stock. Once you have a properly sorted stock system, then, IF you STILL feel a need for an upgrade then go for it. An upgrade to cover up a poorly setup stock system seems like a band-aid at best.

*off soapbox*

Kirk

Thats funny!!

 

[OleDoc]

I don't race but i do ride hard sometimes.I will take it all down and see what it looks like inside.Thanks for the thread, Kirkn.Now when i throw the twin turbos and the nitros system on it then i will convert

 

[lhaolpa]

Steering bearings sizes are:25x48x13[upper]30x48x14[ lower]. I've heard that they sit proud at top,and only a few threads hold at top.If you put 25x48x11 on the uppers,that would give a little more room. lha

 

[mikestp]

I had a set of All Balls tapered bearings, and decided that I was better off using the tapered bearings on the bottom and the original ball bearings in the top. That way I was able to tighten the "turreted nut" more than I was able to using both tapered bearings. In my opinion the better choice would be to replace any damaged / worn aball bearings with new replacement ball bearings. I will not buy any tapered replacement bearings again.

At the very least.... When taking the old bearings out, be careful to save all the parts, in case you, like me decide the ball bearings fitted much better.