Quickest way to get steering head bearings?

[snrusnak]

Well I need to replace my steering head bearings asap, what's the quickest way to get a set for my xb? I replaced them roughly 2 years ago or so(less than 10k miles ago) with all balls and they seemed to be great. All of the sudden last ride I noticed at slow speeds the forks would not rotate smooth as glass like before, but they had "flat spots" or it felt "notched" as you turned it. I didn't think much of it as it was minor but today I rode to work and it was amplified about 10x when making slow speed turns. Felt very bad.

I don't know if the all balls just wore out that fast or what the reason is for the sudden issue, but I need to replace asap before the dragon trip. I lifted the bike off the ground and turned the forks with no weight on them(other than it's own weight, wheel/tire/forks/triples/etc) and it felt the same. I tried forcing the wheel up/down and it is not loose at all. I don't really understand what happened?

Anyway, what's the fastest way to get new bearings? Is this something that might be on the shelf somewhere? Thanks in advance.

 

[buellxb9rs]

I get mine off ebay in just a few days. Find one thats close to you. As far as a store that you can buy them at, I havent tried to cross reference them. Allballs website has all the part numbers, maybe from there you can search the part number to see what bikes the bearings fit and go to a dealer and find them

JP CYCLES FITMENT

 

[buellxb9rs]

This is what I found on amazon:
This item fits the following applications:
2005-2009 Buell XB9SX Lightning
2006-2009 Buell XB12X Ulysses
2009 Buell XB12Ss Lightning
2009 Buell XB12Scg Lightning
2000-2009 Buell Blast
2005-2008 Buell XB12R Firebolt
2005-2008 Buell XB12S Lightning
1999-2008 Husqvarna WR250
1998-2007 Husqvarna WR125
2005-2007 Husqvarna TE510
2003-2007 Husqvarna TE450
2003-2007 Husqvarna TE250
2005-2007 Husqvarna TC510
2005-2007 Husaberg FS650E
2004-2007 Husaberg FE650E
2007 Husaberg FE550E
2004-2007 Husaberg FE450E
2003-2006 Buell XB9R Firebolt
2004-2006 Husaberg FS450E
2005-2006 Husaberg FS650C
2004-2005 Husaberg FC450
2001-2005 Cagiva Raptor 650
2003-2004 Buell XB9S Lightning
1997-2002 Buell M2 Cyclone
2002 Buell M2L Cyclone
2000-2002 Buell X1 Lightning
2002 Husqvarna SMR 570
2002 Husqvarna TE570
1998-2002 Husqvarna WR360
1998-2001 Husqvarna TE610
1999-2001 Husqvarna TE410
2001 Husqvarna TE400
1998-2000 Husqvarna TC610
1996-1998 Buell S1 Lightning
1998 Husqvarna CR125

 

[somecallmery]

If you're getting all balls again, direct from them came to me in 4 days.

 

[snrusnak]

thanks guys. going to get a set today from one source or another. I'm kind of hesitant to get all balls again but I think this is a fluke thing seeing that it basically happened overnight.

 

[2004xb12s]

Rocky Mountain ATV MC

They will have parts to you in 3 days. Super fast and reliable.

 

[buellxb9rs]

I'd you click that jp link I sent it shows that the buell bearing match most of not all harleys

 

[pur pony]

If they are he same style as a tuber you can get them at any autoparts store. They are basic 1" trailer wheel bearings. I got mine at autozone. They are Timkins.

 

[snrusnak]

Thanks pur pony. Judging by the fitment guide posted above it appears they are the same as the older tubers (X1 lightning, M2 cyclone, S1 lightning, etc). I'll head to autozone on my way home and try them out. I may have saved my old ones so I can compare and be sure.

The one's you got are they tapered roller bearings?

 

[buellxb9rs]

When you out your all balls in before, did you grease them? They didnt really have much of anything on them when I changed them so I greased them before putting them on. Just windering if that may have been a reason of failure or maybe youre not supposed to add grease etc. JW

 

[snrusnak]

Yes I packed them very well with grease.

 

[pur pony]

-Yes, they are tapered bearings on my tuber.

Going back over an old post of mine on badweb- here is the info i posted back then.....
I did purchase timkin bearings from ABS for my swingarm (which are the same as the steering bearings)
Timkin bearing part numbers L44610(race) and L44643(bearing)

autozone lists the same bearings

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Timke n-1-in-straight-trailer-wheel-bearing-kit-with-sea l-7781S-cotter-pin-grease-pack-and-2-SET14-each-se t-contains-cone-L44643-and-cup-L44610/_/N-25hk?cou nter=0&filterByKeyWord=l44643&fromString=search&it emIdentifier=12286_0_0_

Now reading back, i didnt get the steering bearings from autozone though because my local one didnt have them in stock....
I ended up at Carquest and got federal bearings - A11 is the bearing/race for $11

 

[2004xb12s]

They definitely need packed really good with grease. Not adding it would ensure that they would fail early on.

 

[snrusnak]

Awesome thank you so much pur pony, an autozone nearby has the proper kit in stock. I'll head there this evening.

 

[pur pony]

cool- hope it works on an XB... lol

 

[snrusnak]

I picked them up this evening, they are the correct size. The only bad thing is they don't come with new seals(they come with a trailer seal). I'll just clean and reuse the old ones. They are sized the same as the oem(I had them in a box) and the all balls that are currently in there.

On my way home the bike was becoming very scary to ride do to the "notchy" turning at low speeds.

 

[snrusnak]

 

[snrusnak]

pur pony do you not have seals on yours?

 

[snrusnak]

lower bearing failure. the seal did not do it's job. Was filled with water/sand/dirt/etc. Upper bearing was perfect. The lower bearing race was notched not smooth. I installed new races and bearings and am reusing the old seals. I expect these to fail the same way in a couple years. I'll replace with oem at that point. These beaings are better but wihtout sealing they get filled with grime.

All I have left to do is torque down the steering stem, triples, etc.

 

[pur pony]

No seals on the tuber... just a washer style cap