ZX9R 1999 C2 - Headstock Bearings. Anyone done them.

[TheGazWaz]

I've a huge notch dead center on my steering that I've been riding around with for a while so it's about time I got to changing them.

TBH anything past 30mph it's not too bad but slow speed maneuvers are a mare.

I've done the bearings on a GSXR1000 K3 and, although it took me all day, it wasn't a difficult job.

Just putting the feelers out to anyone who has done them on a ZX9R of this age and what to expect.

I already have the bearings.

Getting the front wheel off the ground is going to be a challenge as I don't have an abba. On my GSXR I used axle stands under the crash bungs. Perfect. I've got a set of spare crash bungs so I'm hoping when I remove the fairing there's be somewhere to put them for the purpose of this job.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Gaz
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Went like this.. 43 years old(2013) decided to do CBT to get a 125 for new job. Bought 2011 YBR, loved it for three months then hated it because it was too god damn slow. Did DAS 4 months later then bought RF600 Loved it, sold it bought Bandit 1200(K3). EFFIN lOVED IT. Wanted something a bit more sporty so got Triumph Sprint ST 955i (53). Not sporty enough so now on my GSXR 1000 K3 and absolutely love it. 1 year down the line, nearly died way too many times on this bike. Sold it. Had a 6 month break. Missed biking so now, Aug 2019 have a 1999 ZX9r. What a beauty she is too.

[johnsmith222]

I've not done the headstock bearing on my 9R, but have had most of the front end off it.

I'd imagine it would be pretty similar to your gsxr.

Unfortunately as I've got a stand similar to the Abba stand, then I just used this and put some weights on the rear of the bike to lift the front. I had backup ratchet straps on the front too.

I'm not sure I'd fancy doing it without an abba stand or similar tbh.

I can't forsee any difficulties taking the steering yokes off and replacing the bearings. Everything else before that was fine for me.

On an unrelated note, what sort of crash bungs do you have on the bike? The kind that bolt on to the fairing fitting are notoriously useless and can smash a hole in your engine:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/vboAAOSwyZ5Upnnj/s-l300.jpg

You likely know this already, but just in case you're not aware.

The bexmoto or r and g ones are the ones to get if you don't have them already. Otherwise I'd go without.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

On the dedicated zx9r forum the advice is often to turn the bearings so that the weight and force is then focused on a non-worn part of the bearing, as opposed to replacing them.

There are various threads on the topic @ zx9r.net because it's such a common occurrence. I've had them notch twice now, and in fact, my bike's steering was like that when I bought it w/ 18k on it. And what's more, I'd guess they'd been going since 15k. In other words, be prepared to work on them, if not replace them, every 15k or certainly every 20k.

Not sure why the bike suffers this way, but I did wonder if it's at least partly because of it's rake/trail/offset i.e. geometry. On the plus side, there's never any need to fit a steering damper of any kind (mechanical or hydraulic) - otoh, the angles seem to eat bearings.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125