I will chime in as one of those that lives in a humid, near ocean environment with my observation. Maybe the environment has something to do with it, but my bearings were shot around 25K miles and had been serviced at 12,500 miles. In our Star Chapter of 60+ bikes the only other head bearings I know of failing were on an 03 Roadie and they were replaced at around 25K and again at around 50K. Not much of a sample size, but Roadie's seem to need bearings more than other scooters??? This is the first motorcycle I have ever owned that needed the Steering Head bearings replaced. I will keep an eye on them and I think some zerks may be going in soon to keep the grease fresh.

Flashback wrote:
seminole bob wrote:
I really can't understand how these bearings go out so soon. They are'nt like wheel bearing that make a lot of revolutions. My only thinking is maybe the rake of the front end put pressure on them.

What makes you think they do Bob, I would be willing to bet that most of the folks that have trouble probably live near the beach or in salty areas...very few go bad..

I kind of think that the people who have problems are vocal about it - therefore it seems like there are more problems than not I was kind of under the same impression ... I don't leave near the beach or salt, but since I bought the bike used, she could have lived by the beach or near salt before we met!

I DO know that my bearings were kaput at 15k miles, mainly due to lack of lube and water penetration.

The neck bearings are know to wash out. If you wash your bike or if it sits in the rain its just going to happen

I was talking to a good friend of mine last week about this as I am planning to service my neck bearings this winter. He is attending a local university studying to be a motorcycle technician. They just covered this topic in class. It was said not to use wheel bearing grease as it is thin and thins even more when it warms up. In a sealed hub of a wheel this thinning aids in the grease flowing throughout the bearing and is contained within the sealed hub. In the neck of a motorcycle it will eventually flow or wash out over time. The neck bearings are under a great deal of loads even though there isn't a lot of rotational movement like a wheel. Heavy duty grease like what is used on trucks and farm equipment, the really sticky stuff, is what is recomended and is resistant to flow/washout and handels the high loads better an last a long time. Just sharing another opinion and this is what I will do when servicing my R*. I noticed My 99 aready has 2 holes at the bottom of the neck one on each side. I plugged them with chrome caps to keep out the water. I have noticed these holes on other 99's, not sure about other years. I thought it was odd there being open holes into the neck.

i had same think happen to my 04 mid night i bought it used and i think it spend alot of time in the rain, when i lowered the the steering it was close to being dryed out. will put new bearing in this winter there is a lot of stran on these bearings i think what he said about wheelbearing grease washing out is true i think i will use a heavyer grease my two cents .

Put a good lithium grease in the bearings and it won't wash out.

I ended up using an extreme pressure lithium-based grease - hopefully that will hold up (I HOPE I HOPE) - I don't wanna do this again!

Cruiserbob, send me a PM with your email and I will send the pics - can't get 'em small enough to upload and I don't have any photo accounts to link to ...

I changed bearings at around 40,000. This is just the first bike i've ever had to change them on. My riding buddies like me just assumed that this bearing would last a lifetime due to the limited mobility that the forks turn. I'm not a mechanic just enjoy turning wrenches. I ride in all weather so there's a chance water may have gotten in. I'm sure you guys in the coastal areas would have a lot of problems with the salt that we don't experience.

Mine just started with a little catch after 76,000 miles. I'm having a local shop do mine. He's putting together a price for me. What's it usually run $$ wise for a total bearing replacement.
Papa Bear

OEM bearings or after market ?