Has anyone installed tapered roller bearings in their steering head? I was surprised to see the OEM parts breakdowns show that they are just regular ball bearings.
I installed All Balls bearings in two other bikes and the improvement was dramatic. Those two bikes were well known for crappy head bearings, though. (a GL1800 Goldwing and a Triumph 1050 Sprint ST).
Think I could expect an improvement on my S2r?
I got All Balls when I had my new triple installed.
My stockers weren't too bad after ~ 35k miles.
I'm not sure I noticed a difference or that the stockers are low quality.
The earlier bikes were built with rollers, and they went to ball bearings on the 916.
The ball bearings are more reliable in the Ducs from what I've seen.
Best thing to do is use some real grease instead of the stuff from the factory that dries up in a year.
The big improvement that came along with the OEM ball bearing setup was actual seals.
I installed the All Ball rollers last winter when I redid by suspension. I have no reason to not like them.
seems it's probably not worth the effort or cash
i'll just have to find some other way to spend some money [cheeky]