Notched: On 4th steering head bearing set in 52,000km

ThirdUncle · 09-20-2012, 06:53 AM

Anyone else living this annoying and boring little repeating nightmare on their '09 F800GS? This set lasted 7,000 km. They've all been replaced by John Parker's crew at Budds BMW, Oakville on warranty. Every other bit of work they've done for me over the last two years has been spotless. So I don't believe it's them.

Theories abound -- from crap bearings (NTN and one other lesser brand, made no diff), to overly bumpy front tires, (Tourance, K60, TKC-80 at present), to rough terrain (well yeah, I do live in downtown Toronto, but I give the bike a rest from potholes on weekends when I take her to the Ganaraskan trails), to riding too straight (rubbish).

Tired of theories. Want a solution. Will Timkens put in the final fix?

Indy Unlimited · 09-20-2012, 07:05 AM

Consider front suspension mods to reduce steering head pounding and reduce front rim taco dings.

Kiwirich · 09-22-2012, 01:52 PM

Hi Third Uncle,

That's pretty crazy bearing consumption.I guess that installation issues are out of the question along with Lubrication.

Have you considered Electrical Earthing.?

I'm just wondering if there is some low current circuit passing through the bearings. This will effectively cause Arcs across the faces & over time it will destroy the hardening.

It took me a change of Handlebars and 4 sets of bearings to find this issue on my 1150 GSA. The symptoms were similar and it was a nick in the loom on the Right hand side.............

Good luck & let us know how you get on.

Richard

JRWooden · 09-23-2012, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwirich

Hi Third Uncle,

That's pretty crazy bearing consumption.I guess that installation issues are out of the question along with Lubrication.

Have you considered Electrical Earthing.?

I'm just wondering if there is some low current circuit passing through the bearings. This will effectively cause Arcs across the faces & over time it will destroy the hardening.

It took me a change of Handlebars and 4 sets of bearings to find this issue on my 1150 GSA. The symptoms were similar and it was a nick in the loom on the Right hand side.............

Richard

Wow ... good on ya!

I don't know that I EVER would have tracked that down, but it is now etched into a couple of synapses for good ...
I hope....

ThirdUncle · 11-10-2012, 06:54 AM

Forgot I'd posted this... thanks for the input. I got my fourth set put in no charge a few weeks ago and am waiting for the new set to wear out. That's about it. As for earthing, how the hell would I do that?

grndzr0 · 11-10-2012, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThirdUncle

Forgot I'd posted this... thanks for the input. I got my fourth set put in no charge a few weeks ago and am waiting for the new set to wear out. That's about it. As for earthing, how the hell would I do that?

If you had something grounded to your handlebars, or tripples or forks. Essentially any part up front that moves. This would cause the electricity to flow through the bearings to the battery.

Ryan

MikeMike · 11-10-2012, 12:57 PM

Be sure it is not a case of same dealer, same crap quality bearings, and same tech using very little grease each time, and incorrect torque.
Earthing in the loom is going to really show up in the wet, you'd need some decent amperage to destroy greased bearings and races.

yety61 · 11-10-2012, 04:41 PM

G'day all,
Just found this thread and thought I'd chime in. I have an '09 800 also and I am on my 4th set of steering head bearings in 40000km's so I'm having the same issue. Tried 2 different brands of bearings so far, made no difference. Currently waiting for the bike to get back from Russia, when it does, I'll be going over it with a magnifying glass trying to find any earth leakage to see if that is the problem. If I don't find anything then I'll just continue to ride the hell out of it and replace them every 12000km's, which is how long it takes them to wear out. I should know something in about 2 weeks, I'll keep you posted.

deguoren · 11-13-2012, 12:34 PM

Same here.

About 52000 km on the clock and I was advised that the bearing needs to be changed out soon.
First swap was at ~ 30.000 km
Next swap will not be done at my BMW dealer (good guys but using BMW parts might not always be the best choice). Last time they already told me the would only use original BMW parts.

Yes I ride the bike in dirt....

MikeMike · 11-13-2012, 01:47 PM

That's buullsht on the part of the dealer. Buy your own bearings, install them correctly, and be done with the problem.
Dealers are installing poor quality bearings and not using enough of the right quality grease and likely torquing them incorrectly.
Do it yourself.

ThirdUncle · 01-08-2013, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yety61

G'day all,
Just found this thread and thought I'd chime in. I have an '09 800 also and I am on my 4th set of steering head bearings in 40000km's so I'm having the same issue. Tried 2 different brands of bearings so far, made no difference. Currently waiting for the bike to get back from Russia, when it does, I'll be going over it with a magnifying glass trying to find any earth leakage to see if that is the problem. If I don't find anything then I'll just continue to ride the hell out of it and replace them every 12000km's, which is how long it takes them to wear out. I should know something in about 2 weeks, I'll keep you posted.

Lads,

I'll run the earthing idea past the Budds' techs, since I wouldn't know bad earthing from poor topsoil. I switched from a K60 front tire to a TKC80 last summer and got the new SHB in early Sept. I recall the the K60 front was noisy and one of the techs said that the SHB was worn evenly around the whole inside of the race, so maybe it was an evil resonance off the tire. Will report back if the new set wears out prematurely.

JRWooden · 01-08-2013, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yety61

G'day all,
Just found this thread and thought I'd chime in. I have an '09 800 also and I am on my 4th set of steering head bearings in 40000km's so I'm having the same issue. Tried 2 different brands of bearings so far, made no difference. Currently waiting for the bike to get back from Russia, when it does, I'll be going over it with a magnifying glass trying to find any earth leakage to see if that is the problem. If I don't find anything then I'll just continue to ride the hell out of it and replace them every 12000km's, which is how long it takes them to wear out. I should know something in about 2 weeks, I'll keep you posted.

Electrically conductive grease maybe?

Yes I've had a couple ...

BUT ........Google says a company I know to be reputable supplier has such an animal:

http://www.nyelubricants.com/product...nductive.shtml

Better of course to fix the root cause but ...

09-20-2012, 06:53 AM	#1
ThirdUncle ^OP ThirdUncle Joined: May 2010 Location: Toronto Oddometer: 20	Notched: On 4th steering head bearing set in 52,000km Anyone else living this annoying and boring little repeating nightmare on their '09 F800GS? This set lasted 7,000 km. They've all been replaced by John Parker's crew at Budds BMW, Oakville on warranty. Every other bit of work they've done for me over the last two years has been spotless. So I don't believe it's them. Theories abound -- from crap bearings (NTN and one other lesser brand, made no diff), to overly bumpy front tires, (Tourance, K60, TKC-80 at present), to rough terrain (well yeah, I do live in downtown Toronto, but I give the bike a rest from potholes on weekends when I take her to the Ganaraskan trails), to riding too straight (rubbish). Tired of theories. Want a solution. Will Timkens put in the final fix?

09-20-2012, 07:05 AM	#2
Indy Unlimited Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Parker, CO Oddometer: 1,122	Consider front suspension mods to reduce steering head pounding and reduce front rim taco dings. __________________ Current Stable: 2013 Ducati Hypermotard SP, 2011 Husaberg FE570S, 2011 BMW S1000RR, 2010 BMW F800GS 2007 Husqvarna TE610 , 2003 KTM 525 MXC

11-13-2012, 12:34 PM	#9
deguoren 该出手时就出手 Joined: Jan 2011 Location: big freezer Germany Oddometer: 107	Same here. About 52000 km on the clock and I was advised that the bearing needs to be changed out soon. First swap was at ~ 30.000 km Next swap will not be done at my BMW dealer (good guys but using BMW parts might not always be the best choice). Last time they already told me the would only use original BMW parts. Yes I ride the bike in dirt.... __________________ Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once; seize them. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Live your dream, and wear your passion. Life is short."

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: .
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

09-22-2012, 01:52 PM	#3
Kiwirich Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Dec 2007 Location: Brisbane Australia Oddometer: 163	Hi Third Uncle, That's pretty crazy bearing consumption.I guess that installation issues are out of the question along with Lubrication. Have you considered Electrical Earthing.? I'm just wondering if there is some low current circuit passing through the bearings. This will effectively cause Arcs across the faces & over time it will destroy the hardening. It took me a change of Handlebars and 4 sets of bearings to find this issue on my 1150 GSA. The symptoms were similar and it was a nick in the loom on the Right hand side............. Good luck & let us know how you get on. Richard

11-10-2012, 06:54 AM	#5
ThirdUncle ^OP ThirdUncle Joined: May 2010 Location: Toronto Oddometer: 20	Forgot I'd posted this... thanks for the input. I got my fourth set put in no charge a few weeks ago and am waiting for the new set to wear out. That's about it. As for earthing, how the hell would I do that?

11-10-2012, 12:57 PM	#7
MikeMike Beastly Adventurer Joined: Feb 2009 Location: South east Mexico Oddometer: 2,412	Be sure it is not a case of same dealer, same crap quality bearings, and same tech using very little grease each time, and incorrect torque. Earthing in the loom is going to really show up in the wet, you'd need some decent amperage to destroy greased bearings and races.

11-10-2012, 04:41 PM	#8
yety61 Beastly Adventurer Joined: Aug 2010 Location: Newcastle on The Big Island in the Pacific Oddometer: 1,014	G'day all, Just found this thread and thought I'd chime in. I have an '09 800 also and I am on my 4th set of steering head bearings in 40000km's so I'm having the same issue. Tried 2 different brands of bearings so far, made no difference. Currently waiting for the bike to get back from Russia, when it does, I'll be going over it with a magnifying glass trying to find any earth leakage to see if that is the problem. If I don't find anything then I'll just continue to ride the hell out of it and replace them every 12000km's, which is how long it takes them to wear out. I should know something in about 2 weeks, I'll keep you posted.

11-13-2012, 01:47 PM	#10
MikeMike Beastly Adventurer Joined: Feb 2009 Location: South east Mexico Oddometer: 2,412	That's buullsht on the part of the dealer. Buy your own bearings, install them correctly, and be done with the problem. Dealers are installing poor quality bearings and not using enough of the right quality grease and likely torquing them incorrectly. Do it yourself.