Front end vibration

[jd724]

OK here goes.  Ill try and keep it as short as I can. I've had this vibe problem all season so far. I don't think it started last season but I can't remember. I had a new cheap tire put on the front. First thing I did was replace the tires with a new set of q3's. Vibe improved very very slightly maybe. It goes from low to high frequency the faster I go. Rode the bike at higher rpm's in lower gears and the vibe didn't seem to increase at higher rpms. So I'm thinking it's speed related. It all seems to be in the wheel and the bars. Also felt a weird vibe every so often when I weave the bike back and forth in the lane. I was around 70mph. No clcking or noise. Just the vibe. I bounced it off Isaac'sPoppa and he mentioned wheel bearings right away. That's what I was starting to think but I wanted the opinion of a pro. The bike only has 8k on it. I did find some posts on other forums about front wheel bearings on Z's going bad around 8k.Just a few but the 8k is what got me.  Various reasons. One was a seal went bad and moisture got in. Another one was faulty installation so they said. But regardless the vibes they had were resolved when the bearings were replaced.

 

So I'm gonna give it a shot myself. I'm hoping I see a mess in there when I get the hub open. Doesn't look too tough. Gotta be sure I put good grease where it needs to be, get my torque to specs, don't beat anything up getting the old ones out and the new ones in and get everything back on exactly as it came off. I will probably take my rotors off as a safeguard. Question: OEM bearings are around $60. Allballs kit is $20.  Why?  I've read that Allballs are better than any oem. Yeah I know ceramics would be the best but I can't afford em right now. Also I'm not sure if that's the problem. If I have a hub or axle problem, I don't want to put $300 bearings in there. Watcha think?

[magley64]

Pauly tends to know his stuff, if he thinks it's the bearings, that will probably solve it.

[whaler]

Bearing.

It may not look a mess, but after wheel is off spin each bearing by hand and feel for notchyness or inner race movement.

Have you ever used a power washer to clean the bike? This can force moister in places it would not normally go.

[Gixxus Christ!]

Yeah. Wheel bearings or maybe steering head bearings. I can haz replacement?

[jd724]

I thought about steering head bearings but at only 8k?  I'm thinking about getting the TB's sync and engine balancers checked sometime as well. If either is off it will cause a vibe but that's out of my league.

[Tonik]

I vote wheel bearing.

[jd724]

No I've never used a power washer on it. I avoid putting the hose to it if I can. When I do I use the hose its the lighter shower settings.

[Gixxus Christ!]

I can sync tb's. Fiddy dorra, unless they're a huge pain in the dick to get to.

[jd724]

From what I can tell.....   Z's are packed tighter than a...(use your imagination)   Even the battery is packed up under the front half of the bike.  Tank has to come off for pretty much everything.    I'm gonna take one thing at a time. Goin over everything in the wheel/brakes first. Then steering head.  Hopefully it will be resolved by then.

[jd724]

On that note, I tried to pack a puck under the toolkit in case I had to park in gravel or grass sometime and I could  barely get the seat back on. 

[jd724]

Anyway, OEM bearings or aftermarket?

[Gixxus Christ!]

Get all balls bearings and don't bother taking the rotors off. Unless it has been abused it's probably not the steering head, takes a lot of rough landings bringing a wheelie down to thrash a steering head at 8k.

[dustinsn3485]

Steering head bearing was my thought. Not so much worn out, but just needs retorqued. They seem to loosen just enough on break in to sometimes need to be backed off and retorqued.

Sent while riding

[jd724]

Thanks guys!   Dustin, you're talking about the steering head nut right?  Thanks Isaac's Papa!  I may take you up on that.  I start a week of working nights this Friday.  I may stop by your shop during the day if that's ok. Ordering parts today. I'm gonna try the allballs. I've read nothing but good about them and at half the price of OEM I'll try them first. Just have to make sure they come with seals and everything I'm gonna need.  I'll probably be replacing them with ceramics within the next year anyway. I'll check their kit again and make sure they come with everything I need. Ordering a new front stand as well. I eventually wanna try the Ohio Mile. Probably won't happen this year. Bike probably won't be ready and I need a suit. 

[Gixxus Christ!]

If you're going to replace with ceramics within a year then just put ceramics in now. Why buy 1 set, then take them out while they're still probably fine and put in another set?

[snot]

Jd, yes Dustin is referring to steering head. Kawasaki is notorious for them going out. The 250s and 300s typically need replaced in the first few years. I have read the same about all the ZXs.

[dustinsn3485]

Here is the exploded view. I'm not speaking of the steering head nut. If you remove the top triple you'll see nuts under there. One tighens the other is a locking nut.  If you back the locking nut off and then get a spanner and follow the procedure in the service manual to retorque the steering head it may fix the problem. The steering head is tapered roller bearings and they can sometimes have an undectable amount of play that can create a front end vibration. I've had it happen in my zx-6 and on a concourse 14 before as well. I'm suspect of it on my zx1000 right now too.

 

in the exploded view it is part # 92210 and 92210A. It's important to follow the instructions in the service manual though, the torque specs are pretty important and you're going to want to be sure the steering isn't to tight after adjustment.

 

Try to make one change at a time. So you can narrow down the issue and then if it happens again, you'll know what to check.

[jd724]

Thanks guys. I'll try the wheel bearings first. I do believe my steering has loosened up some but it looks like it might be a bit out of my league but we'll see.  Thanks again guys!

[blueskeyes]

Aftermarket bearings. Kawasaki's are known for bad steering head bearings due to lack of grease. You can usually check bearings by trying to wiggle th wheel side-to-side during rotation. Also check proper chain tracking.

[jd724]

Thanks guys!