Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

I have gotten around to fixer-uppering the bike that I stuck in a fence a few months back, have removed front end off the crashed bike and also a spare ER5 I am raiding for bits.. I am pretty sure the clamps from the crashed bike are either bent or have a slight warp in them cos I had to belt out the forks of the crashed bike, whereas on the spare bike they just plopped out with no heaving required

my problem is that the crashed bike has ball bearings and the spare one has tapered bearings so a straight swap isn't doable.. just wondering would I be better off buying a tapered bearing kit .. unsure if I can manage to remove the races without dinging them..

suggestions?

tapered bearings are the way to go. take your time and tap the races off.

ok will give it a go I think I might do a practice run on one of the other spare bikes so I get the hang of it

Unlikely you have bent your Triple Clamps, though it is possible.

More likely you have twisted the top clamp relative to the bottom clamp, which would also make them difficult to remove.

If you have both sets removed, lay them over each other & see if you can see a problem. Otherwise reassemble lightly in headstem & see if the straight forks will insert readily into them.

I would not be removing 1 set of used bearings to replace them with another set of used bearings either, you may have to do it all again in the not to distant future.

Check if the bearings are avail new from a bearing shop, they might be, you never know. For the sake of $40 or so you could fit new bearings & know they are good for another 5 years or more.
It is however possible being headstem bearings that they are specifically produced for Kawasaki, check their price also. I know the ZRX bearings were, I think the seals were the more expensive item anyway.

If you do change them off one bike to the other, do all you measurements first to make sure they will fit, shaft & bore dimensions with verniers.

I would hate to sit there tapping bearings off only to find 2 hrs latter it was a waste of time.

Just my 2 cents worth.

cool! thanks for the ideas

If you decide to pound the races out use a brass peen as oposed to steel as there is less chance of damage. Although a brass peen may be more expensive than new bearings and races. If it was me I would get fucked up and then make a decision.