Ducati Monster Forum

Need new steering stem bearings. Anyone have any experience or opinion with which one to go with and why? Both will be tapered.


https://www.allballsracing.com/22-1039.html

https://motowheels.com/i-7579513-corse-dynamics-tapered-steering-stem-bearing-kit-35mm.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw1ej5BRBhEiwAfHyh1NxW9dJoDq0TJgeGGSREN78dTqU87FCNee8JvynN2heS1hvEvsihKRoCttcQAvD_BwE

My tapered All Balls did not last nearly as long as stock Ducati bearings. Maybe unusual reason for that.... and YMMV

Both are Chinese.  Good luck.

I tried selling Koyo (Japanese) bearings years ago.  That never took off, and it took me 2 years to sell off the stock I bought.  No I don’t remember the Koyo part numbers.

Podium Racing is currently selling those Koyo. How were they? I had read that these aftermarket tapered were better than the OEM in terms of durability.

OEM ball setup is good stuff and it installs without drama.

I've seen aftermarket kits with janky seal setups that need shims so that they don't drag metal on metal.

I never heard that they caused anyone problems.  Side note: the OE Ducati bearings aren’t tapered rollers, they’re a caged round ball bearing.

Whatever you do, pay more for quality. If you get the oem part number and have a bearing shop with knowledgable staff you trust, seek out the highest quality equivalent.

IIRC: All Balls doesn’t have part #’s printed onto their bearings so that cross referencing is less easy.  I mean you can still measure ID, OD & width yourself.  2 to 3 seconds worth of search in a browser yields standard part #’s...

I always thought that was shitty on All Balls part for doing that.

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?action=search2

 [popcorn]

Complete BS.

Just like tire's release agent story, people are still talking about the old story from 70s and 80s.
(which means, those people are just repeating things they heard from someone. Not from their experience.)

Back in the 70s, 80s (and earlier), motorcycle's steering head bearings were
loose ball bearings.

Back then, switching to tapered roller bearing was popular upgrade, and it was rightly so.

From the end of 80s, toward mid 90s, manufactures used tapered rollers.
(First Monster (1993) had tapered roller, first R1 had tapered roller...)

Then, by the end of 90s, starting from top of the line sport bikes, they went to
caged ball bearings.

Caged ball bearings are easier to install, easier to maintain steering head properly adjusted,
smoother, less friction, there's nothing wrong with them.

(loose ball bearings get sloppy when the races either loosen or wear. That's why switching to tapered roller was poplar,
in the 70s, and 80s.)

BTW,
NTN (Japanese bearing manufacturer, they are specialized in bearings and CV-joint) is Ducati's OEM supplier for steering head bearings.

Koyo seiki(is a part of JTEKT now)  Aisin seiki, NSK, Borgwarner, are quality bearing manufacturers,
You can search thier PDF catalogue if you want.
You can even contact with theier customer service.


Those "kit" bearings are made by "unknown" company.

My 96 Monster came from the factory with tapered rollers, and were replaced with the same factory part.

My experience is that Toyo makes a quality part, or at least they did when they were made in japan.