Ten years with the strom

Congrats on the 10 years! I'm coming up on 14 years and 105K miles with mine. Funny, I recently developed a steering head bearing notch, noticed it after a slow speed tip over. Also contemplating having a shop do a tapered bearing conversion or do it myself.

Yep, 10 years already here too.

60k and no problemos...

om28 said:

Congrats on the 10 years! I'm coming up on 14 years and 105K miles with mine. Funny, I recently developed a steering head bearing notch, noticed it after a slow speed tip over. Also contemplating having a shop do a tapered bearing conversion or do it myself.

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I have a similar decision. Mine's at 150k with the original bearing, so I expect the replacement probably won't need to last as long. But I figure I might as well go for the better option and then not worry worry about it.

Bodhi said:

Nice bike ya got there! Here’s mine. Just rolled 40k and still running like a friggin top.

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You've kept yours really nice!

You wont regret switchin to tapered head bearings. Ive been on Stroms for almost 20yrs now...with tons of miles on 5 different 650s + even more miles on 5 diff 1000s

Fox said:

I bought my 650 a decade ago today. We've been through a lot and it faded over time but has never left me stranded. It's needed less as years and miles pile on, so I'm in no hurry to replace it.

I do need to address a notched steering head bearing. Can anyone near Indianapolis recommend a shop they'd trust the job to? I'd normally attempt it myself but I don't have a space for that kind of work anymore.

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Hello. DL1000,19 years and 71k miles. Your best bet is to replace the bearings yourself with All Balls Racing pin bearings.

DonStromer04 said:

Hello. DL1000,19 years and 71k miles. Your best bet is to replace the bearings yourself with All Balls Racing pin bearings.

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19 years on a bike is impressive, hope mine lasts that long.

No work area unfortunately, otherwise I would. Had a disappointing experience with All Balls, so considering the effort involved it will be a Japanese or Euro made bearing for the replacement.

Fox said:

19 years on a bike is impressive, hope mine lasts that long.

No work area unfortunately, otherwise I would. Had a disappointing experience with All Balls, so considering the effort involved it will be a Japanese or Euro made bearing for the replacement.

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If you want to ride out to Chambersburg, I have a lift air-conditioned garage, tools and a chair to sit in while I watch you work away while I sip on a few beers.

While I am traditionally a disliker of All-Balls bearings for steering head I would not be so concerned as they do not really move a lot. Also, nice that they come with the dust seal. Via Suzuki the upper seal is $8.46 and the lower is $14

PerazziMx14 said:

If you want to ride out to Chambersburg, I have a lift air-conditioned garage, tools and a chair to sit in while I watch you work away while I sip on a few beers.

While I am traditionally a disliker of All-Balls bearings for steering head I would not be so concerned as they do not really move a lot. Also, nice that they come with the dust seal. Via Suzuki the upper seal is $8.46 and the lower is $14

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Thanks for the offer. I'll be crossing through central PA in October on the way to a ride, but I'm hesitant to do significant and unfamiliar maintenance that far from home.

My All-Balls distaste is from a set of fork seals that leaked after just a year. Maybe their bearings are fine, but looks like you can get a set of NTN 32006 bearings plus OEM seals for about $15 more than the All Balls kit. For a bit extra I'm hoping that the replacements will outlast the bike (maybe another 50k?).