Topic: HELP 350 steering head bearing spacer question.

[Jayelwin]

So on my 750 I remember some sort of mild controversy about the lower All Balls steering head bearing spacer choice and it ended up being the thinner of the two plus the dust cover.

So please before I press it down - is the 350 All Balls steering head bearing spacer choice the thinner one? Does anyone remember which they might have used?

I know that you need to measure using the old bearings, but I had to dremel and pretty much destroy them to get them out and they're gone now.

Thanks.

[flybox1]

I used the larger on my 350F, with the assumption that the larger would always work, but the thinner one might not allow full compression of the bearings, top and bottom, into the races....

[Jayelwin]

So let me wrap my head around this for a sec. This will lower the lower tree down and less of the inner tree tube will be at the top. On the 750 this affected the spacing of the fork ears. Are you using the stock fork ears on your 350?

[flybox1]

There wasnt a lengthy steering bearing thread at that time to guide me, so i didnt know about measuring the stack heights before mangling them off the stem      
I retained the stock fork ears, and do not recall any fitment issues. 

[Jayelwin]

So you really think "can't go wrong" with the thicker one?

The thinner one worked perfectly for my 750.

hmmmm......

[Harsh]

Do you by any chance still have the lower bearing race, cup and a few bearings?  If so put them together like they would be installed.  Then put the all balls set together and place them right next to the original set.  See what the difference is between the two and add a washer as necessary.

FWIW I just installed a set in my 350 (twin not F) and the thinner washer was damn near a perfect match in stack height.  If you use the wrong spacer you can have an issue with the headlight ears not lining up correctly.

[flybox1]

So you really think "can't go wrong" with the thicker one?

I had nothing to reference, really.  Discarded the old parts too quickly, and my 350F is long gone to have a look at.
Sorry if i made you second guess 
Like Harsh said, if you have bits of your old one....

[Jayelwin]

Do you by any chance still have the lower bearing race, cup and a few bearings?  If so put them together like they would be installed.  Then put the all balls set together and place them right next to the original set.  See what the difference is between the two and add a washer as necessary.

FWIW I just installed a set in my 350 (twin not F) and the thinner washer was damn near a perfect match in stack height.  If you use the wrong spacer you can have an issue with the headlight ears not lining up correctly.

So far the 750 and the 350 twin seem to take the thinner spacer. I unfortunately don't have the old race as I had to break it to get it out and then I threw the pieces away. And of course all the ball bearings rolled around once they hit the floor and I am ultimately swept them out of the garage.

I think I'll go with the thinner spacer as the overall design of all these bikes is very similar and this is my third build.