Perfectly explained Andy, delbollocks doesn't know his arse from his elbow mate,keep it coming man 👌👌

My advice for the last few decades based as a mechanic is Ball Race for Road and Track, Taper roller for Off Road.
As you mentioned, to maintain precision on the steering head and remove all side play taper roller requires pre-load, ball race does not.
And it follows that any resistance to the front self centering has the potential to turn a head shake into a tank slapper which is an issue on road bikes,  less so for off road where longevity is a priority due to the loads (impact) the bearings encounter off road.

Great video Andy and excellent explanation. Learned something new about bearing applications.

Noice...... I do like how you explain things and give a fair and balanced view  😉👍

Taper bearing rollers also don't go rolling across the garage never to be seen again like ball bearings do, just saying for a friend. Good explanation Andy,

I prefer the tapering bearings they last longer if you wheelie a lot

thank you for explanation!

I was told the tapered was a stronger alternative in school. Never thought about accuracy. I'm sure Suzuki didn't envisage the amount of wheeling people do in the design either. Good vid man

That's a good explanation, just shows even engineers arrive at different solutions ( Suzuki and Yamaha).

Thanks Andy, well said.

Interesting video. I don’t have any technical training so I think it is safer to assume the engineers who designed the bikes I own did actually know what they are doing.  I think it is dangerous for mouth breathers like me to think l know more than the designers and engineers.  Which is why I prefer to keep things stock.  Especially with a bike engineered with a 300 km/h top speed.  Your video helped me understand why Suzuki May have made the engineering choice they did with the Hayabusa.

Thanks Andy, very informative and well explained from a professional engineer, all the best mate. Stevie

Thanks. I didn't know that. So I guess that when dell-upgrading to TR the factory preload settings may not apply and touchy feely guesswork comes into play.

Good explanation, thanks hope all is well

Thanks for the enlightenment!

I believe Kevin Cameron was explaining this in Cycle magazine 30+ years ago. I was also told that the ball bearings have better "feel". Not sure if it is true? I recently replaced the steering head bearings in my 2007 Suzuki DL650 V Strom. It had 100,000 km on it. Before disassembly, I thought I'd better just replace them, with that much mileage and time. They were needing adjustment at the very least. When it came apart, they still look new! The very beginnings of denting on the outer races, but that was it! Thanks for the video, learned something about bearings, again. I thought it'd be a video telling me that Tapered roller bearings were superior. Cool! Note- I put the stock "basketed" ball bearings back in

Thanks Andy, need to replace the headstock bearings on my Kawasaki GT 750 and this helps 👍

Makes perfect sense Andy. More area more friction.

👍 Good explanation

Good to see you Andy, well explained Cheers.