Kingpin Zeppelin bearings.

[Richard Isaacs]

Just an FYI
If you are an owner of this futuristic looking little reel and are in a position where it needs a bearing, your probably right now pulling your hair out from both the lack of information on the internet and the lack of response from kingpin themselves.

Well fear not as I am also in that position but have taken it upon myself to sort the issue.

The bearings in this reel are a pressed in fit with no spacer between them. They are shouldered bearings that have to be pressed both in and out from each side. This means pulling one out and pushing the other out. They are a tight fit and I wouldn’t recommend knocking them out for fear of damaging the machined bore seat

Kingpin describe their bearings as marine grade which means they must be a 316 grade stainless steel from original.
It’s non magnetic, contains a little more chromium but also contains molybdenum which offers very high corrosion resistance against salt water.
Now I can’t find these online and to be fair I’m not going to be trotting floats in salt water.
For fresh water only trotting a 440 stainless is probably going to be better I think as it’s a harder material for a start and can be machined to very very good tolerances indeed.

I’ve ordered mine which are a very common size and I’ve gone with a Japanese bearing from EZO in 440 grade stainless with metal shields.

The reel I’m referring too is a first edition model zeppelin 475 before they started porting out the spokes horizontally.

Hopefully this information helps people out there searching for it
Bearing dimensions attached.

 

[Terry Harman]

I still see a civic type R alloy wheel

 

[Dave Bartell]

Great info as usual Rich, I too experienced a distinct lack of response from Kingpin too. Ended up having to utilise the leverage of the company I purchased the pin from. Was just after purchasing a couple of spare spool cap removal keys from them and was just about to commission you to knock me a couple up when they finally came through via the 3rd party company.

 

[Alan Rose]

I still see a civic type R alloy wheel

Ha, great shout Terry! That was me and Susanna’s wedding car (silver one) back in 2003! Not ours mind you, it belonged to a friend who also chauffeured us

 

[Derek Funcks]

I still see a civic type R alloy wheel

And here's me thinking it was a Ferus wheel without the seats

 

[Ian Woods]

They are nice reels, very solid and well made. I very much like the appearance of them. I have both the 4inch (I think the 4inch was ceased to be produced as the yanks prefer larger reels) and a 4 3/4 inch examples with a black backplate and silver drum, this is my 4 3/4 inch example....

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Well mine is all built back up now and rolling like a true champ. The original rear bearing was totally shot and been like that since new I’m told.
Now it’s very silent and very free sitting on those Japanese rings.
It rolls back and forth several times before it settles to a stop and a light blow on the handles is enough to get it into some RPM so it’s exceptionally free indeed.

If trying this yourself….. word of warning! The bore is not recessed. So the bearing will not straighten itself out as you press it in. Get it started off perfectly straight. If it starts on the piss, remove it and start again DO NOT FORCE IT THINKING IT WILL STRAIGHTEN OUT!
The bore is only aluminum and you’ll completely wreck it beyond repair. You’ve been warned!

It’s a lovely pin but there’s no way I’d buy another. Kingpin were asked several times if they could at the very least supply me with a couple of oem rollers and never replied once.
A product is only as good as the company that supports it.
I’m just fortunate enough to have both the equipment and experience to press/pull them out and press them in again without impacting the reel in a negative way.
I feel sorry for those that can’t do this and trying to obtain support and help that simply isn’t there.
No back up or support basically renders their reels worthless and you might aswell buy second hand or from a company that will respond to communication.

I’m more than happy to do this job for others that are struggling with a kingpin but take note that the bearings I supply will be top quality Japanese bearings but won’t be salt water resistant 316 grade stainless.