Replacing Steering Head Bearings - Doable for newbie?

Bike just failed inspection due to Steering Head Bearing issues. Since they quoted me $125-300 labour depending on how difficult they are to remove, I figured I'd see if I would be able to do it myself.

Since I have no idea what's involved, is it something a newbie like me should even concider doing myself?

 

Anything is doable. Sounds like you're on the right path... get your info first. have a service manual?

 

Mechanically, it's not "hard", but it's kind of a pain in the muffler, since you have to remove quite a lot of parts from the front end of the bike to access the head bearings. If you do this job, we would recommend using the tapered roller bearings instead of the stock ball bearings system, they last longer and give a much more precise feel to the steering.

 

Thanks Chacal. That was my concern - the difficulty of getting at the bearings. Since I've never removed any of the front end.

My order for the kit is on the way!

 

This is an easy job. It just takes time to do. You don't need to buy any special tools either. I used one of the old races that I removed to push the new races into the neck. I just used a dremel to take a little off the outside so it would slide in and out of the neck easily. I also froze the lower tree in the freezer over night. I stuck the lower bearing in the oven for about 20 minutes to heat it up. The oven was only heated to about 200. With the bearing hot and the tree cold the bearing just slid right down into place. There was no need for a fancy tool. Make sure you pack the bearings completely with grease so they don't fail prematurely.

 

I'll chime in with the same, I did mine, not a big deal, quite easy...
Just that it takes you probably 3 times as long to disassemble/reassemble than the actual job takes lol

 

Get a Haynes Manual.

The Haynes Manual shows you how to maneuver the Handle Bars so you don't have to spend time moving the Brake and Clutch.

Remove the Gas Tank
Jack the Bike so you can remove the Front Wheel without the Bike falling-over.
Handy Tools:
9 Inch Line-up Tool
Hammer: Rubber & Plastic Head
Strong Magnet

Use the Magnet to collect the Balls when you drop the Tree.
The Line-up Tool will help knock-out the Races.
The Plastic Hammer will help Seat the New Races without damaging them.

 

Rick, I haven't seen the Haynes so I don't know what it says. I will share something that recently occurred to me and I use regularly in the shop.

I hang a pair of bungee cords from the ceiling. I remove the top bridge with everything still attached to it (handle bars, brake lines, gauges etc.) and hang the bars from the cords. Keeps the master cylinder right side up and keeps all the other stuff pulled up out of the way.

 

I just did mine this spring. Not hard at all. The only tools I had to go out and buy because I didn't have were a 9" long drift for getting out the old races, and a proper steering nut wrench (aka hook spanner wrench). I got this one, works great: Adjustable Hook Spanner Wrench
And as zombiehouse said - using those old races as a tool for seating the new races works perfectly.
The freezer & oven trick for the lower bearing I've heard works quite well - I didn't bother though. Just used a foot long piece of 1.25" pvc pipe to seat the lower bearing - worked a charm.
I've gotten so used to the old crappy stiff and notched bearings though that the new ones feel weird. Now, tightening them is a bit of an art I'm told, and I haven't got an artistic cell in my body, so not sure if I've got them tight enough, so that might be part of it.

 

As most of the people on this site will attest, nobody will care as much, or put as much effort into your bike as you will. You've got lots of people willing to help on here so don't be afraid to ask! I say go for it! Never bad to pull your bike apart and learn what's going on inside.

 

Yup, hang the bars from the ceiling, put a piece of tape on each side of each connector and number each connect 1-1, 2-2, etc..... until you notice that each connector has matching wires and shapes, or you can recognize what goes where.

Take your time, make lots of drawings, and you'll be fine. I dd mine w/o a manual. It's more scarey than it is hard. It just sounds like a big job, and looks scarey when everything is apart. It's not difficult. Besides, if you DO somehow screw something up, we're all here like shop buddies. We'll straighten you out.

Don't worry about the magnet for the balls, either. Just kick 'em into the corners of the shop and let them dissapear into the dust.

Dave

 

Since you have the hook spanner wrench you should be able to use a torque wrench on it. Torque value should be in the service manual.

Rule of thumb I've heard is to only tighten the bearings until the wheel does not "fall" to either side (under its own weight) when you let go of the handlebar.

 

That thumb was wrong. The bars should fall smoothly to one side or the other, with a gentle push. No, they shouldn't be loose; but they shouldn't be bindy-tight either.

 

After installing New Headset Bearings, you are going to need to adjust them a couple of times before they get fully seated.

Knocking-in New Races sometimes does not fully seat the Race.
After a few outings; revisit the Headset Bearings and check for proper tightness.

Tightening the Headset Bearings:

Tighten the Lower Adjusting Nut until the Bearings "Bind".
Work the Tree "Stop -to-Stop" with the Bearings Tight.
Sometimes this will alleviate a misalignment of the Race.
Back-off the Adjustment Nut.
Tighten >>Again<< s-l-o-w-l-y until the Bearings Bind.
Back-off relieving the Torque until the Binding goes away.
Experiment.
Tighten and loosen until the Adjustment Nut is at the Point where Tightening it will Bind the Bearings and leaving it lets the Bearings roll free.
Hold the Adjustment Nut.
Lock it with the Upper Locking Nut.

You may have to "Play with it"
Tightening the Locker may move the Adjuster too much Binding the Bearings.

Micro adjustments may be needed until the Adjuster gets Locked in the correct position.

 

Please pass the humble pie ... after installing the new roller bearings from Chacal, and reading the instructions oh ...100 times, my upper bearings are loose. I have 150 miles on the bike now, and tightened the nuts on top. But when I brake hard, I can see the play in the bearing (click), brake release (clunk) ... This would destroy all my confidence, but is it possible I put the upper roller bearing in upside down? ... Everything went back together nicely,or so it seemed. Anyone else have this issue ?

 

I'm performing my first Steering Head Bearings job. (Shout out to Chacal.) Frozen races seated in the tube just fine. Re-assembly time.

Question: The tree's lower set needs to seat tight against the dust seal, right? I'm persuading, using hammer & PVC pipe - but man it's tight. I just don't want to damage it. (I did not freeze the lower tree.)

Thanks a lot!

 

Yes, all the way to the bottom!

Freezing the tree and heating the bearing before forcing it down is the way to go. Done it twice do to the fact that the first kit had faulty bearings AND to big dust seals.

 

Thanks for this thread - and to Chacal for the parts. Both help me screw up my courage and tackle the steering head and front wheel bearings. (While I was in there, I serviced the caliper & MC.) What a difference!

Highly recommended (at least for the wheel bearings): Purchase the split-collar bearing extractor set. It was like finding the hidden gold key!

How much more challenging is it to replace the swingarm bearings?

 

Do you have a bottle jack and a sturdy workbench (a real workbench, not some big-box store bench)? With a long enough piece of pipe, and careful alignment, you also have a light-duty bearing press. The jack goes on the floor under the bench, the tree goes against the underside of the bench, and the pipe goes in between.

You might need to convince your "oversized" neighbor to sit on the bench, or bolt the bench to the floor like mine is.

 

It's easier.......you take the rear rim off, take the punkin' off, pull the 'shaft, remove the shocks. Now, pull the side pivot covers off, flatten the lock washer tabs back, pull the pivots, drop the swingarm, and go to it. Nice thing is you can do them on a bench at a comfortable height.

dave F