Date: 28-03-24  Time: 18:43 pm

Author Topic: Steering head bearings  (Read 1110 times)

Steve3351

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Steering head bearings
« on: 27 February 2020, 05:19:09 pm »
Hi Foccers. My steering head bearings are pretty worn..was thinking of replacing them, (presumably the original ball bearing type) with a new set of roller bearings.
How difficult is this, without special tools...? I'm especially thinking of getting the lower bearing race correctly seated in the frame..? :eek Have seen a few instructional vids and this seems to be the hard bit. :) :D :rolleyes :lol

and while I'm at it, my forks are horribly rusty just below the fairing...cosmetic really but how difficult is it to replace the inner part of the fork...and wot bits should be replaced when one is doing it..?

UPDATE... :eek  Jaysus!..was just checking the price of new forks..WAAAY too much. Wot about getting forks rechromed, is that an option...?
« Last Edit: 27 February 2020, 05:26:12 pm by Steve3351 »

darrsi

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Re: Steering head bearings
« Reply #1 on: 28 February 2020, 05:51:47 am »
From memory it wasn't exactly a pleasant job, and will depend on your level of mechanical skills. I think the hardest part was getting the old lower bearings off, they were a bit stubborn to say the least.
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unfazed

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Re: Steering head bearings
« Reply #2 on: 28 February 2020, 10:10:00 am »
These guys in Yorkshire  https://www.brooksuspension.co.uk/  are very good, bought fork legs from them and price was reasonable £120 a leg. They also do rechroming both legs for around £160.
As for the steering head bearing get the taper ones from Marksman Bearings, Getting the lower race out and in straight is usually the most difficult part of the job.

Steve3351

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Re: Steering head bearings
« Reply #3 on: 28 February 2020, 06:16:01 pm »
Thank u guys
I think I can handle changing the steering head bearings.. can u use the steering stem and yokes, with the old bearing still on, as a puller to get the new lower race into position..?
as for the forks, I think I'll just leave them...at wot point do you stop spending money on an old bike and just trade it in..??!!

His Dudeness

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Re: Steering head bearings
« Reply #4 on: 13 March 2020, 02:15:40 pm »
I did my steering bearings and it made a huge difference to how the bike felt when cornering, well worth replacing it if it's worn. Getting the lower race out was the difficult bit because it has a very thin area to hit against so you have to have the right tool to get a good contact on it. I tried loads of different things with no success, in the end what worked was a long, thin chisel with a bend in it. The chisel was ruined but it did the job. If you've got the right tool you can get the race out in seconds. If you've not got the right tool you'll be trying to get it out for hours :lol

unfazed

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Re: Steering head bearings
« Reply #5 on: 13 March 2020, 04:00:21 pm »
As his dudeness says new bearing make a big difference, more so because they wear slowly you adapt to the wear.
Use a threaded bar with appropriately sized socket/washers and nuts on either side, then by tightening the nut on the top pull the new race in. It is slow, but it means you can check it to ensure it is going in straight.
I used a large Screwdriver bent appropriately to get the lowere race out.
Now its a new tool in the tool box for removing head race bearings :D

Kenny Dave

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Re: Steering head bearings
« Reply #6 on: 03 April 2020, 12:49:49 am »
I took a mm off with a dremel to give me a surface, and used a silver steel drift, with the end ground down at an angle to get the purchase. Getting it in was easy, but you need a one of these to do it the way I did.



I also put the bearing in the freezer, which probably didn't help at all but I did it anyway.