ScottRNelson
Adventure and Dual Sport
I recently replaced the steering head bearings on my 2001 XR650L - at 24,000 miles. The bottom bearing race had little indentations from the bearings so that it took a little extra effort to steer off of center.
I'm curious if replacing the bearings is as difficult on other bikes as it was on mine.
First off, I had to take everything off of the front end, wheel, forks, handlebars, all the junk near the headlight. That would be the same on any bike. Had to buy a 30mm socket to get steering stem nut off that holds the top triple clamp in place. With a 16" extension bar it wasn't too difficult. The steering bearing adjustment nut underneath wasn't all that hard either. I know you're supposed to use a special tool on it, the same thing you would use to adjust shock preload, but I decided to try a drift punch instead. Actually, a pipe wrench worked best to get it off and it didn't have to turn very far at all before I could just do it with my fingers.
With those nuts off, the top bearing popped right off, but the bottom bearing was very firmly attached to the steering stem and both top and bottom bearing races were also solidly in there. Not having the "correct" tools, I bought a long drift punch from Harbor Freight and a 2 pound hammer and eventually knocked the bearing races out. It only took 50 or 60 hits each working my way around them to get them out evenly. I was expecting the top bearing race to have the dents in it, but it was totally smooth. The bottom one had the dents at the back of it.
The hardest part was getting the bottom bearing off of the steering stem. I have no idea how you're supposed to remove it, but I used a Dremmel to cut the bearing cage and get that out of there, then used two more cutting wheels to cut into the remainder of the bearing until I could spread it with a chisel and get it off.
Thinking that the hard part was done, I proceeded to put the new bearing races in and the bottom bearing onto the stem. I used a piece of wood and a smaller hammer to get the races started, then used one of the old races to get the new ones seated. Narrower edge to narrower edge worked best, and I probably pounded each of them another ten times after I thought they were seated, just to make sure.
All that was left was to press fit the bottom bearing without using a hydraulic press like you're supposed to. If I had to do this more frequently I would probably get a piece of pipe the right size to pound the bearing into place, but I just used the non-destroyed bearing, turned backwards, to push against the new one to pound it into place the 3/4" or so that it needed to move. Like removing the races, I used a drift punch pounding on three or four spots around the bearing to try to get it to go evenly. It felt like it took 10-15 hits to get it to move one millimeter. I eventually decided that way was way too stupid, set it in my vice so that it was almost clamped, but not quite, and pounded it into place by hitting the bottom of the steering stem on the other side of the triple clamp. That still took a while, but got the job done.
Once the bearing was all the way down and I was sure it was seated firmly, I couldn't get the old bearing back out of there. Time for the Dremmel again.
I think the only other issue was setting the right tension with the steering bearing adjustment nut. I had to watch a couple of online videos to figure that one out. I tightened it until it was way too stiff, to make sure things were seated, then backed it off and adjusted the tension with my fingers until I could just start to feel some resistance. I'm hoping I don't have to readjust that thing, since that would involve taking the handlebars off and the top triple clamp.
Once all back together the steering feels very light, especially compared to how it was before. I rode about 80 miles of dirt roads today and haven't noticed any looseness in the steering, so maybe we're good on that. The only issue I haven't resolved after putting it all back together is that for some reason my horn doesn't work anymore. Plenty of time to figure that out.
So does this sound about right for replacing steering head bearings, or was I totally stupid in the way that I got it done?
Hints about better ways to do it, in case I ever have to do it again, would be appreciated.
I'm curious if replacing the bearings is as difficult on other bikes as it was on mine.
First off, I had to take everything off of the front end, wheel, forks, handlebars, all the junk near the headlight. That would be the same on any bike. Had to buy a 30mm socket to get steering stem nut off that holds the top triple clamp in place. With a 16" extension bar it wasn't too difficult. The steering bearing adjustment nut underneath wasn't all that hard either. I know you're supposed to use a special tool on it, the same thing you would use to adjust shock preload, but I decided to try a drift punch instead. Actually, a pipe wrench worked best to get it off and it didn't have to turn very far at all before I could just do it with my fingers.
With those nuts off, the top bearing popped right off, but the bottom bearing was very firmly attached to the steering stem and both top and bottom bearing races were also solidly in there. Not having the "correct" tools, I bought a long drift punch from Harbor Freight and a 2 pound hammer and eventually knocked the bearing races out. It only took 50 or 60 hits each working my way around them to get them out evenly. I was expecting the top bearing race to have the dents in it, but it was totally smooth. The bottom one had the dents at the back of it.
The hardest part was getting the bottom bearing off of the steering stem. I have no idea how you're supposed to remove it, but I used a Dremmel to cut the bearing cage and get that out of there, then used two more cutting wheels to cut into the remainder of the bearing until I could spread it with a chisel and get it off.
Thinking that the hard part was done, I proceeded to put the new bearing races in and the bottom bearing onto the stem. I used a piece of wood and a smaller hammer to get the races started, then used one of the old races to get the new ones seated. Narrower edge to narrower edge worked best, and I probably pounded each of them another ten times after I thought they were seated, just to make sure.
All that was left was to press fit the bottom bearing without using a hydraulic press like you're supposed to. If I had to do this more frequently I would probably get a piece of pipe the right size to pound the bearing into place, but I just used the non-destroyed bearing, turned backwards, to push against the new one to pound it into place the 3/4" or so that it needed to move. Like removing the races, I used a drift punch pounding on three or four spots around the bearing to try to get it to go evenly. It felt like it took 10-15 hits to get it to move one millimeter. I eventually decided that way was way too stupid, set it in my vice so that it was almost clamped, but not quite, and pounded it into place by hitting the bottom of the steering stem on the other side of the triple clamp. That still took a while, but got the job done.
Once the bearing was all the way down and I was sure it was seated firmly, I couldn't get the old bearing back out of there. Time for the Dremmel again.
I think the only other issue was setting the right tension with the steering bearing adjustment nut. I had to watch a couple of online videos to figure that one out. I tightened it until it was way too stiff, to make sure things were seated, then backed it off and adjusted the tension with my fingers until I could just start to feel some resistance. I'm hoping I don't have to readjust that thing, since that would involve taking the handlebars off and the top triple clamp.
Once all back together the steering feels very light, especially compared to how it was before. I rode about 80 miles of dirt roads today and haven't noticed any looseness in the steering, so maybe we're good on that. The only issue I haven't resolved after putting it all back together is that for some reason my horn doesn't work anymore. Plenty of time to figure that out.
So does this sound about right for replacing steering head bearings, or was I totally stupid in the way that I got it done?
Hints about better ways to do it, in case I ever have to do it again, would be appreciated.
