steering head bearing replacement with pics...no 56k.

[dwaltz61]

as the title says...thanks to 13uddha, and especially R1slowflier...

more pics in the next few posts.

[dwaltz61]

No idea how to post pics with explanations without having a place to host them other then NESR, but i do have more pics...

bottom bearing races were a bitch, but overall it went well.

[dwaltz61]

As you can see the stem and lower bearings were totally rusted out.

[dwaltz61]

yeah, between 30-60 it was more stable, but at slow speeds it was not inspiring at all...

[R1]

I was out there and held in the brake and gave it a good push or 2 and found it might need about an 1/8 of a turn tomorrow. bring back the special tool and plan on taking it for a quick ride then adjust if necassary.



BTW if you can find it post up the picture of the "tool" we made today!

[dwaltz61]

I was out there and held in the brake and gave it a good push or 2 and found it might need about an 1/8 of a turn tomorrow. bring back the special tool and plan on taking it for a quick ride then adjust if necassary.

you're the man. i owe you, so name it...

ill be by sometime to take a ride and if we need to loosen the steering so be it...

im pumped to finally get this done...its been a month.

[dwaltz61]

I was out there and held in the brake and gave it a good push or 2 and found it might need about an 1/8 of a turn tomorrow. bring back the special tool and plan on taking it for a quick ride then adjust if necassary.



BTW if you can find it post up the picture of the "tool" we made today!

just went through the pics...

thought i got one of the "tool" but i didn't. ill get one tomorrow. PVC + 125cc piston = win.

[R1]

you're the man. i owe you, so name it...

ill be by sometime to take a ride and if we need to loosen the steering so be it...

im pumped to finally get this done...its been a month.

Like i said dont worry about it.

see you tomorrow whatever time you pick ill be here all day.

[R1]

just went through the pics...

thought i got one of the "tool" but i didn't. ill get one tomorrow. PVC + 125cc piston = win.

[dwaltz61]

and like i said if you need a place to crash or park your car let me know...your wife makes amazing kabobs...

[R1]

She can cook......

[R1]

A couple more thanks are in order....

Thank you in advance to joel for helping me with my bike.

Thank you to Paul (bergs) for the tips earlier in the week. I was expecting you to stop by today, hope everything is alright brotha, give me a ring.

Thank you to Jim but especially to Degsy for teaching Jim how to do the bearings and then Jim for dealing with my messages today..... Thanks buddy now help me fix my damn phone. AND build me a server!!!!! FOR FREE!!!!

Thank you to Seacoast first off they are a great shop and just wanted to put that in there, but i called twice today and they were very helpful especially Alex in the service department. Most shops wont answer some of the questions i asked, they would more than likely tell you to bring it in so they could take a look, but alex was very helpful and understood exactly what i was asking and gave me the advice i needed with little time to spare before we ran out of options.

And thank you to Daren for letting your bike become victim of my mechanical expertise.

[GixerJockey]

That rust is a bit scary. That's not just the result of cheap bearings. That's water intrusion. How did the water get in there?

[dwaltz61]

That rust is a bit scary. That's not just the result of cheap bearings. That's water intrusion. How did the water get in there?

previous owner not keeping it in a garage?

bad bearing sealings?

[Ryno]

I'd say someone's been using a pressure washer on that ol girl.
Damn, that's nasty

[R1]

well whatever did happen has been corrected. we did a very thorough job on the rebuild

and if all goes accordingly it will be kept in my garage for the winter where it will sit nice, warm, and dry next to *as many bikes as i can fit in one bay*

seriously i may be offering up winter storage. I am ironing out the details now.

[Jim]

Thank you to Jim but especially to Degsy for teaching Jim how to do the bearings and then Jim for dealing with my messages today..... Thanks buddy now help me fix my damn phone. AND build me a server!!!!! FOR FREE!!!!

always glad to help. let me know when you want me to look at that BB, and when/what your server plans are

[Brian675]

How labor or mechanical is this bearing replacement? I know someone with a Ducati that needs to also have this done.

[BCT748]

Kieth you finally found something useful to use that junk piston for? Nice

and if all goes accordingly it will be kept in my garage for the winter where it will sit nice, warm, and dry next to *as many bikes as i can fit in one bay*

seriously i may be offering up winter storage. I am ironing out the details now.

I do remember you saying how nice a certain yellow 748 looked in your garage

[dwaltz61]

How labor or mechanical is this bearing replacement? I know someone with a Ducati that needs to also have this done.

labor intensive?

not too bad, it took us around 6 hours, but i would bet we could do it alot quicker.

i would be more than happy to help.

[Jim]

if you were to ride the bike to a shop for steering head bearings, i'm guessing you'd be charged between 6-8 hours of labor plus the $40 for parts

[joeswamp]

Wow, thats a ton of rust. Steering must have felt extra crunchy.

[R1]

Wow, thats a ton of rust. Steering must have felt extra crunchy.

it felt like shit in fact it felt like it had 2 sets of stops. once we got the front end in the air it would turn and stop about half way to the stops on each side.


for the record the bearings replacement took us about 2 hours and like joel said there was a learning curve, but mostly because the monsters little front fairing was harder to take apart and putback together than my entire bike

but we all walked away with thenowledge of how to do it and it will be cake to do my bike and if anyone needs help with their bike give me a shout ihave all the tools now and a garage.

seriously i would be more than willing to help anyone work on their bike no matter what kind or what it needs.

[dwaltz61]

Wow, thats a ton of rust. Steering must have felt extra crunchy.

it was alot of rust, i was surprised.

not crunchy, almost like a resistance on either side...kinda scary.

[evile]

but we all walked away with thenowledge of how to do it and it will be cake to do my bike and if anyone needs help with their bike give me a shout ihave all the tools now and a garage.

seriously i would be more than willing to help anyone work on their bike no matter what kind or what it needs.

My ST2 needs steering head bearings BAD. I was going to tackle this myself but would welcome some help if you're serious!