Help!. Steering head bearings

Paul Landry p_landry at telus.net
Sun Aug 19 13:43:32 PDT 2007


Working on the GPz and I might be getting in over my head!.
 
History, fork seal in the left fork started leaking 2 weeks ago.  Made
arrangements with the local dealer to do the internal work on the forks to
replace the seals etc. as I don't have the required tools and knowledge to
really do this.
 
Friday I went to reinstall the refreshed forks and checked the steering head
bearings (did this with the weight of the forks on the bike before
disassembly and all seemed Ok) with the weight of the forks removed I found
the movement to be rough and notchy.  Damn!..  
 
Took the triple clamp and steering head apart to inspect the bearings and
found water damage (water still in the head).  The evidence of rust and
corrosion on both the bearings, races and cages.  Cleaned out the old grease
and inspected, does not look too bad but running your fingernail on the
bearing surfaces and on the races reveals the extent of the damage.
 
These need to be replaced..  
 
Now my problem..  The front of the bike is totally disassembled.  To get it
to the dealership requires I largely rebuild it so I can transport to them
to have it taken apart again!..   @ $85/hr and 1+ weeks wait for shop time I
would rather avoid this!.
 
I feel comfortable doing the work myself but do not have the specialty tools
to remove the bearing, races and then install the new ones.  The manual
shows bearing puller, wrench, tool for installing the new races, and one for
installing the new bearing on the steering stem.
 
I know others on the list have done this on their bikes and am looking for
the tips, tricks, alternate tools that I can use to do this.
 
Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated.  I am running out of
summer and have not gotten in nearly enough riding yet this year!.. 
 
Thanks...  
 
 
Paul W. Landry
P_Landry at telus.net

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