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steering head bearings replacement

18K views 15 replies 13 participants last post by  gcarroll70 
#1 ·
other than making a socket is the dash hard to get apart?
 
#4 ·
Head bearing replacement

I take that you are going to replace the stem bearings.

I just did mine,

I replaced the old Stem Bearings with the All Balls tapered bearings, I am also rebuilding forks and putting in Progressive fork Springs new slider bushings and seals.

The Stem bearing part.

You do not have to take off the Speedo cluster, I didn't.

There are three bearing races that need to be removed.

2ea are in the frame head tube.

1ea is on the triple tree stem.

That is the hard part.

Taking out the bearing races out of the frame head tube takes some thought but not bad.

Knocked these out with a piece of steel rod about 15" long inside the head tube there are some half moon cut outs put the rod on those hammered the races out.

Taking the race off the triple tree stem, is a fun one, on that one i used a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel.

Other than that just go by the GL1800 Honda service manual.

Westgl
 
#9 ·
I didn't do the work but, had bearings changed to all balls and Traxxion springs installed, all I can say is WOW it's a whole different ride. No more slow speed wobble, no more wicked jolts from the handle bars when going over a bump and the nose of the bike doesn't dive under hard braking. It's a great ride now. Also, and I know I shouldn't do it but, I can take both hands of the handle bar to stretch and the bars don't wobble. I waited to long to have this done.
 
#10 ·
If anyone needs a steering head socett, you can get it at JustWings.com.
 
#11 ·
I too would like to hear the rest of this. My dealer did sell me new tires and the wobble is still there, just a little les pronounced. Did the roller bearings work?
 
#12 ·
They help a lot but I wouldn't count on them being the cure by any means. I recently did mine along with Race Tech springs and gold valve kit. Nice ride now by comparison and occasionally I feel a little wobble but not much at all.

I too would like to hear the rest of this. My dealer did sell me new tires and the wobble is still there, just a little les pronounced. Did the roller bearings work?
 
#13 ·
Results for Tapered Stem Bearings

Update:

I have ridden about 500 miles, since completion.

I installed the All Balls Tapered stem bearings, but at the same time I also installed the kuryakyn Fork Brace.

Both of those were a MAJOR FIX, not just an Improvement, but a Fix for the dreaded wobble.

My bike was so bad before, that steering every time i came to a stop it seemed like a controlled crash,

I felt like my bike started steering from right to left as i was lowing down, this caused me to counter steer, to try to keep the bike straight.:22yikes:

Bike would also start shaking, bad enough to make, my less then fun but more of a chore to ride.

All that BS is GONE.

My bike feels like it is very tight, solid, precision, in the way it steers now, ran it up to about 90mph VERRY Smooth

Big difference is Before I must have been steering a little a head of the turn & when i needed to(this is the only way I can describe it) I am not sure if that was from the forks flexing or the stem bearings.

But Now I had to retrain my brain to ride the bike again and turn a little later, because it turns with PRECISION!!!!!!!!!! NOW.

It is not twitchy in any way, just tight & precision

At higher speeds, 65mph, I can move the handle bars back and fourth about a 1/2"-1", and the bike is like super precise, the way it should have been from the factory

before I could do the same thing at 65mph steer about a 1/2"-1" and the wheel would go straight there was that much slop in the steering.

But I also changed out my front & rear Springs to progressive springs

westgl
 
#14 ·
Tapered Bearing Replacement

Note;

When replacing your tapered Bearings & torquing anything, especially Tapered Bearings,

When i replaced my Tapered bearings & torqued them, Put the torque wrench at the torque rating in the service manual.

You must torque, re-torque, torque again, then re-torque a few more times, then torque it again, before you put it all back together.

When i torqued mine, the torque wrench would click,

then you steer it back and fourth about 10 times each side, & re-torque, this procedure (Back & Fourth & Re-torque) is done around a dozen times, until it just clicks and cannot be tightened anymore, but just clicks.

This may be due to the races completely seating. If the dont seat the races, you will have a loose head set in no time, and have a wobbler once again.

I made a tool, that is different from everyone else's I mad mine short enough to get under the speedometer pod, so that i did not have to remove it, but high enough to get over the stem threads, with a Bolt welded in the end so that i can use a socket.

It worked well.

westgl
 
#15 ·
Putting the year of your bike in the message/question, your signature or at least in your profile is really necessary to get the right answers. On pre-'06 bikes, it is easy. On post '05 bikes it's a bit more involved.

Hint: Take many digital photos as you remove items and refer to them when to put it all back together.
 
#16 ·
Yes. Replacing the stem bearings with the All Balls tapered roller bearings solves the wobble problem. It is a challenging project that is simplified by watching Fred Harmon's videos. I wouldnt have done it without that.

Yes, you have to take the dash off to get to and remove the triple tree and forks but you can leave the speedo cluster on (just remove two lower bolts so you can lift it up and get it out of the way).

Highly recommend getting the stem lock nut socket and a 30 mm hex socket to remove the triple tree and to re-torque properly once everything is back together.

Out of all the projects I have done thus far, this fix is the most noticeable improvement.

Happy wrenching.
 
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