Steering head bearings: how to replace and adjust without special tools
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- Опубликовано: 4 фев 2014
- Need to replace, adjust or repack the the grease in your steering head bearings? Watch Pete from Garage Night TV fix the steering head bearings on his bike. It's not that difficult but we have some great tricks at tips! More videos at our RUclips channel or the official Garage Night TV website.
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7 years later and this video is still helping people. Earned my sub. Thank you. Looking forward to going thru your video catalog.
Glad it helped!
Hell of a video here. Everyone should watch this.
i want to thank you for the idea of cutting the old bearing out with snips and using the old bearing inner race as a bearing driver. i ended up using these same techniques on my bike last night and it worked perfectly.
Great tips and banter there guys, I also love how there's beer bottles and cans strewn about the workshop.
Thank you for the tip about cutting the old bearing with an angle grinder to use to push the new bearing on. Just used that method and it went smooth. Great vid.
Glad it helped!!
Excellent practical advice! I followed all of this and it worked a treat on my GSXR. My only problem was that my beer was too good to use to quench the hot bearing race, so I had to use water.
We never find water as quenching as beer ...
great video guys, after watching those ideas I was able to replace the steering head bearings on my YZ125 with no specialized tools!
That's friggin' genius, all that vice improvisation. Great video.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to put this together. Found it nice and easy to follow. This is a job I've done several times before, but watched your video for a refresher before tackling it again this weekend on my own bike. I picked up some good tips - I much prefer your demonstrated method for swapping the bearing on the stem. And a rod of solid is definitely a better driver than a big screwdriver - I shall be picking one up in the morning!
Used your rear wheel bearing replacement video as a primer before doing my own last week. Big help, and that jobs now done. Next, steering bearings. Again, thanks.
Nice tutorial. It sure made it easy for me to see how it's done without specialty tools
Awesome! I was able to swap out both races and bearings on my DRZ400SM really quickly due to this video! THANKS!!!
Thanks for the video guys. Used these techniques to replace the bearings on my KTM 300 today (first time for me). I used a pipe to press the bearing on the yolk. Had trouble tapping the bottom race into the bike, and ended up putting the bike on it's side to get better purchase. Had all sorts of trouble trying to tap it in as the KTM is seated deeper on the race, and needed to use the old race and a piece of flat metal holding it in place while i hammered it in. Fingers were just getting in the way trying to hold the old race.
Cheers
Mick
such a polite greasing technique :) I usually slap the bearing with both hands full of grease, like making a mud pie.
I’ll be replacing the stem bearings on my interceptor 650 tomorrow. This video is so fun to watch and informative at the same time. Cheers.
Great, how did it go?
Love the ingenuity. No special tools no press. Works perfectly. Now time to install new ones on my fatcat
Sweet
Awesome stuff.. helped me out a lot on my GSXR600 frontend swap on my 2nd Gen SV650. I pretty much went through every step of this video without using any special tools 😁. Thanks!
Glad it helped! Great to hear we made a difference for you.
Best video I can find for changing my head bearing. Thank you now I won't have to take it to the garage and pay someone.
Thanks for watching!
Great video complete with important details and real world workarounds for avoiding the (potentially) expensive installation tools! Subscribed!
that idea of putting the old bearing cup up too the new one and turn it upside down in a vice then knocking the bottom of the triple tree was a cracker . Thanks for that
thanks, that’s one of mine! waz
Thank you for sharing the knowledge in this video. Using the same method, I was able to replace the bearings on my 1984 Honda Shadow using simple shop tools.
Very useful video guys glad I didn't chuck out the old bearings yet. The old xr250 will be very thankful when I put her back together!
Thanks Guys! Some handy tips there, especially the lover bearing remove and install were a great help. The Mushman have done it again.
Nice job! You can also try putting the races in the freezer for an hour, so. Should be easier to install after.
Man dude, thanks a million! You should change your heading to "changing steering bearings with no special tools" because that is what I and many others search for and yours is the only video that actually shows that. It took me forever to find your video. I have been riding with a bad bearing for over a year because I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars buying special tools. Almost everyone has a grinder or dremel tool and a vice or something similar they can use.
Doing this job right now. This vid has been really helpful (especially for dealing with those pesky lower bearings).
Great methods in here guys, I just used this video to help remove and install the bottom bearing on my YZ250 triple tree. Thanks!
thanks fellas. I just bought an older Speed Triple (not an abused one) that feels a little weird from straight ahead. I'd better lift the front and check the play before resorting to this ... but your video has bolstered my confidence to tackle it - have OK tools and vice.
Awesome tip converting the old bearing into an installation tool! I was struggling to find a pipe with appropriate OD and ID and then came across your video, and when I saw you do that I stopped, ran out to the shop, cut up the old bearing - boom! Problem solved. And I'll save it for next time. Thanks :-)
Great stuff! Glad we could help
Educational, informative and funny too. Nice one fellas.
Very practical. Saved $$$ doing it the "Garage Night" way. Thx much!!!
Thanks guys, great advice
so helpful, I thought I was squared away with just service manual and a clymer's book, but this video was perfect for seeing it happen in a real garage without the 7 special tools listed in the book haha, all info, no b.s. thanks for the vid, going out there to try it now, Cheers guys
You're welcome!
Good and clean job dude!
Thanks guys. Will be a great help with sorting klr 650 out.
Thanks for a great video. Finally you explained it so good. Stay safe
You can use your freezer to contract a bearing, prior to inserting; or in this case, the steering stem itself (so you might need a chest freezer, for the size of the object), - worth trying, as it minimizes the stress applied to the bearing during fitting. Equally, you can use heat to make a part expand. Physics can be damn handy, sometimes :-)
You would not freeze the steering stem you would heat it to expand it you would freeze the race to shrink it
@@treysadler2994 you would do like we did in the video and you would be fine 😀. i think you are getting steering stem mixed up with steering head. the stem is on the bottom yoke/triple clamp. the head is on the bike. i would not recommend heating up the steering head to try and make a bearing cup fit in.
Thanks guys, great video, complete with blood and beer, liked the comment about the palm getting a workout.
used a number of the techniques in here, had to get a slide hammer and collet for the lower race though. either way, great walk through on the procedure.
Thanks guys. Had actually done the job a few weeks earlier was good to see I got it right
Thanks for sharing this! I'm doing a bearing change on my yz250 and don't want to break the bank on special tools.
That was fun to watch!
I will be changing the bearings on my F800 soon and there were some great tips in this clip. Cheers.
These guys used to do a video podcast with thier videos. true, helpful, strait forward. All of that. hopefully they will post more of their videos on RUclips as they have several helpful and good ones.
Excellent. Please help us get the word out about our new home on RUclips!
Thanks for this video. 👍
Great stuff lads. Keep that up ;)
Thanks very much for the video and tips on it. I did the bearings in my vfr and without this vid i would have paid to have it done.
Great video! Subscribed!
Basically identical to my '77 XS650 I'm about to tackle. This will help a ton.
Hope it went well!
Thanks, this helped me on my KTM,
I also put 2 notches with a small round file in the lower seat to enable easy removal ie something to hit on if the bearing is flush with the seat you have no surface to hit on
put that glob of grease in the corner of a sandwich bag with the bearing and release all the air. Push the grease into the bearing without touching it.😀
Made my sandwich all greasy dude!
Building a fresh bike from scratch and this bit of info really helps. 👌
Thanks for the tip.
I got it mixed up with my gunja!
I'm literally just about to start this job on my KTM450. Hope it's even close to as easy as this looks.
Thank you. Such a good video
Very helpful video in this video are knowledgeable for ever one
The real key to jobs like this is to just get into it and not give up even if it doesn't seem to be working
Brilliant
Sub's & liked.
Great idea of spreading then knowledge...friendship wealth and beer
These are useful tips, i'm about to swap my notchy ball-bearing yoke bearings for tapered roller bearings, and i don't have the proper tools for the job so these methods will come in handy.
Good luck!
Great vid guys!! great subject and the accents add to the entertainment..lol
Excellent tutorial, I've just subscribed. I'm going to replace my head bearings on my vtr 250. Thanks heaps. You guys are awesome.
Great video help alot💪👍👍
Great video gentlemen. Thanks very merry 🇨🇦✌🏼
Our pleasure!
Brilliant. You guys did the same thing I did. Damn special tools cost a small fortune.
very good but would always recommend wearing safety glasses when hammering bearings, they are hardened steel and chip easy.
I've drilled and tapped in a zirk fitting into the steering head tube and filled the entire thing with grease!
THANK YOU SO MUCH
awesome. thank you.
Good stuff guys..
Good info thanks for the video ..i may try doing my zx9r ..but am scared the bike will fall off the rear stand for changing rear tyres ..any tips to secure the bike at home ?
Your vid and a couple of rum and cola's = job done. Great tips.
Glad we could help Ralph
the best way to pack em!!!
Cut a groove in the inner race with a dremel, hit it with a little heat then spin it with a punch. Once you can spin it, it will slide off.
Have done that one too. Found that after nicking it with a dremel or grinder, I could break the race with a hammer and cold chisel
Thanks guys..
Great tips i will use soon
Thanks for the video.
No worries!
Nice!
Thank you guys! im about to try that
Did it work?
@@GarageNight yes it did!, worked perfectly. Where I had hard time was getting the bottom race from the steering head, there was no edge or groove to punch it out, did some dremel work for the next time. Thanks again guys
I eather just use a air hammer with a chisel bit they pop right off the stem or a bearing splitter in a press
Thank you.
Great tips. Bearing installation tool makers are not happy to see this vid. Lol
Hammer the old race half way into a 2x6 board then drill and hole into and get your self a threaded bar out the bar through the hole with a big washer and nut and then stick the bar up through and get another 2x6 on the other side with a nut and washer as well and then tighten it until the old race pushes the new race all the way in
for installing the bottom bearing, id toss the steering stem in the freezer a few hours (assuming you don't have defrost a pot roast to do so). with that aluminum one, the OD would actually shrink a couple thou, making a much easier drive
is it ok to change my front wheel tire from 120/70 R17 to 130/70 R17..?does it will affect the performance of the bike..is there will be no wobble?
I'll give this a shot. Don't know why but it looks like my stem was welded into the bottom triple tree clamp so I've been scratching my head as to how to get that sucker off there
Assuming we mean the same thing by 'stem', you shouldn't need to get the stem out of the bottom triple clamp to replace the bearing. You drive the bearing or the inner race off, as shown in the video. Hope you get there!
hello !
i 'd like to know what is the bike with dakar sticker ?
Thank you so much for this video. I have to replace the steering bearings of my Yamaha Majesty, I got the fork off, but I was now wondering how to remove the bearing races. For adjusting the bearings, the service manual mention two torque, first tighten at 25 ft-lbs, then loosen a quarter turn, then tighten at 17 ft-lbs... Why is that? Is 25 ft-lbs enough to seat properly all bearings if they are not fully inserted?
Hey there. I'm not sure - it may be to help seat the bottom bearing on the yoke, and/or to seat the bearing cups into the headstock. Regardless, always follow the advice in the service manual for your bike. If there's any difference compared with what you see in our videos, do what the manual says!
GarageNightTV Well, I did as per the service manual to adjust the steering head, but your video helped me a lot nonetheless. Removing and reinstalling bearings was much more difficult than I first thought, and I learned a few nice tricks thanks to you... Slotting the old bearings and using them to install the new ones, such an elegant, simple and efficient trick... Now after many hundred miles, my bike still steers like a charm, and I saved a few hundred bucks. Thanks again.
Your cup it's called the bearing race and as far as the freezer goes you would freeze the race to shrink and slitely heat up the neck on the bike and when the race is frozen it should fall right in.
You can call it a cup especially when it's not integral to the bearing. We're good with our method thanks mate - yes you could put the it in the freezer, it might help a bit, or it might not.
u guys are so lucky to have tapper bearing
I have seen some people use a piece of all thread and some washers, sized the same as the outer race, one on top and the other on bottom. then tighten a nut on either side and it would press the races into place, rather than trying to tap it into place with a hammer or drift and risk deforming the the outer race.
I have heard of people doing that but it seems more complicated than is necessary - a rubber mallet followed by some finessing so it seats properly works fine
Ya i feel ya, Some people lack finesse so just a different way you can go about it.
Steering races are tough. Unless you are beating them in crooked or using a hard drift, no damage will occur. Replaced many sets with a hammer and drift, never once had an issue. Linkage bearings on the other hand CAN be damaged with the hammer and punch method, they are much less robust.
What is a "boy-ike"?
would it be acceptable to pre grease the outer face of the ball race pre installation???
No, if you mean the race that fits into the steering stem, it's meant to be an interference fit. You would not grease it IMO
I did that many times in my mountain bikes.
But now i´m building a caferacer, and i´m thinking of change the front suspension.
Are all the steering head bearings, standard diameter for bikes as they are for bicycles?
No, different kinds/sizes on different bikes ...
I just checked mine i have a Chinese 150cc. The bearings looked ok so i re greased them they were a little dry. But when im tightening the upper one the point where they lock the wheel to hold it straight keeps getting set where the wheel is turned slightly how can i fix this so the wheel locks straight?
You should not be tightening the bearings so much that it locks the steering. The handlebars should fall from hand to hand as shown in the video. If you are finding that when the wheel is straight, the handlebars are not properly aligned, the forks may be misaligned in the yokes/triple clamps.
Do you replace the seals with the new bearings? Only aftermarket bearings I've found don't come with seals and yamaha don't list it as a separate part and really don't want to pay the £140 for the official yamaha bearings
You might be able to reuse the old seals if they are in good order - but preferably you would replace the seals. Talk to a good bearing shop, let them measure it up or give them the dimensions - they might be able to help
Absolutely hacking away 🤣
Is it ok to put new bearing in old races? Old races seem fine!
In short, no
Easier if you freeze the races and grease the frame and races to press in
Personally I wouldn't grease something like this that is designed to be an interference fit ... unless you are dealing with dissimilar metals and worried about electrochemical corrosion etc
You guys really do things the hard way. Try freezing the steering stem and heating the bearing to around 100 degrees C and it will slide right on no hammer required. Same goes with the steering outer races. Heat the head freeze the race.
We're good thanks
Installed a set of Ball Race in my motorcycle, handling is good. but after a 40km ride, the handle bar becomes stiff (on a center stand) but after moving the handle bar from left to right, it becomes smooth again. what seems to be the problem? is this normal for a new ball race installation?
+TheFrozenMind Not 100% what type of bearing we're talking about but that sounds weird. Stiffness in the steering action is bad news and can be very dangerous, as the bike can't correct itself when you hit bumps etc.
When you replaced the bearings (on the steering stem) did you replace the cups in the headstocks as well? If you reused the old ones they may be notched.
You could try backing off the headstock adjustment a little - you might have overtightened, which is easy enough to do.
Also look for simple things - is something inside the fairing rubbing/catching on the forks, yokes, front fender etc?
Hi! Thank You for your reply, I already Re-adjusted the "Ring Nuts", I loosened it and ride it about 70km, then I re-tightened it. The Handling is smooth now.
Bearing Type: Loose Ball Bearing
All The Cups/Races are new as a set with the Steel Balls.
How is gn250 Steering bearing numbers 1991 model
Excellent idea 💡 .... so simple when you know how, now to improvise a vice!? 🤔... lol 😂, but give this 1.... 👍
Thank you! Cheers! When you've built your vice post a video ...
If your bearings have worn a notch into the races, it can wear you out like crazy on a long trip. You will be worn out and be wondering why.