Hi all,
I was reading the downloaded manual for regreasing the head bearings and it says you have to remove headlight and disconnect wiring etc,etc..
Is this correct?
I contemplated doing it whilst my forks were out but the added complications put me off..
Is there a quicker (short cuts) way of doing this job?
Thanks in advance,
S
I found dropping it at the shop with a wad of cash was the safest option given the awareness of my own mechanical aptitude.
Did all that yrs ago Speedy. I found not worth the effort. Not much grease from factory but was enough. Check for lateral movement, check side to side tension, smoothness, no centre notch feeling. If ok, no prob, if you need a job, go for it.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Wednesday, 19 April 2023, 08:18 PMHi all,
I was reading the downloaded manual for regreasing the head bearings and it says you have to remove headlight and disconnect wiring etc,etc..
Is this correct?
I contemplated doing it whilst my forks were out but the added complications put me off..
Is there a quicker (short cuts) way of doing this job?
Thanks in advance,
S
Not really IMO (although
@Hooli may know a way). You'd have to disconnect the wiring for the clocks as the clocks themselves are bolted to the top yoke which you have to remove anyway to get to the head bearings. Secondly when you remove the top yoke, the headlamp brackets and headlamp adjuster will be unsupported, so if the headlamp bowl is still attached to them (and in turn the headlamp itself, it could well fall forward and put strain on the wiring, also on the headlamp adjuster underneath the bowl that connects to the bottom yoke. And then if you want to drop the bottom yoke to grease those bearings, the bowl gets in the way if the wiring is still looped through it.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Wednesday, 19 April 2023, 08:18 PMHi all,
I was reading the downloaded manual for regreasing the head bearings and it says you have to remove headlight and disconnect wiring etc,etc..
Is this correct?
I contemplated doing it whilst my forks were out but the added complications put me off..
Is there a quicker (short cuts) way of doing this job?
Thanks in advance,
S
You can drop the front end without removing forks etc enough to get to the lower bearing & regrease it BUT the front end is bloody heavy & hard to line up to refit the top bearing with everything attached.
I'd say it's worth doing, in our climate the lower bearing tends to get rusty due to condensation in the frame tubes. When I do them I put way too much grease above the lower bearing as it keeps the moisture away so they last much longer.
It's a job I tend to do every couple of years when the front end is apart to change the fork oil, as you're doing most of the work anyway to get them out.
Short answer, it's easier to do it properly that struggle leaving extra bits attached to the bike.
Brilliant..
I did the Hooli method as I will explain in this section..
Over 5 hours of graft and I feel like Ive been kicked downstairs!
Im going to be bloody sore tomorrow !
Thanks again for your answers
S.
I had to remove the forks as I wanted to replace the fork oil with a standard weight oil..
When I got the bike I put new seals in and used some Morris Fork oil which is heavier (Andres table) than standard and I didn't care for the ride quality..
The forks were out and the oil had been replaced and all was well!
I decided to bite the bullet and have a good go at a head bearing regrease..
I had already taken the precaution of removing the fuel tank so there wouldn't be any accidents via the loose handle bars.
Handle bars removed..
Top centre nut (30mm) removed..
What I found strange was the "steering stem nut" wasn't even finger tight!!
I removed the 2 allen bolts that hold both the "Brake Hose Joint" and the Headlight adjuster bracket..
This allowed some freedom of movement for the steering stem..
I loosened the steering stem nut quite a bit then tapped with a rubber mallet the top of the stem...
This eventually exposed the lower roller bearings..
The bearings were clean but there was very little grease evident! (Photo)
I used a long artist's type brush and liberally "wodged" loads of the synthetic waterproof Lucas grease inside the full circumference of the bearing.
I then used a car jack with a length of wood to gently push up against the bottom of the stem to re seat the lower bearings..
This had the advantage of exposing the upper roller bearings. I repeated the greasing to these.
Once all this was done I tightened down the steering stem nut firmly but by hand..
Re assembled the forks and front wheel then turned the steering full left to full right several times to help re seat the bearings. I then used the spring balance to set the bearings as per the instruction manual.
After everything was fully assembled and all bolts etc triple checked, I went for a spin..
It's no exaggeration to say the cornering is transformed!
I have always noticed a sort of rattle when going over a sharp bump (like a man hole cover or sharp speed hump).. That has now gone!
I am thinking the rattle may well have been my head bearings which were loose.
I am now pretty knackered..
Tomorrow should be interesting (if I can get out of bed)..
S.
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Quote from: Speedy1959 on Thursday, 20 April 2023, 06:50 AMBrilliant..
I did the Hooli method as I will explain in this section..
Over 5 hours of graft and I feel like Ive been kicked downstairs!
Im going to be bloody sore tomorrow !
Thanks again for your answers
S.
:lol: :lol: Hope you aren't TOO sore tomorrow Simon. But at least now you know they are greased properly :clapping: :clapping:
Yup that looks factory level of greasing, they appear to just leave the pot of grease on a shelf so the bearings can see it when fitted...
Nice to know it's done properly isn't it?
Top job Speedy, hard yakka if not used to it. Photo posting 11 yrs old, thats when i did mine, didnt realise so long, same way as you. Ropes from rafters clear bars etc out of the way. Yours outside so n/a. Do once, forget. IMG_0175.jpeg
I always take the tank off as it makes it much easier to replace the bearings and indeed get that castle nut undone. Only takes a couple of mins max after all.