Head Stem Bearing Removal

[79XS11F]

Hey guys ... I am having some difficulty getting the bearing off the bottom of the lower triple tree head stem. Got the races out of the head easy enough but this one won't move and can't be tapped all around its perimeter. Any tips would be great. It's the last part to remove before the frame is ready for stripping and repainting
Rob

[Snow]

I had mine pressed out and got the new one pressed on

[randy]

Rob,

Cut through it with a Dremel tool and it will fall off. To get the new one on, put the tree in the freezer for a couple of hours then use the old bearing to tap the new one on.

Don't forget to install the seal first!

[COOL TOM]

Bearings

Randy,
I am not a guru like you but i will have to disagree with you on that. If you put the bearing in the freezer and the tree in the oven then they should just drop in. Heat makes metal expand and cold makes it shrink.


Thanks Tom
82 XJ DAILY RIDE
78 XS1100E FIXING UP
79 XS1100 PARTS BIKE
82 XJ IN THE ROUGH

[Snow]

Heating the tree and freezing the bottom bearing would make it more difficult! You want to shrink the diameter of the tree and increase the inner diameter of the bearing so it will slip on as randy said.

[xschop]

dremel

I dremeled a tunnel 180 deg. oppsite each other to get a punch on the race itself...worked great....

[79XS11F]

OK.... so this is something that is not a "in the garage" sort of removal. I will cut it off with thehigh speed moto tool and do the freeze / heat thing to install the new one.
Thanks guys
Rob

[xssiveone]

I did everything Randy mentioned, except the freezer part. Not disputing the science behind it, just wasn't needed in my case,

Just a note, you don't have to cut all the way thru the race to get it off. I cut maybe 60% thru and then stuck a cold chisel in the slot and gave it a couple hits and it broke at that point. I was concerned with leaving a mark on the tree.

And another thing I did was to drill and tap a hole for a zerts grease fitting in the neck. Yes, the material is strong enough for it. Now, just a few squirts in the spring and I force all the old grease and dirt out of the bearing, Got a friend who lives on the dark side and builds HD's and he has been doing this for years,

Brian

[fredintoon]

Getting it off

Hi Rob,
that race sits atop a rubber washer that acts as a grease seal. Go in sideways with a cold chisel & BFH between the top of the rubber & the bottom of the race to shift it.
Be careful of the rubber thing, they are hard to find. Amateur bearing removal will most likely (by aircraftstandards anyway) wreck the race & you'll need to replace it. If you only need to remove the race to paint the 'tree, how about just leave it in place, tape it off and give the bottom of the 'tree several coats of Canadian Tire rattlecan rockerguard black paint? My SOP for small cycle parts.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[Snow]

Re: Getting it off

Originally posted by fredintoon

Be careful of the rubber thing, they are hard to find.

Is that rubber thing included in the pnm tapered steering stem kit?

https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index...tegory=chassis

[fredintoon]

Tapered rollers

Hi Snow,
thanks for that link. The tapered roller kit I put in my XS650 only had the races, not the seal washer & MikesXS don't carry it either. The link's kit picture does show a 5th item, a flat disc-looking thing that could well be the lower seal.
BTW, the kit is listed as a "conversion". Does this mean that some XS11s came with crowded ball head bearings instead of Timkens? My '80 Special already had Timkens when I got it, as did the Standard 'trees I got to reduce the steering trail for sidecar use.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[Snow]

I'm not sure why it's called a conversion kit there - when I replaced my 79 F's bearings, they were also tapered ... I believe Timkins also.

[xssiveone]

The seal is actually part of the original equipment bearing set, and not available from any other manufacturer. Not sure off hand who the mfg was, but I believe it has the name on the bearings, and I was able to find them on the net at the time and got the original bearing, with combined seal, from them.

[randy]

If you buy your replacement bearings from ALL BALLS, they come with the rubber seals, top and bottom.

[79XS11F]

Re: Re: Getting it off

Thanks for the tip. I am putting on new upgrade bearing after the painting is done so OFF these puppies go
Rob

Originally posted by Snow


Is that rubber thing included in the pnm tapered steering stem kit?

https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index...tegory=chassis