Steering head bearings.

My 99 model VFR800 had developed quite a notch in the centre postion.
I had learned to ride with this and kept saying I would do something about it sooner and more probably later.

I was prompted to do it sooner on its yearly rego inspection, the mechanic saying I was pretty bad, though there was no play in the steering head.

Bought a set of "LINK" tapered roller bearings + bottom seal from the shop for $45.

I took the whole front end off to make things easy - this takes less than 1 hour.

My main tool was a 12" x 1/2" solid brass rod I used as a drift. The steering head has a couple of cut outs to place the drift on to punch out the old bearing outer races. Both top and bottom popped out easily.


A little harder was the inner race on the steering stem - took about 10 minutes using the two screwdriver (or better small cold chisels) method to pry up.
Installation of the new races is aided by using the old outers

After assembling, set the adjustable nut at very little tension.

The bikes steering is now incredible - On the bearing pack it says " restores the new bike feelin" This is no false claim. I should have done this job two years ago.

I commend this job to anyone with an older model VFR - the whole job can be done in around 3 hours - less if you hurry. I am very methodical and double check everthing so take a little longer to do most jobs.

 

What did you torque the steering stem down to?

 

The most difficult part of the whole operation!

Probably only a few "inch pounds" - I made sure there was absolutely no binding and the stem would freely and easily move side to side.

Was difficult to get the top nut lined up so that the lock washer could set in the tabs, without putting addtional tension on the bearings.

 

I've always found that jobs take much longer when I hurry.

You might want to re-check the torque on the stem after a few hundred miles when everything has settled in.

 

Yeah, when I "hurry" that translates to:

"Honey, gotta take the bike to the mechanic again, please help me load it in the truck".

BZ

 

Good post


Plasma

 

Don't know about your bike. But my 83, just replaced head bearings which are roller, takes 45#'s torque to set bearings (turn several times) and then re-torque to 10-12#'s for final is what the book states. If your bearings don't have enough torque they won't last long.

"After assembling, set the adjustable nut at very little tension."

You may want to find out what they really should be set at. Just a thought.

The 45# is not correct. The 45 is Newton meters. Correct lbs is 25-33 set only.

 

I did mine last night......cleaned, regreased, and retorqued, not replaced.

It is an often overlooked maintenance item.

 

That operation actually lead, indirectly, to my recent purchase of the VFR.

My Honda PC had worn bearings, which I wouldn't have spotted had I not been advised by my moto mentor to check every so often by letting go of the handle bars for short periods; if the bike shakes (starts to develop death wobbles), it means the old ones have worn out (do not try this; if you do, don't try it at high speeds and don't get caught). In my case I hadn't noticed having to hold the bars still while riding, but once the job was done the bike was so much better that it was suddenly more fun to ride in the hills than the BMW K-75 (purchased at a time when the PC was quite broken and needed a new engine).
So I just had to replace my 'sportier' BMW with the great growling beast that is the 1998 Very Fast Rocket, (whose head bearings are relatively fresh)(and tapered) because the new bearings on the PC made the "station wagon of motorcycles" feel way too good. My reasoning may be a little bit demented, but I enjoy myself.

So, yeah: Highly recommended upgrade!

 

You do not use those torque values when you replace the ball bearings to tapper rollers as seen here :

http://vfrworld.com/forums/suspension-articles/21055-tappered-head-bearings-4-gen-how.html

 

Not quite sure just what your torque settings are here?

With tapered roller bearings there is a huge difference in feel with just 1/8 of a turn of the steering nut. You go from free & easy to locked hard in this short adjustment. Hence the adjustment is mainly by feel. The steering stem should be tightened until it is binding a little, then backed off until it is completely free to turn under its own weight.
Do it yourself and you will find out.
If you use the factory setting for the ball race set (25nm) with tapers the steering head will be locked solid.

 

The 83 came with roller bearings from the factory. When and why did they change to ball bearings? Like I said those are factory specs and my steering head turns real smooth and easy but does not flop to one side or the other. The first time I replaced the bearings years back I didn't have the torque specs and set them just snug. The bearings didn't last long because they pounded a "set" between race and bearing. So I replaced them and set it up like the book says. That was 25k miles ago. So this is really the 2nd set I've installed. The originals got replaced because of a crash the bike was in before I bought it.

I made a mistake on my previous post above. The 45 was Newton meters not lbs. The set torque is 25-33 lbs. Sorry about the misinformation.

 

I replaced the steering head bearings this weekend with the all-balls tapered bearing kit.
Only difficult part was installing the new inner race on the triple tree, but with a pipe sleeve and using the old race as a guide, easy....

So, put on the buell pegs, heli bars, head bearings, new brake pads, I am raring to go !!!