Ok, so when I discovered that my steering head bearings were knackered due to over torquing I ordered up a set of all-balls tapered roller bearings.

The swap is time consuming a little but generally easy.

First you need to remove the front mask, bars, controls, front brakes, wheel. No need to disconnect the brake lines, just remove the master cylinder off the bars and the calipers from the forks and put the whole system aside.
The clutch and the throttle tube will just hang after disassembly as will the front electrical box that is mounted above the bottom triple tree. To remove the mask you'll need to disconnect any wiring. No need to mark anything because all of the connectors are different so there's no way to plug in things incorrectly upon reassembly. I used a come-along attached to an eye-hook screwed into a ceiling joist to lift the front of the bike and rested the lower moto-hooligan crash bungs on top of some jack stands.

When you're removing the fork tubes to avoid scratching the heck out of them spread the triple clamps with a plastic tipped screwdriver or flat blade with some tape covering it and wedge a couple pennies in them to keep them spread:



The ignition has security screws attaching it to the top clamp, better to unplug the ignition and leave it attached rather than fettle with the screws:

With the front end removed it looks like this:


Next remove the races from the head tube. Easiest way I've found to do this is with a section of 1.25" pipe. The pipe offers a better purchase area on the race. Slide the pile in the head tube at an angle until it catches on the backside of the race. Lightly tap on the other end of the pipe while adjusting the pipe in a circular motion. You need to work the race out rather than blast it out with one blow. After the races are removed clean the head tube area and feel the race seats with your finger to look for any imperfections or gouges...there shouldn't be any. If there are knock down any high spots with a bit of emery paper. You want the race seat to be smooth for re-assembly.


Get yourself a set of seal/race drivers:

IMO this isn't an area you should skimp on, using a block of wood or PVC pipe is a recipe for disaster. Easy to gaff up the races on install without the proper tool. They're cheap enough and worth every penny.
Select the proper driver, 50mm in this case is perfect. Make sure the outside of the race is free from any debris, marks or other imperfections and place it evenly in the head tube. A little assembly grease will assure it seats smoothly and will protect the head tube from corrosion.
Place the driver evenly on top of the race and lightly tap it into place. You'll know when the race is completely seated by the different sound it makes when tapping the driver.

The purple looks nice against the orange, no?

You should have already inspected the bearing packaging and verified that all the parts (bearings, races, seals and o-rings) are there. Reference a parts diagram to make sure you have everything. A note on the bearings/races. The upper and lower bearings and races are exactly the same. The upper and lower seals are different.


Use the package that the bearings came in to pack the new bearings with grease. Really work the grease into the cage making sure that it's sufficiently packed with no dry spots.


Re-assemble everything in reverse order, follow all torque specifications especially the top bolt for the triple clamp. There's only one bolt for torquing the steering head bearings, on top of the triple clamp. 12nm and use some locktite. Follow the front wheel installation method (loose pinch bolts, tight axle nut, loose caliper bolts). Bounce the front end vigorously to seat the axle correctly then tighten the pinch bolts. Zip-tie the brake lever back and then tighten the caliper bolts. This will center everything correctly.

That's it......now enjoy your buttery smooth steering!

Good post. Does not seem as intimidating as it sounds.
Thank you for the effort to post a how to.

Good write up!

I instantly recognized that HF race driver kit