Steering Head Bearing Replacement-What plastic has to be removed?

[ALANT]

Well after 55,000 fun and adventurous miles my '04 ST1300 is needing a little maintenance at the steering stem. I'm going to replace the stock bearings with the All Balls tapered set and while I'm there I'm going to service the front forks. My question is this: What plastic has to be removed to do this work? I have the Honda shop manual but sometimes it goes a little overboard. I prefer to get the straight skinny from someone who's been there done that.

TIA
Alan

 

[Tankereng]

I'm ordering bearings today for my steering head....haven't figured out how I need to remove the old ones yet...

 

[nhdiesel]

I just went out and double checked my ST1300, and it looks like if you are nimble with a wrench, you might get away with removing NO plastic. I was able to get to all the clamp bolts holding the fork tubes to the triple trees. Unhook the front brake calipers and remove brackets holding the hoses to the tubes; remove the front wheel; loosen the clamp bolts on the triple trees; and lower the fork tubes out. Once they are out, remove the large steering stem nut from the top (no plastic removal necessary for this step either), remove the triple trees, then drive out the old bearing races with a driver. Use the proper tool to pull in the new races, and reassemble.

Keep in mind doing it thos way leaves several parts dangling loose, such as the upper triple tree/bar assembly, and calipers. Secure these items, and it would be a good idea to lay a thick towel over the tank to keep the bars from accidentally scratching it.

Jim

 

[roginoz]

Contrary to what the shop manual says, they can be replaced without removing any of the plastic. I borrowed John O's tool kit, and the process was easier than I thought it would be.

 

[scotschult]

I did both fork seals on mine last weekend and removed none of the tupperware.

 

[STimpa]

Where do you order the taper bearings and what specifically do I order for the ST1300?

 

[Lost Dutchman]

and when I'm done! int

 

[roginoz]

Where do you order the taper bearings and what specifically do I order for the ST1300?

Call CBR bearings: 1-800-769-5388
They have everything prepackaged, even the seals that you'll need.

 

[dduelin]

I am going to tackle this job next as I have a slight notch in the straight-ahead handlebar position. I dropped the forks out tonight to change the oil and found the notch so I might as well do the bearings now. Is there a traveling tool kit for the job I can borrow?

Another question....do the races pressed in the headstock stand proud enough to use a drift to tap them out or is a threaded rod tool required as the Manual suggests?

Well, edit for one day later. I did not have to remove any fairing parts to disassemble the handlebars and upper fork bridge and I can answer my own question about the tapping out the old races. The stock has two notches either side that allow a drift and hammer to knock out the races. That was easy as was removing the inner race at the bottom of the stem with a chisel and two pry bars to start it then the drift and hammer to tap it off the stem. I'll get new bearings tomorrow and start reassembly.

Edited again after job was completed. No plastic has to be removed to remove the head stem and replace the head bearings. I bought a couple of cheap sockets at Northern Tool and Harbor Freight to start the races in. Total cost for special tools $10.12.

 

[Mark]

Borrow the John O's loaner tool kit.

You have to be a member here http://www.st-riders.net/index.php and have a STOC number.

Mark

 

[dduelin]

Thanks Mark. I have a STOC #6651 but the site had changed since the last time I was there.

Still, for those that have done an 1300 are there careful work-arounds with common tools like drifts or punches?

Update ........ I completed this job and no fairing parts have to be removed. I was able to knock out the old races from the head stock with a long brass drift and carefully lever the inner race off the stem with screwdrivers and a chisel. With the old races in hand I went to Northern Tool & Harbor Freight and bought two large sockets to tap the new tapered bearing races in with. The problem was the new tapered bearings are not as tall as the OEM caged ball bearings are so the sockets as race driver tools ended up being a little too small in diameter to be effective. The angle the new races take makes the ID of the thin part of the race wider than the stock ones. I should have taken the new races with me to NT. If I had I would have gotten slightly bigger sockets that would have bore against the new new races exactly.

Being stubborn I went at them with some drifts and punches and got the new ones in although it would have been much quicker and cuss-less with a purpose-made bearing tool.

Setting the bearing preload is a trail and error process as it is measured with everything buttoned up. Initially mine were set too light and I had to take the top bridge assembly apart again and tighten the adjustment nut a little more. I did that the next weekend so I had two weekend days tied up in this job.

 

[jduff8505]

I'm thinking that this job would be a great time to do a lot of other maintenance while your in there. I've had the chance to pull plastic a few times and it is a lot easier with a few extra hands. Might want to do this at a local tech event since more and more of the 1300s are getting up there in the mileage and will need this done soon.

 

[ST-Traveler]

I just ordered the tapered bearings for the 1300 from CBR.
$59.00 plus $6.00 for shipping, now just to get them in there some how.

The main reason I did this is for a deceleration wobble and the mileage is almost 60,000 on the stock bearings. They are a littl loose feeling.

Greg

 

[ST-Traveler]

Well I got the steering stem apart today, and with the triple tree free to move. I could not believe how much of a notch it had. and it did not turn smoothly at all. I did not feel this with the handle bars and forks attached.
I took the upper and lower races out of the steering tube using a drift and some patience. Also the race at the bottom of the steering stem came off with a little work using a cold chisel. Now I need to just wait and get my tapered bearings from "CBR", I hope this helps my deceleration wobble. In the end after feeling that notchiness I think it was time to change out the factory bearings anyways.
Greg

Does anyone know what size the steering stem nut is? I'm guessing 30mm but I'm not sure.

 

[dduelin]

I used a 1 1/4" socket on the stem nut. I think it is 30 mm.

 

[Mark]

What torque are you going to use on the tapered?
I used 10lbs of torque on my last tapered set (albeit on an 1100) and am very pleased with the handling.

 

[ST-Traveler]

What torque are you going to use on the tapered?
I used 10lbs of torque on my last tapered set (albeit on an 1100) and am very pleased with the handling.

Thats a good question, I don't have the special socket for the adjust nut so I'm not sure yet how I am going to torque it.

 

[dduelin]

The service manual gives an initial torque setting of 18 ft/lbs to set the bearings then back off and come back to 11 ft/lbs for the final torquing. After everything is assembled and ride-ready there is a preload check measured pounds of pull to pull the forks off center. This is 2.14 to 3.20 pounds of pull.

I replaced the OEM bearings with aftermarket tapered ones and tapered roller bearings take a different preload than caged ball bearings so I did not not know what initial torque value to use so I tightened the adjustment nut "tight enough" by hand then measured the preload with a fishing scale. It was barely 1 to 2 lb. The bike rode fine and felt good so I rode the bike a few hundred miles on a ride then measured it again. It did not change from 1 to 2 lbs. The next weekend I took the top bridge off and tightened the adjustment nut another 1/8 turn. The pull then measured about 3 lbs. It varies a little between pulling left and pulling right due to the cables, hoses, and wire harnesses so this is the average of each. I guess this is the trial and error method.

 

[ST-Traveler]

Update,
I got the projected completed after ordering the special socket last week. I can say it is not too bad over-all, I had all the plastic off anyway for my annual maintenance.
I can tell you this, it was 100% the cause of my deceleration wobble. What I think actually happened was my stock bearings got loose over time and began to wear. I guess this is part of my maintenance I neglected, but won't let it slip again, I believe there should be annual or bi-annual maintenance and greasing of the head stock bearings.

For anyone who has deceleration wobble I would say most likely your head bearings are getting loose and worn.

Greg

 

[racer1735]

For anyone that does this job, or their wheel bearings and wants to use the 'correct size' bearing driver, Harbor Freight has a very nice race and driver set. With a bit a patience, you can find a coupon and get it for $19.99.

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-bearing-race-and-seal-driver-set-95853.html

Dirt Rider magazine did a short review (positive) of the set in an issue this past summer. I've done a few bearings on my dirt bike and its nice to know that I'm not clubbing one of my sockets.