Motorbike Steering Head Bearings...?

I'm fairly experienced when it comes to taking cars to bits - How easy will I find it to change the upper and lower steering head bearings on a Suzuki RF900 R, and a BMW F650 Strada?Motorbike Steering Head Bearings...?
not hard at all,if the stock bearings are ball bearings the upgrade is a Timken tapered roller bearing! Have to change the races as well but its a big improvement! I did all my bikes like this and also put a zirk fitting in the neck so I can grease the bearing.Motorbike Steering Head Bearings...?
1 remove seat

2 disconnect battery

3 remove petrol tank ( to avoid damage) or cover with thick blankets

3 slacken off and release handlebar clamps DO NOT REMOVE YET.

4 Jack up and support the front of the bike lifting the front wheel and forks clear of the ground You need 8 inches of clearance

5 Slacken off and remove brake calipers and all clamps holding brake pipes tie up out of the way.

6 lable and remove all cables from the front wheel; horn anything on the forks.

7 support front wheel ( this is going to take the weight of the forks soon)

8 undo and remove the handlebars ( individual clip ons) Tie up on frame wrap in cloth to protect fairing.

9 Slacken TOP pinch bolts on top yoke of forks,

10 Slacken centre bolt nut and using hide or rubber mallet and a drift KNOCK the top yoke upwards away from the forks and release it from it's seating.

11 Remove centre nut and keep spacers and shims in the order they come off Remove top yoke and keep shims spacers in the order they came off.

12 remove the top bearing

13 with help of a couple of mates support the forks and with the rubber mallet tap the centre pivot to break any seal and remove the whole assembly ensuring there is no cables caught or still attached.

14 store to one side ( you'll need these later)

15 knock out old bearing seats.

16 using a socket from your socket set which is a ';clearance fit'; to the head stock seat new bearing race and pull into place using a long bit of threaded bar and a couple of plain nuts. This is a more reliable method of ensuring they seat square to the frame.

17 seat lower Bearing on centre pivot.

- replacement is steps 14-1 in reverse order
it is fairly easy- but hammering out the old races can be fiddly. Its harder to replace taper roller bearings. ONce you have removed all the things in the way- forks, yokes etc



Make sure you hammer them evening out and new ones in.

If your fitting taper bearings avoid hitting where the bearings seat. on the taper roller that goes on the lower yoke, hammer on the main body- not the roller part
It is a pretty easy job.

One point you need to insure when you install new bearings. The bearing cups need to be seated against the shoulder inside the steering tube of the frame. I use a .0015'; thick feeler gauge to check for a proper seat against the shoulder.

Use a good waterproof grease.

God Luck
The bearings and races should always be changed together as a set.

Pounding the races in and out of the frame shouldn't be a problem.

Remove %26amp; install the race on the sterring stem can be a project, but do-able with your experience.