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well... it's "work on the r6" time again.

4K views 31 replies 17 participants last post by  Agg2001 
#1 ·
discovered my head/steering bearing is bad, so i'm going to replace the upper and lower - or whatever a complete replacement is.

any how-to's around? i searched... but you know how that ended. why i'm here now. :|

anyhow, i'm assuming it's pretty straight forward... but don't know if there's any tricks or tips i should know about. also, where the hell do you buy bearings from? haha... never replaced any on my bike. figured all-balls (was looking at bearings for the drz in case they were shot), but don't know for sure.

cliffs: replacing head/steering bearing... get me links to how to and where to buy the parts. :D

also, i'll be swapping tires to the uk ntecs (giggity), changing fork fluid (pew), changing the oil, and finally (after ~20 months) changing my brake fluid. hahaha.
 
#2 ·
I've never done steering head bearing on a sport bike before, but I'd imagine it's pretty similar to a dirty bike...just gotta put some jack stands under your frame sliders and start dis-assembling.

Buuuut, getting the torque specs would prolly be important, hopefully someone will chime in...probably Melk :laugh
 
#7 ·
That's how I've done it. Used a threaded rod with a washer and nut on each end to press the new ones in. Well thats how I did it on the 250, they were notorious for wearing steering stem bearings.
 
#4 ·
i didn't even think about the service manual. you said "torque specs" and i remembered i have one. haha. i'll check that, but i'm assuming there's a better way and FOR SURE a good place to get the parts from. unless OEM is the way to go.
 
#10 ·
Trick to make your life easier-- when you cut off the old bearing, keep it around to use while pounding the new bearing into place (to even out the applied force). Also, put your new bearing under a heat lamp and throw your lower triples in the freezer for an hour. Thank me later. This was not the most fun thing in the world, but it wasn't THAT bad either.
 
#20 ·
so i've started my preliminary process...

got my suspension refresh all lined up. thanks tommy! still need to figure out what i'm going to do with the head bearing. :| kinda intimidated - even though i'm great with a wrench. :laugh

and changing my fuel management setup - i think. doing the ecu flash paired with the annitori RL qs. IF my bazzaz zfi-qs setup sells.
 
#23 ·
Sounds great Justin! In for a how-To! :laugh
 
#25 ·
Replacing the bearings is all straight forward until its time to remove the lower bearing race. The manual advocates the use of "specialty" tool in the form of a hammer and a chisel:dunce: Theres simply no room to pry it out without chipping your steering stem. Some people prefer to cut it with a power tool.

Installation of the lower bearing race can be done with a press. Removing and replacing the upper bearing is simple.

Another couple of links with some info:
http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141290
http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130412

Good luck!
 
#27 ·
Randomly found the pics I took while replacing my steering head bearing last season.. Dunno if these will be any help to you or not. They basically outlined the steps I went through for the installation... The first few pics are just of the bolts you need to loosen, etc.
 

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#31 ·
Step 1) Load bike in truck
Step 2) Put cash in pocket
Step 3) Leave cash and bike with Race bike mechanic
Step 4) come back later and get your finished bike.

That's my how to change your steering head bearings. At least how I plan to do it in a few weeks.
 
#32 ·
I decided to forgo the head bearing swap - aintnobodygottamfodat! But ran into a slight hiccup with the forks. Shattered omni buffers. Luckily, traxxion is taking care of me, so I should have them back in a few days. Props go out to velocity calibrations... Eric is the tits.

Here's the buffers. :|


(excuse typos, as this was a mobile posting)
 

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