Headsteam bearing removal

[SammyNiz-Nac]

Hey eveyone, I put a bike together some time ago to slap around on and after a while later it started to wobble a bit? I checked over it a few times and found some play on my forks up/down in the headstem. So I loosend the top nut and tightend up the adjusting nut, it took up most of the play but when that seemed to be at the end of the thread it was still a little bit loose. I decided to pull the whole lot off to investigate and found that missing the bottom washer on the headstem.





Anyway here is where Im stuck, I need to remove the bottom bearing from the headstem bolt so I can put a washer there but Im not really sure how to without doing to much damage to the triples? not worried about the bearing cause I got some new ones.

Thanks
Sam

 

[8r3nd0]

The only way to do it is take it to a machine shop and get it pressed off and another pressed on. Can you just put a washer on top of the bearing on top or if its the stem stopping the top bearing from pushing down anymore I had to get the dremel out and grind down the notch slightly to allow the bearing to fall down the stem/tube to take up the play.

 

[my67xr]

can you lay the forks on a table with a towel or something on it to stop the forks from getting scratched,
have the front face of the forks facing down.

then sit a bigger flat bladed screwdriver up under the bearing, and gently tap it up off the lower tripples.
you could wrap the shaft of the screwdriver in a couple of layers of towel etc.
if you do slip, then you shouldn't notice the mark on the tripple, as it will be right at the back

the bearings shouldn't be to tightly pressed onto the forks.

 

[8r3nd0]

Yeah **** I was thinking of the stem being a biatch to get off, my bad.

 

[SammyNiz-Nac]

Thanks for great replys lads

I didn't really wanna take it to a shop. I thought about the screwdriver and hammer technique but was not real sure if its alright, the set up with the towels seem to sound good and I think Ill just have to give it a go

cheers fellers

 

[Phil67]

Wrap the bearing in a towel and smash the bearing apart leaving only the bearing race, then just put a chisel or screwdriver in the race groove and tap it out that way works too

 

[SammyNiz-Nac]

I tried to tap a screwdriver in at the bottom and jimmy the bearing up for ages yesterday but its still stuck on threre pretty good. I thought too about just smashin the whole thing apart although I did not want to resort to that level of abuse.

 

[timeeh]

Hit it with a bit of heat first, maybe a heat gun or preferably a little bunsen torch. I have done cush drive bushes b4 with just the heat gun, and it worked a treat

 

[SammyNiz-Nac]

Ok so I had another go at it the other day, did what phill said and still no luck. I don't have a heat gun either so Im gonna take it to a shop. Can some one tell me does the headsteam bolt need to be pressed out of the lower tripple clamp before the bearing can be pressed off?