Repack/tighten head bearings

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by Lint, Feb 27, 2017.

  1. Lint

    Lint Member

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    I know the service manual says to tear down the front end, i.e. remove the Fairings but to do as above, can I skip it, or? PO put on I'll fitting Chinese Fairings. Not to sure I want to deal with that unless I have to.
     
  2. Lint

    Lint Member

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  3. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    Quite right Lint, there's no need to take the fairings off for the front end; as long as you can get to the fixings on the fork and triples (which I know you can) then the fairing can stay in place. I would lay a towel over the fairing and tank for some accidental protection. You can leave the bars/controls intact and just swing them clear off the top of the forks, likewise there's no need to attack the bolts holding the ignition to the top clamp unless you were removing it for painting.
     
  4. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Thank you sir.
     
  5. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    If you have over 35,000 miles on the bike the bearings will most likely be too damaged to hold an adjustment for long, so just replace them with OEM. If you can get a 10X magnifier, look at the balls and races, with numerous flat spots and dents, like the cratered surface of the moon, so best to replace. Don't cheap out or use anything but Japanese, American, German or Swiss bearings, especially wheel bearings. No cheap Allballs, please. :greedy_dollars:
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2017
  6. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    I want to replace mine before R3 but I am going to take it in for that. They have never been replaced or adjusted. So I guess it is time.
     
  7. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    You must travel on a cloud of air, Randy, if your high-mileage bearings aren't well-knackered !
     
  8. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    I can feel the worn points in the head stay but all things considered, they really are not that bad. But ya. I have left a couple things go on this bike that I will need to deal with soon. Hopefully before R3 this year.
     
  9. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Mine were recently-ish replaced by the PO. However, for whatever reason he told me they probably need replacement. I think he just wasn't confident in his mechanical skills. I suppose I could be OK just cleaning, lubing and replacing them, however, for $29 for a set of All Balls roller bearings, I'm just going to put new ones in. I just need to get the new locking washer from my Honda shop. As I have R3 coming up, then my long summer trip, I'll have to dedicate some time to going through the bike and catching up with the parts that need love.
     
  10. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    You should replacd races along with bearings. I like oem honda for my bikes, kawi i went with all balls becsuse the stock oem was uncaptured balls, which is bicycle technology.
     
  11. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    I think I will go with OEM. If the originals lasted this long, I will be dead before I need new ones again and then it will be my son's problem. But he will likely sell it anyway.
     
  12. Lint

    Lint Member

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    The new bearings always come with new races.
     
  13. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Yes they do :thumbsup: :wink:
     
  14. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Well, here is the lower bearing race. Good lord, this I think was installed a lot of wrong. It was ball bearings in there. Soon to be roller bearings.

    IMG_20170303_123704806.jpg
     
  15. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    So I take it you decided to do this on your own? Note that the torque for roller bearings is less than for ball bearings. I can't recall where I saw the values for roller bearings but ball bearings the torque is 18 ft.lbs. where roller is something like 12 ft.lbs. Also, the manual calls for checking preload with spring scale. But there are plenty of online tutorials that should help with generic setup.
     
  16. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Wow, thanks! I never knew there was a difference. I know that in all of the 15 or so videos, they usually tighten is till it starts feeling tight, then they loosen it slightly until everything turns freely, and there is no play. I will Google the difference in torque specs.

    The reason I decided to take it on myself is that the front end was really loose and I didn't feel comfortable going that far. I HIGHLY doubt anything would have happened, but I wanted to be sure.
     
  17. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    Allballs=junk !
     
  18. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Please elaborate.
     
  19. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Supposedly All Balls uses Chinese manufactured bearings versus Japanese manufactured bearings (Chinese = Cheap; Japanese = Better). If one was so inclined to want to search for the "better" Japanese bearings go here: Link to Bearings They have some of the OEM makes that Honda uses i.e. Koyo, NTN, etc. That being said, you'll need to know how to decode the bearing numbers and for that, I also have a link...

    How to decode bearing numbers

    Note that also give a website of where to purchase bearings in the video but I found the 123bearing website to have a wider selection and easier cross reference listing. One could also find seals on these two sites as well. I tried looking up the number on the All Balls roller bearings but could not find a cross reference list anywhere. I also took measurements of the top and bottom bearings due to not finding the number anywhere and could not find an exact match for the top bearing but did find one that appeared to match the bottom one.
     
  20. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Oh yeah, German made bearings are also known to be very well made, often considered the best. The ones I got for the front wheel are German bearings (FAG).
     
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