Steering Stem Socket

User avatar
Sharpie66
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 134
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:39 pm
Location: Holland,NY
Location: Holland,NY

Re: Steering Stem Socket

Post by Sharpie66 »

daves79x wrote:Patrick: I'm not sure you are getting the significance of what I'm saying: You HAVE to torque the old bearings somewhat tighter than they are as you found them. That is where you'll see the roughness. There will also be a detent straight ahead, but you'll only notice this again if you tighten them down. Perfectly good bearings, or new ones , will have none of the roughness or detent. Also helps to take the wheel off when doing this check as that weight tends to dampen what you feel in the stem.

Many bad bearings will feel smooth just jacking the front end up and rotating lock-to-lock. You have to lift the hood to really check them. Every CBX I've ever serviced, worked on, restored, whatever, has needed steering bearings by 20,000 miles - Pro-Links even sooner due to the weight of the fairing. Most people ignore this fact and will never know what a properly set up front end with good bearings feels like. Most guys these days buy CBXs with this many miles or more and the bearings are already bad, so they don't know what good bearings feel like.

Dave
.....and the righteous path has been shown to me. Good stuff here. Well the head guy at this small bike shop next to my woodshop caught on to what I was planning. He came over yesterday and rather chastized me for not replacing the bearings. Knowing how thorough I am trying to be and not afraid to spend those CBX dollars, I was told to quit playing around and replace those bearings. :oops: Also of interest, he did exactly like you said, Dave. Tightened everything up and showed me first hand the notchiness that was there and then took me next door to show me what new bearings in a steering stem feel like. Undeniably different.

So, are the bearing sets from AllBalls a quality product or should I replace with OEM? Service Honda shows that they are still available at a cost double that of AllBalls. My instinct tells me that the cheaper set is just that...cheap!

Thanks for the advice regarding this.

Patrick
Don't take life too seriously, you will never get out of it alive.

daves79x
ICOA Technical Director
ICOA Technical Director
Posts: 4736
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:05 am
Location: Knox, PA
Location: Knox, PA

Re: Steering Stem Socket

Post by daves79x »

Patrick: The bottom bearing is a standard one you can buy locally, but to get the best ones, you will pay as much as Honda wants, so I usually just get both from Honda. The top one has an odd ID and is not available in the US, except from Honda. Keep in mind the top bearing for the '80-'82 is different from the '79 one, so a kit for the '79 will not work on the Pro-Link.

Dave

User avatar
asacuta
Forum Regular
Forum Regular
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:21 pm
Location: Calgary
Location: Calgary

Re: Steering Stem Socket

Post by asacuta »

Some of the bearings on my Rune front end are NTN, lubricated with solid grease:

http://www.ntn.co.jp/english/products/c ... /3022E.pdf

Does anyone know if the steering-head bearings for a CBX are available in that configuration? Permanent solid grease sounds like a good idea for a bearing that can't be lubricated as part of normal maintenance.
Al

User avatar
Sharpie66
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 134
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:39 pm
Location: Holland,NY
Location: Holland,NY

Re: Steering Stem Socket

Post by Sharpie66 »

New OEM bearings on the way. Thanks for steering me in the right direction. :D (sorry couldn't resist)

Patrick
Don't take life too seriously, you will never get out of it alive.

User avatar
Sharpie66
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 134
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:39 pm
Location: Holland,NY
Location: Holland,NY

Re: Steering Stem Socket

Post by Sharpie66 »

Well, first lesson I learned in my first attempt at replacing head bearings is to order the lower grease seal/dust shield at the same time the bearings are ordered. I did not realize that I was going to destroy this piece while removing the lower bearing on the steering stem so I had to wait an extra week for that to show up. I did order a new lock washer as per the FSM, however. :D

The lower bearing was a battle and I ended up cutting through it with a dremel and cutoff wheel. Very carefully and no damage to the stem. New OEM bearings and races went on without a hitch. I get lucky sometimes. I followed the instructions that Dave put forth for tightening. Wow. The front end feels so silky smooth now. Can't wait to ride soon.

Thanks again for the assistance.
Patrick
Don't take life too seriously, you will never get out of it alive.

daves79x
ICOA Technical Director
ICOA Technical Director
Posts: 4736
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:05 am
Location: Knox, PA
Location: Knox, PA

Re: Steering Stem Socket

Post by daves79x »

Well - I guess this advice is too late, but you did it the hard way. Just loosen the bottom clamp pinch bolt and press the stem out. The bearing and dust seal come off intact with no fuss. Alternately, a large block of oak can be used to drive the stem out. Reseat the stem and tap the bearing and seal back on.

Dave

Post Reply

Return to “HANDLING: Suspension, Gearing, Frame Bracing, Non X Handling Part Upgrades, Rim Replacement Options, and more”