steering head bearing race

[sledge]

Tony,
Tips for fitting headrace bearings. The old outers can be drifted out of the housings using anything suitable but keep them square on the way out to avoid damaging the housings. Replacement  outer races will fit into position using the drawbar method. File a slight radius on the edge of the housings to give them a start and make sure they go in the correct way as they are tapered. I.E. with the larger diameter to the bottom of the housing. A few hours in the freezer will help as they will shrink slightly. I doubt the inner races will be very tight on the headstock shaft. The upper one should be a slide fit. You will probably be able to lever the bottom one  off with a couple of screwdrivers. If it is tight get back to me and I will give you some suggestions how to remove it but DONT try to butcher it off as that will make things worse. If it comes to it you can post it up to me and I will remove it for you as I have all the equipment needed. The replacement bottom inner will just drop on if you heat  it in the oven at 100 degs max for 10-15 mins but again get it the correct way up. The top one should be a slide fit. Use as much good quality grease on the new bearings as you can pack in and dont overtighten the locking nut on assembly. When you get the bearings off look in the yellow pages for a local  bearing supplier take it to them as a sample, and do a deal!! Dont pay the daft Suzuki OE prices.
Get back to me if you have any Q`s.

Rgds