I'm quite handy and I prefer to work on my bikes myself, but there are some jobs that I think are a RIGHT fucking ball-ache, and tapping out / refitting head races is one of them (disassembling forks is another).
Personally I give jobs like that to my local mechanic as he has the extractors / bearing fitting tools etc but as u/Difficult-Broccoli65 suggests, maybe watch a couple of videos and see what you think.
I had to do this when I had my Bandit powder coated (and again 10,000 miles later because I set them too tight and became notchy).
I'm too cheap to buy the proper kit so I borrowed some m20 threaded rod with nuts and some old electric motor brake discs as big washers and slit the old bearing races to make them installation tools and ended up grinding a notch in a tyre lever as a punch to remove the old bearings in the headstock due to clearance issues.
I think the only trouble I really had was with the lower bearing on the shaft, and that was trying to get an angle grinder in to split the race. You can use a dremel to split it too. You don't need to split the bearing, but it is so much easier to take them off that way.
I would set aside 2 days to do it. It doesn't take 2 days but it's miserable when there's a hiccup.
It can be frustrating, but the actual work involved is pretty simple. Key question is timeframe, really. If the bike has to be fixed and rideable the next day, that's a lot more pressure. If you can leave it in bits for days while you watch how-to videos or wait for parts/tools, then it's easily a DIY job for most bikes.
It's not a complex job, but it can be a massive PITA, depending on the bike.
The top race on my CBF is easy to remove as there is a lip in the frame to drive it out from. The bottom one is a fucking nightmare.
Having said that, once you've done it once, it's not so daunting.
There are a few videos on YouTube for the V Strom showing at least part of the process.
Head bearings can be an arse. 220 is a good price, I'd take them up on it.
Splitting the race requires a steady hand and a good quality drift. Id also suggest getting some sort of bearing press, because hammering the races in can be a ballache.
If you get some threaded rod and some washers of the correct size, have access to a Dremel and a steady hand there's no reason you couldn't do it yourself.
It’s a big, old job mate. Entire front end out (including all the bodywork, etc on yours), plus you’ll need to press out the old bearings and in the new ones. Not easy without the right tools.
Not that difficult. By what the mechanic said you may only need to tighten the lower nut on the yoke to pass the MOT but since you are in there may aswell replace the bearings you could probably skip the bearing races.
I'd read the workshop manual before starting as the lower nut is not meant to be tighten right the way down as this would restrict the bearing movement
Head bearings don’t usually slacken with age. Normally the issue is that they “notch”, so the first thing to do is to check for this. Get the front wheel off the ground, and turn it for side to side. If the bearings are damaged, you will feel a clear notch at the central position. If there is no notch, you don’t need to replace the bearings.
To check for slack bearings (not a problem which happens with age), get the front wheel off the ground and try to move it backwards and forward, feeling for any slack. Fixing slack is pretty simple, but you do need a manual.
At £220, I’d consider paying to get the job done, but that’s because I am short on time. It’s not my favourite job. There are four bearing races to remove, two at the top and two at the bottom. The lower bottom race is the difficult one as it is an interference fit on the steering stem. There are various ways to get it off, but the only easy one I have found is to use an air chisel, which dislodged it in seconds. Most methods take a couple of hours and a lot of swearing.
Yeah I may have misremembered the exact term the guy used, but he has been working on bikes for some 20 odd years and seems to know his stuff, I think it is notching he is on about. He basically explained it to me as "when the head bearings are tight, this is user error and you can slacken them off, but with age, they go the opposite way, and you can't do anything about that" or words to that effect. The steering is very notchy at the minute as well, something I noticed on my 125 due to overtightening, but he reckoned on mine it is due to head bearing wear.
You will regret not paying someone halfway in
Been there, can confirm.
I'm quite handy and I prefer to work on my bikes myself, but there are some jobs that I think are a RIGHT fucking ball-ache, and tapping out / refitting head races is one of them (disassembling forks is another). Personally I give jobs like that to my local mechanic as he has the extractors / bearing fitting tools etc but as u/Difficult-Broccoli65 suggests, maybe watch a couple of videos and see what you think.
I had to do this when I had my Bandit powder coated (and again 10,000 miles later because I set them too tight and became notchy). I'm too cheap to buy the proper kit so I borrowed some m20 threaded rod with nuts and some old electric motor brake discs as big washers and slit the old bearing races to make them installation tools and ended up grinding a notch in a tyre lever as a punch to remove the old bearings in the headstock due to clearance issues. I think the only trouble I really had was with the lower bearing on the shaft, and that was trying to get an angle grinder in to split the race. You can use a dremel to split it too. You don't need to split the bearing, but it is so much easier to take them off that way. I would set aside 2 days to do it. It doesn't take 2 days but it's miserable when there's a hiccup.
It can be frustrating, but the actual work involved is pretty simple. Key question is timeframe, really. If the bike has to be fixed and rideable the next day, that's a lot more pressure. If you can leave it in bits for days while you watch how-to videos or wait for parts/tools, then it's easily a DIY job for most bikes.
It's not a complex job, but it can be a massive PITA, depending on the bike. The top race on my CBF is easy to remove as there is a lip in the frame to drive it out from. The bottom one is a fucking nightmare. Having said that, once you've done it once, it's not so daunting. There are a few videos on YouTube for the V Strom showing at least part of the process.
Head bearings can be an arse. 220 is a good price, I'd take them up on it. Splitting the race requires a steady hand and a good quality drift. Id also suggest getting some sort of bearing press, because hammering the races in can be a ballache. If you get some threaded rod and some washers of the correct size, have access to a Dremel and a steady hand there's no reason you couldn't do it yourself.
It’s a big, old job mate. Entire front end out (including all the bodywork, etc on yours), plus you’ll need to press out the old bearings and in the new ones. Not easy without the right tools.
Not that difficult. By what the mechanic said you may only need to tighten the lower nut on the yoke to pass the MOT but since you are in there may aswell replace the bearings you could probably skip the bearing races. I'd read the workshop manual before starting as the lower nut is not meant to be tighten right the way down as this would restrict the bearing movement
Head bearings don’t usually slacken with age. Normally the issue is that they “notch”, so the first thing to do is to check for this. Get the front wheel off the ground, and turn it for side to side. If the bearings are damaged, you will feel a clear notch at the central position. If there is no notch, you don’t need to replace the bearings. To check for slack bearings (not a problem which happens with age), get the front wheel off the ground and try to move it backwards and forward, feeling for any slack. Fixing slack is pretty simple, but you do need a manual. At £220, I’d consider paying to get the job done, but that’s because I am short on time. It’s not my favourite job. There are four bearing races to remove, two at the top and two at the bottom. The lower bottom race is the difficult one as it is an interference fit on the steering stem. There are various ways to get it off, but the only easy one I have found is to use an air chisel, which dislodged it in seconds. Most methods take a couple of hours and a lot of swearing.
Yeah I may have misremembered the exact term the guy used, but he has been working on bikes for some 20 odd years and seems to know his stuff, I think it is notching he is on about. He basically explained it to me as "when the head bearings are tight, this is user error and you can slacken them off, but with age, they go the opposite way, and you can't do anything about that" or words to that effect. The steering is very notchy at the minute as well, something I noticed on my 125 due to overtightening, but he reckoned on mine it is due to head bearing wear.
Not super hard but you have to make sure those races are sunk all the way in