Steering bearing servicing with pics

[TheAudiDoc]

Ok here we go....Jack up the bike and make it safe....throw some towles on the gas tank and remove the handle bar clamps....lay the bars on the tank....keep a jack or some boards under the front tire


2 sockets you will need...craftsman 12 pt 36 mm 1/2 "drive and stubby 6mm 1/4" drive

loosen the 2 clamps and remove the 36mm nut and flat washer...pull off the top of the tripletree and use a pick and pop out the upper bearing and inner race.....note the lack of grease on the bearings!!!!



lower the front wheel 4-5 inches to expose the lower bearing


clean off all the old grease and lube the bearings up with some mobil 1 synthetic..put some extra grease above the lower bearing


have a helper(aka the wife) help lift up the front wheel and put boards or jack back in place....then have helper hold wheel so you can slip on the regreased upper bearing and then reassemble the steering...torque the big nut to 80 ft/lbs
I figure with the synthetic grease and putting some extra in there this should last 4 yrs or another 30k miles
took me 1 1/2 hours start to finish...happy riding

[papajoe]

Great post thanks for taking the time. You make it look simple enough. I will add this to my winter projects list.

[TheAudiDoc]

My pleasure....always happy to help out fellow Voyager owners....please excuse the messy garage...this was one of three projects last weekend ....way too much time working

[Turbo4x4]

Mike,

Wish you'd posted this earlier. I was stupid enough to follow the procedure outlined in the manual, which means I pulled the fairing again. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB!

Thanks for the great post !!!

Bob

[Spoke]

Mike,thanks soo much for the post an photo's...i'm sure it will help alot of folks to try the job theirself..me for one,i'll tackle it after riding season,nov. maybe....i was interested in how you had the bike jacked up an stablized,your pics show it very well...thanks again. The only problem i see i might have is my helper...wife..saying..NOT WITH THESE FINGER NAILS...thanks again...RIDE SAFE,...SPOKE

[David (N. Alabama)]

Mike,thanks soo much for the post an photo's...i'm sure it will help alot of folks to try the job theirself..me for one,i'll tackle it after riding season,nov. maybe....i was interested in how you had the bike jacked up an stablized,your pics show it very well...thanks again. The only problem i see i might have is my helper...wife..saying..NOT WITH THESE FINGER NAILS...thanks again...RIDE SAFE,...SPOKE

I'm sure you can persuade a buddy to come lend a hand. If not you could create a Wedge to help lift and hold the front tire. I do a lot of work that usually takes two by myself. Just takes a little creativity.

[TheAudiDoc]

latex/nitrile gloves

[Spoke]

Thanks again Mike.....ride safe,Spoke

[Voyager]

Ok here we go....Jack up the bike and make it safe....throw some towles on the gas tank and remove the handle bar clamps....lay the bars on the tank....keep a jack or some boards under the front tire

Nice work! It appears it really isn't all that hard to properly maintain these bearings. It was amazing how little grease was on them from the factory. I wonder if that was intentional?

[bbazen]

AudiDoc

Isn't there a spanner nut holding down the bearing? How did you remove and re-install this? Is there any secret to how tight to turn that nut? The service manual is vague about reinstalling it.
I have a friend with a Voyager as well, who has the same wobbly handlebar symptom that I have and the stealership charged him over $400 to remove the fairing and tighten his spanner nut.

Thank You for this write up!!! I am almost ready to tackle this myself..

[MadDad]

I see that Allballs, https://www.allballsracing.com/, has a tapered bearing kit. Anyone installed one of those? Might try and tackle that next year, along with pulling the fork tubes to change the oil.

[kjsett]

I was excited to see this pictorial, UNTIL, I noticed this was the 1700. (not enough coffee yet this AM).
Is this similar to the XII or has anyone posted that also?

Changed my oil, Antifreeze and fuel filter yesterday (burned my hand in the process). Also cleaned and will re-oil the K&N air filter. Finally have to replace the Dunlop E3's again after over 20K miles (40k on bike now after almost 2 years of ownership).
Question: at 40k miles, do bearings just need serviced, or best to just replace them since the tires will be off (my son thinks they should be changed automatically with tires)?
Anyway, didn't mean to hijack this thread. Loved the pictorial, and will come in handy when I finally have to give up the 1200.

[cushman eagle]

The VXII has tapered roller bearings instead of the ball bearings. When I serviced my XII at 25000 miles, the steering head bearings looked perfect ,so I just relubed them.I plan to do a spline/swingarm/seering head relube again the winter of 2014-2015 when it should have about 50000 miles.

[Turbo4x4]

Shortly after Mike posted his greatly detailed and appreciated documentary on the steering bearing replacement, I converted my 2009 Voyager over to All Ball tapered roller bearings. With that, and the inclusion of a top end waterproof, heat resistant, non-melting or freezing lubricant used on both the steering bearings & the swing arm bearings, I won't need to worry about either of these items for at least 30K miles. I also ventured into the dark side on my rear tire, which I love, so with the exception of oil, filter, & air filter (now have K & N), I have virtually no maintenance to worry about for a very long time. Life is good!

[MadDad]

Shortly after Mike posted his greatly detailed and appreciated documentary on the steering bearing replacement, I converted my 2009 Voyager over to All Ball tapered roller bearings. With that, and the inclusion of a top end waterproof, heat resistant, non-melting or freezing lubricant used on both the steering bearings & the swing arm bearings, I won't need to worry about either of these items for at least 30K miles. I also ventured into the dark side on my rear tire, which I love, so with the exception of oil, filter, & air filter (now have K & N), I have virtually no maintenance to worry about for a very long time. Life is good!

How difficult was it to get the races out of the steering head. That's my biggest worry.

[Turbo4x4]

Sorry for the late reply. I don't check the forum as often as I once did.

Removing the races and reinstalling is indeed the most difficult part. To remove, I used a long punch that required me to grind off about 1/4" of one side of it in order to get a good seat on the surface of the race in order to drive it out without it slipping off the race.

Reinstalling required that I freeze the races overnight. I then manufactured a press made from 1/2" all-thread and two 3" X 3" X 1/4" pieced of steel plate with a hole in the center for the all-thread to pass. Lightly tap the races in place to hold them and install the all-thread and plates to draw both raced into place. Make sure you've started them square with the neck so they'll draw in evenly. That's it.

[TheAudiDoc]

i have not done the conversion to rollers....maybe at 60k

[ekap1200]

AudiDoc

Isn't there a spanner nut holding down the bearing? How did you remove and re-install this? Is there any secret to how tight to turn that nut? The service manual is vague about reinstalling it.
I have a friend with a Voyager as well, who has the same wobbly handlebar symptom that I have and the stealership charged him over $400 to remove the fairing and tighten his spanner nut.

Thank You for this write up!!! I am almost ready to tackle this myself..

Hi AudiDoc, if your friend with the Voyager is a 1200 Voyager , make sure you check the fender inserts.
Very important that they are not crushed, it will cause the fork brace to not work...as it is supposed too. Gene Kap

[glefter56]

Is it the same process for the Nomad 07 1600???

[debron]

Is it the same process for the Nomad 07 1600???

Conceptually, yes. The actual procedure may vary somewhat depending on how different the front end is on the Vulcan 1700 vs. 1600. I would suspect it's close enough you could follow this procedure and cope with/adapt to any differences, if any.