Alright, Tolstoy, here ya go!
If the bike has a center stand take a small floor jack and a piece of wood, jack just behind the oil filter housing 'til the rear tire just touches the ground. Use the wood as a cushion so the jack doesn't scratch up the engine. Go too far and the bike can tip. If you do this on your lift you should be able to chock the rear tire in place and add a few tie-downs to the rear for stability. You might be able to put the bike on the lift backwards and lock the rear wheel in the original vise?? Jack stands to the frame rails are a good move too.
Have fun putting the wiring in the headlight bucket back together! If you didn't label each wire, try tapeing a blown up version of the wiring diagram to the handlebars as a guide during reassembly.
The actual bearing installation is pretty straight forward. Here's a quick rundown from a post I sent a while back:
All Balls makes some good kits with OK quality bearings. They include easy to follow instructions for figuring stack height and spacer selection. Installation usually involves a spacer (thick washer) under the bottom bearing, to make up the height difference of the new tapered bearings being shorter than the old balls and races.
Drive the old cones out of the frame with a long punch. A few taps at different spots at a time - you don't want to cock the races in the bore.
Grease the new bearings. Put a gob of grease in your palm and force the grease into the race with a swiping motion - tough to explain, but easy to do. I've tried several bearing packer tools but haven't found any that work better than the old fashioned, albeit really messy way!
Stick the new races in the freezer overnight. I put 'em in clean plastic bags and stuff em right in with the ice. Once cold they'll usually drop right into the frame. A few taps should set them in place if needed.
A chisel and hammer usually makes short work of getting the old lower race off the stem. I use a pair of ancient wood chisels (don't tell my Dad!) and work 180 degrees apart. A few raps and it's off.
For putting the new bearing on the lower stem I use a piece of galvinized pipe I've had around for ever. Don't forget the spacer!!! Dust seal slides on next (if applicable) then the bearing. I've also used a length of an old fork tube on some bigger ones. Only hit the center of the bearing or you risk damaging it. On aluminum stems (modern sport bike) I freeze the stem but I haven't noticed any difference with steel ones.
Grease the surface of the stem. I really paint it on there, a trick learned from MX bikes. This prevents rust - it's not like the grease is going anywhere, but moisture can always find a way in!
Slide the stem into the frame. Install top bearing, then factoty dust cap and nut. I add 15 to 25 lbs. to the factory torque spec and tighten it down, then loosen and retorque to factory spec. This helps seat the bearings and cones.
Now put the rest back together and you should be good to go! You'll really notice a difference with the tapered steering bearings, they're soooo much smoother!
And I'm proud to say my response is
much longer than your original post
