Topic: 550 head bearing install

[jays75]

Gentlemen and Ladies I come to you with a question.  I've searched and reviewed this question several times and it's only spun me in perfect circles,  I've a 75 CB550F and I'm installing a set of Allballs head bearings.  Do I or don't I install the thicker spacer? 
I may have measured the stacks wrong or I may have taken some iffy advice here on the forum but I don't think the thicker spacer works, it's not working on mine at least.  Now I'm stuck with either pounding off the bottom bearings OR some kind soul may simply advise me on a quick fix.  Help?

[fastbroshi]

  I just looked at my instructions yesterday.   I haven't done mine yet so I'm just guessing - I'm thinking you'd take the new greenish colored spacers and set the new bearings in there, measure the height.   Put the new bearings in the old spacers, measure the height.  If the difference is more than 1mm, use whatever spacer the instructions say. 

[INSANE REINDEER]

1974 CB550. I used the big spacer and for a while I could not get either of them to work. I finally found that the bottom new race was not hit in all the way. The big spacer is what I used and it is working fine.

[jays75]

Thanks much for the insite.  I'll put together a press and see if I can get some more out of the races.  Any tips on getting the bottom bearings off?  Either way thanks again and I'll see you around.
J.

[fastbroshi]

If you're talking about the bottom race in the steering head, a brass punch and a hammer.  The bottom one can come off quite a few ways; heat, working it little by little by prying, etc.  Be carefull not to nick the stem.

[d9canada]

If you PM me your email ID, I can send you a Word doc with a rundown on how I did a CB900C's steering head bearings with All Balls replacements.  The file is 1.5 megs with pictures so too big here even when I zipped it. 

Your bike will be similar to the CB900C.  I didn't have a press but instead I used the old inner race inverted to drift the new lower race down.  I don't recommend this actually.  If I ever do it again, I will rig a press and use a piece of pipe suitably trimmed to bear only on the inner race.  But, that said, I got the job done.

[xsmooth69x]

hahahahaha im right about to make a walkthrough on how to change out steering stem ball bearings with tapered bearings on an 75 cb550

i just did it like 2 days ago

i used the small washer not the big one. i dont see how you could use the big washer

from the order i used what washer first (red) the the dust cover thing (purple) then the bearing (orange)

i put the triple tree back together and really cranked the SHiAT out of it to set the bearings.

after that everything was done

(i will be making the write up with lots of pictures in a day or 2)

they way i got the stem race off i just used a grinder then used a screw driver to snap it off.