Head Bearing Replacement

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My bike needs new steering head bearings. 2012 F700GS, 24,000 miles. It's been handling slightly strangely for quite some time now and I've checked the bearings a few times and not noticed anything. With front wheel off the ground there is no noticeable play and the handlebars feel entirely smooth when moving them through the range or movement. UNTIL you move them very slowly around the straight ahead position when a significant notch becomes very noticeable out of nowhere. Move them quicker - absolutely no sign of a problem. Move the bars very slowly - big notch. Very strange.

Anyway, two questions:

1. Can anyone tell me what it's likely to cost to get them replaced?

2. Do the forks need to be removed individually to replace the bearings (in which case I'll ask them to replace the fork oil as well)?

Thanks in advance.
 
Thanks, Ash.

Dealers have quoted me £500 for service (which I think is just an oil and filter change this time round) plus head bearings and fork oil replacement.

The servicing I normally do myself, and I could drop the forks to empty the oil out easily enough, I'm sure, but I've never done head bearing replacements and I'm just too lazy anf not poor enough to try myself. Plus, I need the bike for work.
 
Thanks, Ash.

Dealers have quoted me £500 for service (which I think is just an oil and filter change this time round) plus head bearings and fork oil replacement.

The servicing I normally do myself, and I could drop the forks to empty the oil out easily enough, I'm sure, but I've never done head bearing replacements and I'm just too lazy anf not poor enough to try myself. Plus, I need the bike for work.

Isn't there anybody local that could just do the bearings.
Or look at it differently..

Say £200 + for the service & £300 for the bearings.
Which with the bearings & fork oil I spose is about reet..
 
You can easily replace the head bearings yourself in a couple of hours. Make sure you put the new ones in the freezer overnight and have the correct size allen key for your torque wrench for when you tighten them up. I used a hot air gun on the headstock so that the metal expanded enough for the old bearings to push out. I did mine on my 2013 F700GS last year so I know that they have enough grease on them.

Halfa 1200
 
It's in the dealers now.

I've used independent mechanics in the past one in Folkestone, one in Pembury) and prefer to use independents when I can. But the convenience and loan bike and warranty all add up.

I also asked then to look at gear indicator, which has been playing up intermittently for ages but been fairly constant for the last month or so for 1st gear and neutral. Needs a new potentiometer, £160 fitted. I've passed on that for the time being... I grew up with bikes without gear indicators and somehow managed to survive.

The downside to using a dealer - got a F750GS as loan bike. It's making my wallet twitch. I need to keep telling myself that it's a commuting bike only; that an expensive new bike won't do it any better; that it's been reliable and never let me down in five years. Resistance is NOT futile (I hope).
 
Head Bearings

I replaced my bearings at 6500 miles last week. I've thought a lot about the problem and discussed it with some engineer acquaintances and we think that the bottom bearing is at the upper limit of it's design load and is not really designed for being static for long periods if the bike is solely used on the road.
I have always had Airheads and remembered that each time I put the bike away I have always turned the front wheel lock to lock a few times to re-distribute the grease. I now do this with the 800 when I return from a ride when the headstock area is nice and warm. It certainly can't hurt and may just help.
I have also done the torquing procedure three times now: on installation / 50 miles / 200 miles and I'll do again at 1000 miles if I still own the bike which is currently for sale. This will ensure that the bearings bed in consistently whilst maintaining the approved tightness in the bearings; this may seem a bit of overkill but changing bearings is a PITA. I also think that the bearings may not have been lubricated and set up correctly at manufacture / PDI and certainly not at 600 mile service.
:thumby:
 
It's making my wallet twitch. I need to keep telling myself that it's a commuting bike only; that an expensive new bike won't do it any better; that it's been reliable and never let me down in five years. Resistance is NOT futile (I hope).

Try telling yourself that the engine isn't ready yet, and there are already reports of them shiting themselves left, right, and centre. It's true, and it should help.
 
Try telling yourself that the engine isn't ready yet, and there are already reports of them shiting themselves left, right, and centre. It's true, and it should help.

Hence Ash buying a late F700GS..
Was going for a F750GS but after much research, I stuck with the great Rotax engined steed..
Maybe getting one on a PCP would be OK because in the end they have to look after you.
But I buy outright & far from convinced the new engines are right yet.

More than happy with my choice of a 2017, low chassis F700GS...
With ride by wire & rider modes..

:thumb
 

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New head bearings have returned the bike to its former self - no more uncertainty from the front end.

The 750 was fun to thrash, and the quickshifter makes sense when going for it, but riding more sedately reveals a big issue with the fuelling. It's impossible to go at a steady speed on small throttle openings without it gently but permanently lurching. It's what I'd call "hunting" but not sure if that's the correct term. At first I thought it might be an issue with a very sensitive throttle that I was moving inadvertently, but it's the same with cruise control.

As I use my bike for a mostly motorway commute, I think it would drive me mad.

Other than that, it was nice enough. Maybe I'll wait for a couple of years to see if this is ironed out.

Next issue with the trusty 700: the dealers told me the front brake pads were close to limit. I bought new ones in local bike shop, fitted them yesterday afternoon, and ... brakes binding on one disc and a feeling of sponginess inexplicable sponginess - the worst kind - because I hadn't opened the fluid circuit at all. Initially i thought it might be a sticking piston, but another quick look and clean and they seemed to be ok, but still binding slightly. Then thought maybe there was too much fluid, so removed some from the master cylinder. Still no change.

More investigation soon revealed that the sliding caliper mount wasn't sliding at all. The left caliper slid like a dream, and could be eased apart by hand with minimal effort. The right didn't move at all. Getting the caliper of the pins was a right bastard - it was the top pin that was stuck, and I could only move the caliper around the pin (if that makes sense) by a few mm. If I could get the bottom pin out, I could twist it round further to free it up, but you can't remove the bottom pin with the top stuck... Judicious use of hammer and screwdriver freed it JUST enough to get the mount passed the loosened lower pin, and that allowed me to remove it. The top pin was completely dry, very rusty and stiff, in contrast to the left caliper which was still nicely greased and in perfect condition.

Quick clean with emery cloth, lubed up with high melting point grease, and all done. Spongy feeling gone too. Tomorrow's trip to Croydon should confirm whether or not it's all perfect!

I was initially confused as to why the problem hadn't manifested itself before, as the pins have clearly been seized for some time. I think that with worn pads in there was probably enough pay in the floating discs to stop any dragging, but the extra thickness of news pads meant that it needed the calipers to slide as designed. Anyway, it's sorted now and I've made a mental note to grease the pins every couple of months to prevent recurrence.
 


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