Looking for knowledge from anyone who has replaced these. Was told by the dealer it was time to be done. 1994 Honda F2. I think this is where the "loose" feeling is coming from when hitting certain bumps in the road.

 

Could be - especially if you do a bunch of wheelies or stoppies. It's a bitch to do though - check it out: http://denniscraig.org/pics/bikes/TL/TL_fork_change/

 

Thanks for the website, saw the ALL ***** made in China for $28.95 and the made in Japan for $45.95. Hmmm, I wonder how much labor? Got an estimate at the dealer and they told me $275.00 out the door with labor but they didn't tell me what brand the bearings were. Can this be done w/o removing the plastics or front end?

 

It's easy enough to do with the plastics on...I've done 'em before. There's no way to do it without removing the front wheel/fork tubes/handlebars though as you've got to take the steering stem and triple clamps off.

I personally recommend tapered roller bearings, which is what the OEM Honda items will be. If you don't have the service manual, you'll want it if you're doing this on your own...steering head bearings need to be torqued just right or the bike is going to feel very strange.

 

When I saw the heading of the post I had a flashback. Initial response "uh oh". It's defintetly doable if you regularly do work yourself and have the service manual. I've done one before and it wasn't too bad, pretty straight forward. Really I think disassembly took the longest. Just have the right tools, text and time and you're set. Unless of course 2 hours of your time is more valuable than $275

 

I'm gonna stress that it was a major pain in the *** - I don't know how much a pain the honda would be, but my TL was. Keep in mind that I had to remove forks and clamps, find a way to hoist it (I used an engine lift) and then find a way to press the old races out and press the new ones in. I improvised (that's what I do best), but having the right tools for the job would make all the difference. I'm not exacty sure what the right tools are. Can anyone give any insight on the right tools?

 

you can tighten it

 

Just make sure you don't overtighten your steering head. I did that once before a track day and it was so damn hard to steer into a turn...I had to work twice as hard because the steering head felt notchy.