This is an article written by
Ed Herlihy, STOC 4182 and includes some great tips and
also "lessons learned" during his R+R:
~~~
OK – I finished the job, and most of it went smoothly.
Here is a picture of the patient before the operation:

And here is a picture of the bearings in the package:

Finally, here is a picture of the tools in the kit:
Disassembly:I put the bike on the center stand, and jacked up the front of the bike with a floor jack. I removed the shelter cover, the front fender, and the front wheel.
I hung the front brake calipers from coat hangers, and put the coat hangers over the mirrors.

I then removed the handlebars (4 12mm bolts) and hung them from a rope that I threw over the rafters of my garage.
The whole disassembly process was uneventful…

One tip is that I found that you can remove the lower inside bearing race with the outer race removal tool.
If I were a little more careful, I bet that I could have even reused the lower dust seal!
I took a picture of how I positioned the tool to accomplish this (it's no big deal actually).

Someone mentioned that they went to the local Honda dealer to get the race removed. This should save you the trip and expense.

Here are both bearings, and the bearing removal tool, and my secret weapon for removing things (if I get real frustrated, I use the narrow end )

Bearing Prep: I did a fair amount of research prior to beginning this job. Several people had reported pulling bearings to find that they were DRY. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the OEM bearings had a good deal of grease still in them. I don’t know if this is because I had an ’02, or if it was because of my relatively low mileage.
I had some Mercury Quicksilver 2-4-C Marine Lubricant©, which I pressed into the bearings and coated the races with prior to reassembly.
Also, note that the kit from CBR included upper and lower bearing dust seals. Note that the old dust seal is more like a cup, because the OEM bearing sits proud of the steering stem. (see the illustration on page 13-30, reference part #8). The CBR bearing sits flush with the steering stem, and requires the flat dust seal included in their kit. I suspect that the Steering Stem Adjustment Nut, and all the components over the bearing sit a little lower on the stem because of this.
Reassembly:I found that the OEM face of the bearing race press took had been damaged before I received it. Fortunately, I was using CBR Bearings, and could use the tool. John is trying to figure out who munged it, and I am sure they’ll fess up (Note to John - it wasn’t me!)


Here is a pic of me seating the CBR Bearings;


This tool is INVALUABLE!!!!
You can also see my Galfer© braided stainless steel brake lines in this shot. Note that there is an individual line from the master cylinder to each caliper. I believe that this makes the brakes easier to bleed if you ever do get air in them. Also note that these lines have an extra 2" of play, because I thought htat I may someday use Heli Bars.
I tightened the nut with an adjustable wrench, until the lower nut started to spin. I then grabbed that with a crescent wrench, and tightened it some more. No torque spec, I just wanted the races to be fully seated.
It was while reassembling the Steering stem that I hit my
first problem. I recalled from one of the many instruction sets included with the kit, and on-line, that the spec was
61 foot pounds, so I tightened it to 61 foot pounds. I found that I could barely turn the forks. I re-reread the instructions and realized that I got the Steering Bearing Adjustment Nut, and the Steering Head nut confused! I loosened it to
12 foot pounds, and all was good. I did some fine-tuning by flopping the forks back and forth until they felt “right” and tightened the other nut. I don’t believe that any damage was done.
The next area where I ran into my only difficulty, was the Steering Stem Nut! Because I had re-read the instructions, and checked the manual, I believed that this should have been tightened to
76 foot pounds (see the illustration on page 13-30, reference part #1). Using my ½ inch drive, deflecting beam torque wrench I tightened it until read an indicated 70'/lbs, where it stayed for about 1/2 a turn, and then it became easier! Angry Shocked >:( (uh-oh!!). :o I quickly backed the nut off, and realized that the steering stem had stretched, causing the stem to narrow in diameter, and the threads to begin to strip.
After a few choice words, I carefully looked at the nut, and fortunately discovered that the threads were cut a little closer to one side of the nut than the other. I don’t know if this nut is supposed to be installed in one direction or not, but I flipped the nut over, and hoped for the best. I got lucky, because the difference in the thread from one side of the nut to the other allowed for the nut to bite a little lower on the stem. I torqued it to where I felt it was good enough (probably 45'/lbs), and buttoned it up. So far, it's working like a champ. :educ
Lessons Learned:1. If anything, there are probably too many write-ups on the internet on how to do this upgrade. Each of these sets of instructions is slightly different. I suggest that you
pick one set of clear instructions, and only one and follow them. I got confused with what I remembered, and what I thought I remembered. In the end, I followed the procedure on page 13-31 of the service manual.
2. I don't think that the Steering Stem Nut needs to be so damn tight. The forks, fork clamps, and the Steering Stem keep the top of the Bridge (triple tree) in alignment. If could pass some I advise to the group, it would be to lower the torque spec on this nut to 55'/lbs. In any case,
DO NOT TIGHTEN THE STEERING STEM NUT TO MORE THAN 60 FOOT POUNDS.
3. To anyone using a hammer with the Bearing Race Driver set; there is a black Delrin© handle specifically for this purpose in the kit. I don’t recall reading instructions to that effect, but John O. says that they’re there. In any case
NEVER USE A HAMMER TO BASH THE ALUMINUM BEARING RACE DRIVER.4. This is not a difficult job. The bike really should have included roller bearings in the first place. This cured the 25-40MPH handle bar shake that prompted me to start this project.
I hope that this helps someone...!
-
Ed