Play in Fork Brace

Hi

Quick question. I can feel a very slight amount of "up and down" play in the fork cross brace ie the handlebars! It's a tiny amount. Taking a really quick look, I see a 21 mm nut underneath the brace which on a quick try, doesn't seem to want to loosen or tighten! Looking at the Microfiche , it looks like the offending item must the the "angular ball bearing" (2)

Is this easy to replace? Any heat required? Any gotchas? Do I/ can I attack from above i.e. under the BMW logo in the center of the brace? If yes, it would seem to be straightforward.

Sorry about the questions, but I don't have the manual for this camhead (although I suspect it's little different to my Haynes manual for the Oilhead

Thanks

Hi

 

Quick question. I can feel a very slight amount of "up and down" play in the fork cross brace ie the handlebars! It's a tiny amount. Taking a really quick look, I see a 21 mm nut underneath the brace which on a quick try, doesn't seem to want to loosen or tighten! Looking at the , it looks like the offending item must the the "angular ball bearing"

 

Is this easy to replace? Any heat required? Any gotchas? Do I/ can I attack from above i.e. under the BMW logo in the center of the brace? If yes, it would seem to be straightforward.

 

Sorry about the questions, but I don't have the manual for this camhead (although I suspect it's little different to my Haynes manual for the Oilhead

 

Thanks

Afternoon Hugh

Kind of a pain but definitely doable at home.

You need to remove the handlebars unbolt the fork tubes then remove the upper fork bridge (watch the ign switch & antenna ring wiring).

Then remove the snap ring retaining the bearing, then heat the fork bridge in the bearing area to 100°c & press or drive the old bearing out.

Then reheat the fork bridge to 100°c & press the new bearing in, if you drive it in (not recommended) then do not drive on the center as that transfers the

hammer blows through the bearing & can damage it.

Hi DR

I thought I'd said thanks back in March, but I see I hadn't.

So, belatedly, thanks as always - you are a true mine of information!

My .02 cents canuck. I thought my front angular ball bearing last fall was toast. The bike handled very poor, just like the 2007 12gt I owned .

Took off the front worn out Michelin pr4 (great tire) and the new rear already worn out dunlop 3 at 3k miles (very bad tire as it cupped on one side etc)

New tires, new bike. No ball bearing problem at 65 k miles on my 2011. Yes, I do know what a front bad ball bearing feels like. I had a 2007 that had one.

Cheers