Bearings and races for a 1977 kz 650 b1

Im upgrading the bike to tapered steering bearings and im having a hell of a time getting the lower race into the neck of the frame. The top one went in with no problems at all. Any ideas on what to use to drive it in? Thanks, jim

You may find a piece of PCV large enough. Just be sure the race starts in evenly all the way around; if it gets cockeyed it will be a bear to even up. Ed

oldkaws4ever wrote:

Im upgrading the bike to tapered steering bearings and im having a hell of a time getting the lower race into the neck of the frame. The top one went in with no problems at all. Any ideas on what to use to drive it in? Thanks, jim

If not already done, might help to keep part in freezer overnight and install while it's still "frozen."

Good Luck!

The first set I got from go all balls the race broke when I installed. I made a fixture at work just for this. I then measured the stem and race and the machinist f up. So I called them and they sent me another one free of charge and had no probablms be sure to put stem in freezer and pvc should do the job fine

I just did my kz900 a week ago. You have to really take you time. Make sure you have the race even all the way around all the time. You can do this using a drift to drive it in if you use light tapping side to side and around in a circle. Another tip is to use some emery cloth to remove a small amount of material from the head. A SMALL amount. Freeze the race and heat the head.

On a bearing(any type)never apply pressure on the inner part,always the outer race,otherwise the bearing will be quickly ruined.

hey oldkaws4ever, i did tapered bearings recently and it worked perfectly. Get 12" long 11/16" dia rod threaded all the way + (2) nuts + (2) 2"OD washers, start cranking...and voila!

I used a block of wood to get it flush the used a wooden dowel to drive it the rest of the way in, I used the jaws of a large cresent wrench to get the lower bearing down on the stem

i used the block of wood to get it flush then the wooden dowel and it went right into place. Thanks for the tips guys.