Steering Bearing Question

I was checking out my frame last night and I noticed that the top steering bearing mount has some big nicks taken out of it. It looks like it might have been damaged when they were installed in the neck - maybe by hammering it in with a screw driver.

I didn't get any pictures but I will tonight. I have the tapered bearings installed.

Should I replace this? I didn't ride the bike long before stripping it down to really notice if this was an issue.

You mean the head tube itself (welded into the frame) has gouges?

If so, they aren't an issue as long as you smooth out any raised areas with some emery cloth or sand paper before you install the new race.

If we look at this picture:

www.z1enterprises.com/images/parts/z1-steering-bearings.jpg

There are the rings and the rings with the bearings in them. The ring in the top has dings in it - nothing is raised but it is chipped downward. I will get a picture tonight.

As far as I know these aren't welded in, but they are supposed to be tapped in with a hammer and spacer/rubber mallet/etc...

The "rings" are called races, those are Outer Races. In your case, those are the cups and the bearing is called the cone. The inside of the cone is the Inner Race.

If the inside surface of the race is damaged then it's garbage and you'll need to replace BOTH the race and bearing as a set. It's common for the race to pit or chip with age, which is what you're probobly seeing.

They are usually pretty common sizes, you can remove the race and bring the bearing and race to a parts store to have them matched. Or spend some money at a dealer$hip.

This is where the damage is:

Bearings generally have 2 hardened shells to them an inner and outer, as mentioned they are called a race. The steering head bearings are called 2 piece-tapered bearings….

As for your picture, what I believe I see is the outer race of the bearing and to let you know the condition of yours by what I see, say it this way the outer race should have a mirror finish with no imperfections and I mean a perfect mirror finish.
Any imperfection in the race surface i.e. rust, dints, chips etc will result in a notchy feel in the steering, but what will happen if you keep using it that way is the balls will pit out the hardened surface and it will become worse over time…
The best example is to liken it to a pot hole in the road after a heavy rain, the hole is relatively small and insignificant but as the cars hit the hole with the tyres (ball bearings) over and over again this little hole the size of a golf ball has now become the size of a basket ball and as deep in just one day, because the hardened surface has been impaired resulting in bla bla bla….

Change the bearings as described and it will be fine , I see no problems only a lack of periodic maintenance!

That is kinda what I figured the case was. Thank you for the explanation.

*Ordering new parts*