steering stem tapered bearing

Hey everyone, I'm installing roller bearings into the steering stem of my kz650, and so far I've got the outer races in the frame, but I cant figure out how to get the lower inner bearing onto the stem itself. I've tried various pipes to hit it with but nothing seems to be the right size. How have other people done this?

thanks,
Alejandro

Do you mean you have removed the old lower steering stem racer and now are trying to install the new one? If so, use the old one that you have removed and use a small dremel with grind wheel to enlarge the inner diameter of this old lower stem racer (the one you was going to throw out, not the new one) Then, use this old racer to place on top of the new racer in order to protect this new racer when drving it in. Additionally, I used an old box wrench that fit over the stem shaft on top of the old race and tapped on it until the new race is seated. Don't forget to place the rubber seal under this lower stem racer. I'm sure there other ways. But this seemed to work pretty good.

I found a piece of PVC pipe that was just a tad larger than the stem but still mated with the inner race of the bearing. Also, put a thin film of grease on the stem. Remember, lots of little taps evenly spaced around the race is better than one mighty bash. Ed

Easiest way I found was to put the steering stem in the cold...Freezer...and use a "heat gun" to heat up the center of the taper bearing. Once the stem is really chilled heat the bearing and it should just drop on.