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SCR Head Bearing Change Out

7K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  eddie 
#1 ·
It’s been almost 25/K miles and I have been fighting these head bearings from day 1. No matter how many times I adjust them or tighten them the bike still shakes on the deceleration to the point if I let go of the bars I will crash. I have had enough, I have finally decided to switch them out.
I purchased the “All Balls” tapered bearing replacement kit #22-1004 it fits the 14-18 Yamaha Bolt and the 17 Yamaha SR 950. It does not call out the SCR exactly, but it is a match.
Make no mistake, this is a job and will require 2 people at some point in the process. No blind bearing/race puller will work. You will be driving the old races out like the manual depicts.
The easy part is getting the bike stripped down to do the job, once you get everything apart it’s time to get the races off. There is only a small lip to grab with your punch to drive them out and you will destroy most long bars or punches you try to use, just not enough to grab onto. I finally used the back end of a file (see pic) it is small enough and hard enough to grab without breaking the square corner off. You work the race back and forth via the small cutouts they leave you in the neck to grab the race and eventually it comes off. The top one is harder to remove you have to pry it out, once you get it started it comes out, not without effort though. The race on the bottom of the shaft on the bottom triple clamp is the hardest to remove, you will have to cut it off or use a cold chisel. I opt’d for the cold chisel. It came off but was a bitch!.
I froze the new races overnight and heated the neck up with a hair dryer, I mic’d about .005 play between the 2 but they still had to be driven or pounded on, once you get them started you can use the old race to drive them on completely.
The bearing on the top of the bottom triple clamp required a long tube to drive it on, again using the old race, the tube and another set of hands it went on fairly simple.
After it’s all assembled torque the bearings to the specs in the manual, 38 ft lbs initial torque and 13 ft lbs final torque. (Note: in the past I was never able to use the final torque, just wasn’t enough.) I torqued the new bearings exactly per the book and upon test drive WOW!!!! What a difference, NO shake, No wobble on deceleration!!! Let go of the bars and the thing just tracked perfectly!!!. I will drive it this week (500 miles) and report back as to the results after they settle.
After doing the job, my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. $36.00 and a day and a half of labor and the bike drives like it should. If you are contemplating this job, please do not be frightened off by this post. Its only a job, the worst you can do is screw it up.
 

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#4 ·
Ok, put 500 miles on the head bearings, thing still runs like its on a rail. Re-torqued them, the torque didn't change, took it up to 15 lbs just because I prefer them on the tight side. Bike rides really free. If I can recommend anything to anyone, this would be it. The most significant change I've made to the SCR
 
#12 ·
Haven't seen this trick mentioned here and if it has been, I apologize for the repeat.
When tackling a set of steering bearings on a friend's old V65 Magna, we used a retired mechanic friend's garage.
As we got to the time to get the old lower, inner race off the triple clamp, seasoned vet handed me a Dremel with a cut-off wheel.
"Here. Make as deep a cut as you can in the race without hitting the triple."
I did and then he took a hammer and small chisel to the cut. In a few hits, the race broke - releasing the tension and allowing it to come free easily.
We did something like that with the lower race, too.
 
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