Steering stem bearing and races replacement

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tomtomclub2005
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Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Just changed the steering stem bearing and races Saturday with one my friends who’s a retired mech. This is rather serious undertaking that took the two of us 6 hours almost nonstop to complete. Frankly, I hope you won’t have to do it- It will put your patience and nerves to the test, and as someone mentioned before in the forum, each time you touch your pcx you will have new surprises with bolts made of cheese, stripped screws, bolt and nut turning together (for ex: battery box) etc etc. My bike is LED pcx from December 2014, 20.000 Km on. It seems really early on to have to change those, and I suspect less than stellar bearing quality and not enough grease from factory in the first place. Do the checks I’ve highlighted below to know if you have an issue.

I’m putting this here so people can find at least some info on what’s to be expected, as I don’t recall other threads on the process. Sorry I don’t have enough pics for a step by step tutorial. Please note I am not a professional and if I did not have the help of a mech I would have given up. Be safe. You absolutely need to have a means to hold your bike securely without the front wheel as you will need to be banging up a race with quite some force while laying on the floor…

How to diagnose.
  • Step 1) lift front end and grab your forks, check for any play if there is any you will have to tighten your steering stem (and check the bearings)

    Step 2) Wheel lifted, turn handlebar all the way on one side then push with one finger (your thumb) your handle bar to the opposite side. Repeat the other way around. It should roll smoothly to the other side with a light push . Check for roughness and hard spots. If there’s any = bearing replacement at minimum.

    3) Last and most revealing check: remove front wheel and forks in one piece and the handlebar as well. Grab the steering stem from below and turn it. It should turn as smooth as butter. if it feels stepped, rough, makes grinding noises, it will need your attention.
My steering did not have any play, it was making just a very faint squeal on the left side. I would not actually believed there was anything wrong with it until we did step 2) and there was definitely a hard spot dead center meaning a bearing replacement at minimum. We did bearing and races just to be on the safe side. Personally I thought that I wasn’t that bad, but my mech convinced me to tackle the issue.
It is only when we had dismantled the scooter and incidentally dis as in step 3 that we found out how really bad it was- incredibly stepped all the way. Yet I could not tell anything while riding- you adapt yourself gradually and don’t notice the defects of your bike.

If you’ve got those symptoms, it’s time to grab the parts. You guys in the US don’t know how good you have it, below are 100 eur worth of races and bearings, you’d pay half of that with partzilla…
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(to be continued)
tomtomclub2005
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

So what’s involved?
We did sort of Hacker’s way and removed some unnecessary things like the luggage box because that was what was written in the crappy French Workshop manual. We did not remove other stuff which in retrospect i would have. I had bought a subscription to cyclepedia PCX manual but they don’t show panels of the led version even though they claim it’s for 2017 pcx 150 as well? WTF?

- Remove saddle.
- Remove front cover panels ( you could leave them partially attached as we did but I depends how you support your bike): windshield, meter panel front the two side panels
- Remove Inner cover: plastic cover around glove box, then its sister part on the right, then inner cover itself
- Remove handlebar, you can leave it with all attached if you accept that you might need to Bleed the brakes (the two pistons from right lever), the CBS master cylinder will not be affected)
- Now remove post handler under steering stem making sure not to lose the spacers
- Detach brake caliper.
- Secure you scooter and remove front wheel with forks in one go.
Whoah….You haven’t even started yet!
When you reach this stage of the image below you almost ready to begin, just take away the bolt and remove the post.
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The petrol lid cable is a real PITA to get off
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tomtomclub2005
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Now the fun begins...

Notice the corrosion? The single most corroded part in my pcx, i've got no rust elsewhere on the frame. who would have thought this?
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tomtomclub2005
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

the top race.
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zoomed in: not very pretty.
top race2.jpg
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tomtomclub2005
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Stangely after a cleaning the bottom one looked perfectly ok. My mech told me to leave it alone so that's what we did.
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iceman
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by iceman »

My '14 bike passed it's MOT and they are supposed to test for steering bearings - so hope they are good (I believe there is a slight ident at centre but hey, it does not affect riding at all and as long as it passed it's next MOT, I'll be happy).
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

As you can guess from what I've posted up to now, it's not something you will want to do often. Do the checks highlighted in post n°1 especially with wheel + handlebar removed as the weight masks quite a bit of problems and you'll know where you stand, then it's up to you.

This adventure started by a simple annoyance that drove me mad: noise over bumps. This, and harsh suspension despite YSS valves and shocks ( Ok, the shocks are stupidly hard) started wearing down on me to the point i enjoyed riding less and less over a period of a year. Now that this is done i am completely amazed about the transformation: pcx seem to anticipate my moves like reading my mind and turns even before I seem to have made the decision! It's so bloody nimble again now. I noticed i used to grab the handlebars with quite some force, no need anymore. The suspension finally feels planted and much improved- still a bit stiff for my taste, but ok. I would not have anticipated the effect on the riding experience- after all, it's just about turning right? Wrong- on a motorbike, all that affects your front suspension affects the rear as well and all that affects the rear the front

I've been riding PCXs since 2011. Now i know that if i don't enjoy my ride anymore it means there's a problem with my pcx. The trap is you sometimes get used to it, only when you fix it will you rediscover what you have been missing!

Last thing: did it fix the noise? Well no, not really - it's still there but less often and more muted. it changed pitch, it sounds more like plastic rattling below the instrument panel. maybe i should check my mudgard sometime...
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by iceman »

Forgot to add - very well done, can't believe just how much is involved in doing this. I thought some dealers had quoted less than £200 to replace the bearings which if true, seems a bargain.
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tomtomclub2005
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Thanks Iceman- If 200 quids is parts and labour, for both bearings and races, gosh i would'nt hesitate for a nanosecond now that I've done it.
I'm over 50 and i like to learn new things, this seemed like a nice challenge, just not on my own- i'm no fool neither. And indeed challenging it can be, bottom race broke in two while driving it out, the new race was a nightmare to push back in, there are many things that can go wrong while installing -even if, in principle, it's should be a child's play : we are just talking about pressing new races and bearings in and on a tube- something any kid playing with LEGO technic will understand. Reality is not always so simple...

At my age i have to admit that 6 hours bent/ kneeing over a scooter takes a toll on my back and it took me a couple of days to be recover. Nothing bad, and still very happy I've done it, with help. I feel very privileged to have the conditions that I can both learn and get help around me. That's a very nice feeling :)

Cheers
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Update: The stem got a bit loose so i had to retighten it. i put some blue loctite on threads this time. I had to re-open everything, this time i worked from the headlight backwards removing completely the speedo instrument panel ( easy). The major pain somewhere is separating the top of central plastic black tunnel, there are two screws hidden behind. I'll post pics tomorrow.

This procedure saves quite a bit of time and is easier that full strip. But still, countless screws and plastic bits...
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by GeorgeSK »

We await the pictures with baited breath....

Glad the fix wasn't too terrible.
On my scoot, getting there is WAY more than half the fun!

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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by JustPassinThru »

The frame seems a bit rusty for three years old.

Stored outside? Do they use melting agents on the streets, winters, in your part of Europe?
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Here: Remove windshield and plastic below it, then remove whole speedo.
remove the little cover just under headlight bu pulling straight towards you and unscrew the two screw of front cover, left and right.
- now you can remove the inner cover panels. Be careful the top half is attached with two screws, you can access those by the front wheel well above front guard see below
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tomtomclub2005
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Hidden there: you have to access the screw by below (opposite of screwdriver direction shown)
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You will reach this
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You now have enough clearance to work!
Another view:
Last edited by tomtomclub2005 on Mon Jul 09, 2018 5:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

JustPassinThru wrote:The frame seems a bit rusty for three years old.

Stored outside? Do they use melting agents on the streets, winters, in your part of Europe?
I bought the pcx Second hand, I'm pretty sure the previous owner must have gotten stuck behind a salt truck in winter by judging how far salt got in there. I sprayed copious amounts of ACF 50 now.
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by GeorgeSK »

Out of curiosity, can you reach the ECU plugs at this point? My PCX wouldn't start last year until I ventured into the plastics and unplugged and replugged the ECU connectors. I followed the manual, and took many more pieces off. Your method would be far nicer if it allows you to get your hand in far enough.
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Hi George,

Yes i remember very well seeing the ECU and its plug. if you look at the second picture posted today you can get a glimpse of it.
However, if you just want to reach it maybe it's a lot easier just to remove the right side panel (unscrew the 2 screws of it close to petrol lid by just moving rear side to have enough clearance to get those screws visible. ? I think this would be a lot less labor... I even think you don't really need to remove the whole panel, just detach enough so you can reach below, as you can see in my pics i did not remove completely both side panels attached to headlight.

Be careful when detaching from headlight there is a tab that goes downwards into the headlight directly. you need to pull up and gently pry away, let me get a pic explaining that (which one do you have, LED model? on the ones before it's a lot easier me thinks)
Cheers,
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by GeorgeSK »

I'll be bookmarking this thread on the off chance I need to go back in there. It was not real easy to unplug those connectors - lots of friction - so you need pretty good hand access (unless you have superman fingers). Mine is a 13 - the dim bulb model.

May I suggest while you can that you unplug those connectors and give the tabs a dab of electric contact grease? The shrouds are good and tight, but corrosion in those particular plugs leaves you with a non-working scoot. I don't know if it is available on your side of the pond, but NO-OX-ID is a remarkable product for this sort of thing. A tube of it is big enough that you will be leaving it in your will.

https://www.sanchem.com/electrical-cont ... icant.html

The info PDF's are a bit hype-y, but interesting.
On my scoot, getting there is WAY more than half the fun!

Please paste this address into a new tab and add yourself to the map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1NlP7xk7KMdJReQnm-iDhldFBdpQ&ll=4.995760578398276%2C0&z=2
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tomtomclub2005
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Re: Steering stem bearing and races replacement

Post by tomtomclub2005 »

Good point! - i should have thought about it, - i also do electronics as a hobby and have contact cleaner etc handy.

George, on non led PCX, removing the inner cover is much simpler than on LED's: it comes off in one piece. Then it's matter of being a bit creative on how to remove the front side cover just above the ECU, the panels are attached differently than what is shown here. I'm 100% sure you don't need to remove speedo etc, it should be quite straightfoward- good luck!
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