Does the stem press out or is it screwed into the lower?
Have to remove before shop will strip and coat them

 

The bearing is pressed to the hsaft and holds it tight. Once the bearing is removed, that shaft will almost fall out. That's the way my '97 WG was. My '06 appears to be the same.

 

fall out of the lower triple tree?
Im talking parts on the bench here and not on the bike...

I have the lower in my hand, with the stem sticking out of it, the lower bearing is still on though and does seem pressed onto the shaft.

 

Yeah, I took my '97 apart once. The bearing is opressed onto the top side. On the bottom there was a snap ring that held it all together. But it was so tight you couldn't get the snap ring off until the bearing was pressed off. Then the stem about fell out.

 

ah ok. thanks for the info.
according to the dealer here... all bottom neck bearings must be cut off the stem? lol! ok... well they are doin it...

 

Cut off? Really? I just went out and looked at my '06. It also has a snap ring on the bottom. Why would you machine the post for a snap ring, and then weld it together?

 

it's pressed in....but you really dont need to remove it for stripping/coating
i just masked mine off..media blasted..and powder-coated the lower tree....done

 

You bet Mike, thats the plan now the bearing is removed.

 

Donk - DO NOT try to press the stem out of the lower tree!!!!!! To install that stem it is frozen while the tree is heated to press it together at the factory. The snap ring at the bottom is just a little insuance, nothing more. If you force the stem out it will never be right again. The lower bearing USUALLY has to be cut off to replace it. Sometimes you can press it off with the right bearing removal tool but that tends to ruin the cage anyway. It's best to remove that bearing for powder coating since trying to get all the grease out of it is very difficult. The grease will tend to get on the powder in the oven and cause defects in the finish.

Bobcowan - If you still have your '97 I'd strongly suggest replacing your lower tree. There is a lot of pressure on that part so a perfect fit is essential. Any play (slop) at all will only get worse and could cause catastrophic failure.

 

BTW, there are some aftermarket tree's that do have screw in stems. Those stems can be removed without damaging the integrity of the part. My first post was talking about factory HD and aftermarket tree stemsthat are pressed together.