I finally got the front end apart and when I checked the steering stem I noticed that it had been damaged in two places (above the bottom bearing and below the top bearing).

The stem is worn in two places.




I'm guessing that it was caused by the play in the front end. Is it possible to buy a new stem? I suppose that I'll need to replace everything in the neck, but is there anything specific that I should look for?
And for what it's worth, appareently sometime in the past the bike had Timken bearings put in it.

thanks,
Chris

 

Definitely change the cups and the bearings since you've gone this far wouldn't make sense not to. VTwin offers a 3 deg. kit, I'm sure you can get the stem some where!