I'm doing some work on my buggy that involved me taking it apart (more on that later). Upon disassembly I found that my headset bearings were a little rough and I want to replace them before putting things back together. The ones that were press fit into the headset were exceedingly tight and I thought perhaps they were slightly the wrong size, perhaps a millimeter too big or something like that.

Buggy: PL BigFoot+
Old bearings: S6203RS

Are these the right size for the headset? Where do people like to order bearings online? Thanks in advance!

That bearing is not a press fit. Corrosion can lock it in place though. I order all my bearings through Amazon. I've run their cheap bearings for 4-5 years with one replacement. At about a dollar a bearing you can swap them out any time you feel they aren't perfect. I bought 3 sleeves of 10.

Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob

That bearing is not a press fit. Corrosion can lock it in place though. I order all my bearings through Amazon. I've run their cheap bearings for 4-5 years with one replacement. At about a dollar a bearing you can swap them out any time you feel they aren't perfect. I bought 3 sleeves of 10.

Bob - appreciate the quick response buddy. Now I'm sure I had the wrong sized bearing in my headset. Any chance you know the part number for the correct bearings?

Yep that seems right I have a spare bearing here that I've marked the box with a felt pen as a spare for my old buggy. 6203 2RS (two rubber seals) is correct.
40mm dia x 17mm ID x 12mm thick. Yes electrolysis fuses the bearings in.

Use the old bearings as a dolly to hammer into place to refit the new bearings. This way you will be only pushing onto the outside of the race and not damaging the inner surfaces where the balls roll. PLEASE do wear safety glasses as they will chip.

Before fitting them get a very pointed knife blade and dig out the seal by inserting the tip carefully under the very outer edge and prying the seal gently out.
They pop out easily. (Practice on the old bearings to understand how they pop out and how easily they reseat.)

Then you can completely repack them. Make that fill the new bearing up completely with waterproof grease (as used in boat trailer wheel bearings) and you will never need to replace the headset bearings again. They are moving such a minimal amount you wont notice the friction from being completely full.

I even do this regularly to my wheel bearings and they squirt out the excess grease in the first 10 mins of using them.
This is good to do if there is a layoff period for the buggy as the wheel bearings will seize up. Even stainless steel ones will seize, as they still have a black steel cage to retain the balls evenly around the bearing.

I realize it probably slows the rotation down somewhat but as I don't race I feel the lube is more important than the speed and I often fully submerge my buggy while crossing creeks along the beach.
The nice thing about bigfoots and Midi XL's, is the buggy floats and I don't have to dismount to cross.

Quote: Originally posted by Chook

Yep that seems right I have a spare bearing here that I've marked the box with a felt pen as a spare for my old buggy. 6203 2RS (two rubber seals) is correct. 40mm dia x 17mm ID x 12mm thick. Yes electrolysis fuses the bearings in. Use the old bearings as a dolly to hammer into place to refit the new bearings. This way you will be only pushing onto the outside of the race and not damaging the inner surfaces where the balls roll. PLEASE do wear safety glasses as they will chip. Before fitting them get a very pointed knife blade and dig out the seal by inserting the tip carefully under the very outer edge and prying the seal gently out. They pop out easily. (Practice on the old bearings to understand how they pop out and how easily they reseat.) Then you can completely repack them. Make that fill the new bearing up completely with waterproof grease (as used in boat trailer wheel bearings) and you will never need to replace the headset bearings again. They are moving such a minimal amount you wont notice the friction from being completely full. I even do this regularly to my wheel bearings and they squirt out the excess grease in the first 10 mins of using them. This is good to do if there is a layoff period for the buggy as the wheel bearings will seize up. Even stainless steel ones will seize, as they still have a black steel cage to retain the balls evenly around the bearing. I realize it probably slows the rotation down somewhat but as I don't race I feel the lube is more important than the speed and I often fully submerge my buggy while crossing creeks along the beach. The nice thing about bigfoots and Midi XL's, is the buggy floats and I don't have to dismount to cross.

Chook - thanks! Your suggestion of using the old bearings as a dolly to hammer the new ones in is superb. I hadn't ever thought to do that but of course it makes perfect sense.

I just ordered two news ones. Problem solved! :singing:

Put the new bearings in the freezer overnight until your ready to put them in. They will go in much easier. You could even warm up the headset just before dropping them in. You only red about an 80 degree difference and you may not even need a hammer to drive them in. I do this very often but in reverse when I'm replacing bearings in a pump or electric motor shaft. Works like a charm. A press fit without the press. I would recommend against removing the rubber seals. Or at least only remove the inner one. At $2 a piece who cares if you have to replace it every couple of years. You can also go with shielded rather than sealed. Shielded offers less rolling resistance but also offers less protection. To get shielded simply change the RS to ZZ. So instead of 6203RS it would be 6203ZZ

Quote: Originally posted by Blitzhound

Put the new bearings in the freezer overnight until your ready to put them in. They will go in much easier. You could even warm up the headset just before dropping them in. You only red about an 80 degree difference and you may not even need a hammer to drive them in. I do this very often but in reverse when I'm replacing bearings in a pump or electric motor shaft. Works like a charm. A press fit without the press. I would recommend against removing the rubber seals. Or at least only remove the inner one. At $2 a piece who cares if you have to replace it every couple of years. You can also go with shielded rather than sealed. Shielded offers less rolling resistance but also offers less protection. To get shielded simply change the RS to ZZ. So instead of 6203RS it would be 6203ZZ

Love the freezer idea! Thanks.

Sorry I wasn't very clear Blitzhound. I refit the seal after completely repacking the bearings. Grease just oozes out as the seal reseats and wipe away the excess before fitting the bearing.

Yes totally agree with the bearing freezing/fitting. When we used to rejoin the master links in our D7 dozer track chains, we would cool the master pin down with a hose on an "inverted" LPG barbeque gas bottle, to freeze it. It would simply slip into place without needing to be driven in with a 14 lb sledge hammer and much swearing.

Yes most bearings can be used as a dolly to refit new ones with 30 seconds on a linishing belt to reduce their outside diameter by a couple of thousandths of an inch. To remove tight bearing cups just run a bead of weld around the cup and when it cools they fall out.