Originally Posted by
Bladeputr13
I am in the same boat. Does the washer on top of the decagonal nut need to be pulled or screwed off? It doesn't budge a bit. Maybe it's a keyed washer. I am at a loss. Thanks so much ahead of time!
To assemble this (disassembly is reverse) , start at the top of the head tube with a pressed-in bearing race, the upper bearing bottom race. On top of that are well-greased ball bearings. Then you screw the upper bearing top race onto the fork. That's the thing that has the cool rounded "flattened globe" shape and has the (had to check) octagonal flats built in. On top of that is a keyed (at least it should be keyed) washer. All you see of that in the pic is a smooth round surface. On top of that is the locknut. It's round and has notches in it.
To disassemble you'd be best using a locknut wrench to unscrew the locknut. Then the washer should pull straight off. Then you can unscrew the top upper race off. Be careful - if the setup uses loose ball bearings you want to be prepared to catch 'em. Note: if loosen the top bearing race, it allows the fork to move, and so it can be that ball bearings from BOTH the top and the bottom fall out. If you do it over a light-colored shop towel and are careful, you should be able to recover all bearings. Of course, if the bearings are in retainers, its easier.