Steering stem play

[Banshee_370]

my stem has some play in it. i bought an upper bushing, while replacing i noticed it has some vertical play. do i have to replace the lower bearing or is it normal. this is with the bike on a stand

[86 Quad R]

there shouldnt be any slack at all. is the slack in the bearing itself or is the stem moving up en down inside the bearings inner race?

[Honda 250r 001]

maybe you need to tighten up the nut on the bottom of the stem? Otherwise yes the bottom bearing needs replaced and it needs to be replaced most likely because the top bushing was worn for too long causing a bunch of wear on the bottom bearing.

By the way the bearing is a ***** to get out so take your time and use lots of blaster haha.