ok yeah after reading your last post, i am talking about the stem, the part that holds the handlebars. I have removed the bolt that holds it to the steering tube, and I have loosed any and all nuts on the stem and the fork. I saved as many ball bearings as I could, but I didn't know that they would be there, and some of them fell out and rolled around the floor and into inaccessible places before i could react. After loosening the bolt and the nuts, I hit the bottom of the stem with a hammer, trying to knock it up and out of the tube. I didn't notice it move though, but it might have.