couple of questions… are the bearings different sizes for the top and bottoms?

do the bearings fit the steerer tube tightly with no compression ring applied and what colour is the compression ring?

Thanks

the S8 I have has the same size top and bottom.
no, the bearings do have space between them and the steerer tube.
the compression ring is gold.

why?

Mine always had a bit of movement between the bearings and the cups, even the replacement was the same. Got it from some Bristol bike shop on eBay for £25 so it was OEM or a copy. Never again!!!

I'm not sure which I have but it was £60RRP. bearings are not a tight fit on the steerer (but that was a joke right?) and are same top and bottom.

I have had a movement issue with one pair of forks but not another.

both the same top and bottom …no movement issues on a variety of froks no idea colour of compression ring but as it is split and bevelled iirc it is pretty easy to work out what it is

also bought both of ebay without issue OEM are identical though the dearer ones have stainless steel bearings.

Take the bearings out, have a look on the side them it should have 'stainless' printed on it in the same typeface as the rest of the bearing info, if it doesn't you have an OEM or even possibly a fake, as I recall some of the fake ones have had 'stainless' literally written on them but it's very obvious.

There is nothing wrong with the OEM ones as such, the bearings are just steel not stainless steel.

My recommendation is do not buy them from Ebay, get them from a reputable shop, that said the one Merlin were flogging a while back for £25 or so were OEM and there didn't appear to be any indication on their website.

bit of a tip ,if bearings are tight when putting them in bang them in the frezzer for approx 10 hours it shrinks them very slightly ,they will resume normal size once they have warmed up

Thanks , got it sorted now