Steering Neck Bearings

[Seaking]

Hi guys, after some nice help from the lads here about tightening the steering neck bearings as a temp fix to some steering wobbles, it seems that now I'm going to have to get them either repacked or replaced.. The techs who did the tightening stated that they did not feel any flat spots so the bearings should be good as is.. just needs repacking and proper tightening.. fun..

 

I was perusing various cycle sites and came across this one.. listing bearings.. what's the thought on these? (if I needed to replace mine after all)

 

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/3/14/138/21652/405/PITEM/All-Balls-Steering-Stem-Bearing-Kit-2006-Yamaha-Royal-Star-1300-Venture-Parts.aspx

[SaltyDawg]

My first question is. How many miles are on your bike? I have 98,000 on mine and my bearings are still fine.

 

I don't really understand your statement about the techs who did the tightening feeling any flat spots. That doesn't make sense to me. If they did the quick tightening then they shouldn't have felt anything except the nut tightening.

 

If you still have the wobble I'm wondering if they actually tightened the steering head bearings. If they did then there is more than likely something else wrong.

[Seaking]

My first question is. How many miles are on your bike? I have 98,000 on mine and my bearings are still fine.

 

I don't really understand your statement about the techs who did the tightening feeling any flat spots. That doesn't make sense to me. If they did the quick tightening then they shouldn't have felt anything except the nut tightening.

 

If you still have the wobble I'm wondering if they actually tightened the steering head bearings. If they did then there is more than likely something else wrong.

 

the bike just turned 40,000 miles.. after they tightened it, the bike handled SO much better and wobble was gone.. it was very much out of adjustment as they had to turn it a lot, they said.. When the bike was up on the hoist and we did the bounce check, it bounce over 6 times, it was that loose.. They said they had to do a quarter turn to tighten it up so that the bars would bounce once and settle into the resting position.. (they followed the instructions found throughout these forums etc)

 

When they had it up and loose, they turned the bars back and forth, feeling for any flat spots.. it was THAT loose to start with..

 

I'm just starting to feel it come back just once in a while, indicating to me that perhaps it's time to get it done up properly this time.

 

I'm the 3rd owner of this bike, bought it when it had 20,000 miles on it just a year ago.. after all the maintenance I've done to the bike thus far, I'm getting the feeling the previous two owners didn't really get much tender lovin care to the bike as they should have..

[SaltyDawg]

I tighten mine about every 15,000 to 20,000 miles. Well actually every time I change a rear tire, which falls into that mileage.

 

The first time I did it on my first RSV was at 15,000 miles and it was almost a complete turn to stop the bounce, so 1/4 isn't bad. There really isn't a lot of, well for lack of a better term "Stress" on those bearings.

 

I would do the bounce test again to check it. It's possible the problem is a cupped tire, or one that is out of balance.

 

How many miles on the bike since they tightened it?

 

Did you check to make sure they tightened the top nut?

[Freebird]

I have tightened mine and several others. It should be said though, Yamaha typically does NOT put enough grease on these bearings. Much like the rear ends, they seem to think that they don't need much. You can tighten them and it does help but with a lack of grease, you tighten them and they will wear fairly quickly and you will have to tighten them again.

 

These bearings REALLY need to be repacked. If they are greased properly and then tightened properly there should be no reason to have to tighten them very often if ever. You may have to tighten them once or twice as they seat in after being repacked but that's all.

 

If you are continuously having to tighten them then I think you are going to need new bearings sooner rather than later. You are having to tighten them because they are wearing too much due to the lack of grease.

[RedRider]

I would be very surprised if the bearings were damaged. Needing re-packing with grease? Perhaps.

 

Having done this last winter, it is a PITA - but not hard.

 

Good luck.

 

RR

[V7Goose]

Seems odd to me that several of you have had to tighten the steering head bearings multiple times. This shows the lock nut is not correctly tightened.

 

I had to adjust mine around 8,000 miles - they were loose enough to clearly feel a slight chatter when front braking over a rough surface (but no wobble of any type). Since then they have never been loose again, and I now have 70,000 miles on the bike.

Goose

[Squeeze]

Very good Advise here.

 

But i'd like to add, it is necessary to open the Pinch Bolts for the Fork Legs on the lower Fork Yoke before adjusting and tightening the Top Nut !!

 

If this isn't done, the Distance between upper and lower Fork Yoke will stay the same, whereas the Distance on the Steering Stem gets lower(one Turn on the to Adjustment Nuts makes 1 mm Difference). This is not good at all, because the Yokes are bent and we won't have any extra and unnecessary Stress/Forces in the Steering System.

 

If you open the Pinch Bolts before adjusting the Bearing, the Fork Legs will slip through the lower Yoke and the Steering is Stress free after tightening Top Nut and Pinch Bolts.

[Seaking]

Seems odd to me that several of you have had to tighten the steering head bearings multiple times. This shows the lock nut is not correctly tightened.

 

I had to adjust mine around 8,000 miles - they were loose enough to clearly feel a slight chatter when front braking over a rough surface (but no wobble of any type). Since then they have never been loose again, and I now have 70,000 miles on the bike.

Goose

 

You gents seem to know the full skinny on how this is all done.. Is there a thread, article or a 'how to' I can show the mechs on how it should really be done, something that doesn't leave much to interpretation? I'd rather not take it to the local Yamaha shop as they don't service a lot of RSV there and the horror stories abound..

 

I'd take a road trip out to see you guys to have it done 'expertly' but I think it's too far to go lol..

 

Thanks in advance..

[SaltyDawg]

You gents seem to know the full skinny on how this is all done.. Is there a thread, article or a 'how to' I can show the mechs on how it should really be done, something that doesn't leave much to interpretation? I'd rather not take it to the local Yamaha shop as they don't service a lot of RSV there and the horror stories abound..

 

I'd take a road trip out to see you guys to have it done 'expertly' but I think it's too far to go lol..

 

Thanks in advance..

 

 

[ame=http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=511]Tightening the Steering Head - VentureRider.Org[/ame]

[Seaking]

Tightening the Steering Head - VentureRider.Org

 

Thanks M8, this is what they went by to tighten it the first time..

 

I was looking for the how to get to the bearings and repack them guide.. Sorry I should have specified more clearly. Is the Yamaha service manual fairly accurate in this aspect?

 

Cheers

[V7Goose]

Thanks M8, this is what they went by to tighten it the first time..

 

I was looking for the how to get to the bearings and repack them guide.. Sorry I should have specified more clearly. Is the Yamaha service manual fairly accurate in this aspect?

 

Cheers

There is a "right" way and a quick way; that thread references both of them. The "right" way is documented in the service manual, and it requires complete removal of the fairing and triple tree. It sounds to me that you really need to do the job that way (it is the only way to fully check and re-pack the bearings).

 

The quick way is shown in the post - it is nothing more than tightening the nut on top of the bearings. In the photo you can see TWO nuts with notches in them. The bottom one where the screwdriver is shown in the last picture is the actual adjustment nut - the top one is the lock nut. If the lock nut is properly tight, moving the adjustment nut with the screwdriver will be difficult as you must move both nuts together (while they should be "locked"). If the they move too easily, it shows the lock nut is not properly set. You can possibly tighten the lock nut the same way you tighten the adjusting nut, but making sure you have the screwdriver ONLY on the top lock nut. For this to work, however, you would have to pry out the locking tab from the lock washer if you can get to it. But be careful, it is easy to over tighten the bearings (and damage them) while doing that. A little too tight won't hurt anything, but a lot will. If you try it, keep moving the steering after each tap to make sure it is not getting really tight. When done tightening the lock nut, you might need to go back to the bottom nut and loosen it a little to get the load on the bearings right.

Goose

Edited July 8, 2009 by V7Goose

[RPG]

Very good Advise here.

 

But i'd like to add, it is necessary to open the Pinch Bolts for the Fork Legs on the lower Fork Yoke before adjusting and tightening the Top Nut !!

 

If this isn't done, the Distance between upper and lower Fork Yoke will stay the same, whereas the Distance on the Steering Stem gets lower(one Turn on the to Adjustment Nuts makes 1 mm Difference). This is not good at all, because the Yokes are bent and we won't have any extra and unnecessary Stress/Forces in the Steering System.

 

If you open the Pinch Bolts before adjusting the Bearing, the Fork Legs will slip through the lower Yoke and the Steering is Stress free after tightening Top Nut and Pinch Bolts.

Exactaly correct, its an extra step but an important one.

[Seaking]

There is a "right" way and a quick way; that thread references both of them. The "right" way is documented in the service manual, and it requires complete removal of the fairing and triple tree. It sounds to me that you really need to do the job that way (it is the only way to fully check and re-pack the bearings).

 

The quick way is shown in the post - it is nothing more than tightening the nut on top of the bearings. In the photo you can see TWO nuts with notches in them. The bottom one where the screwdriver is shown in the last picture is the actual adjustment nut - the top one is the lock nut. If the lock nut is properly tight, moving the adjustment nut with the screwdriver will be difficult as you must move both nuts together (while they should be "locked"). If the they move too easily, it shows the lock nut is not properly set. You can possibly tighten the lock nut the same way you tighten the adjusting nut, but making sure you have the screwdriver ONLY on the top lock nut. For this to work, however, you would have to pry out the locking tab from the lock washer if you can get to it. But be careful, it is easy to over tighten the bearings (and damage them) while doing that. A little too tight won't hurt anything, but a lot will. If you try it, keep moving the steering after each tap to make sure it is not getting really tight. When done tightening the lock nut, you might need to go back to the bottom nut and loosen it a little to get the load on the bearings right.

Goose

 

MANY thanks! The little added gems like that make a huge difference.. Much appreciated..