steering bearing adjust

[baylensman]

WOW! What a difference. Used the method described here using a screwdriver to tap the locking nuts around to tighten the preload. Amazing difference. Like others have reported the wobble is gone, and as dumb as it seems the low speed handling seems to have improved. I can now turn inside the lines at the parking lot at work at low speed! at road speeds the big is so stable i can go no hands for a good distance.

[djh3]

I have tightend mine 3 times in about the last year and half. I'm thinking I need to take to dealer and let them find out why and replace the bearings.

[baylensman]

did you read the parts about hitting the one lock nut a little more than the other to "LOCK" them together? So they don't continue to loosen.

[Freebird]

This is my opinion on the issue. The quick fix of tapping it with a screwdriver to tighten it up is, in my opinion, a temporary fix. I've seen too many of these bikes that simply didn't have much grease on those bearings. I think that you can get them tightened up and they will be fine for a while but the lack of grease causes them to wear quicker so the more you tighten them up, they quicker they wear.

 

I had a friend who asked his Yamaha shop about repacking the bearings and they told him that they wouldn't bother because they are often worn out and need replacing at 50,000 miles or so. I contend that the REASON some are wearing out is because they are not properly packed so they should have done it.

 

So to do it right, you really need to drop the front out of the neck and repack the bearings. Then tighten it properly and I think it will be good for many miles.

[Seaking]

This is my opinion on the issue. The quick fix of tapping it with a screwdriver to tighten it up is, in my opinion, a temporary fix. I've seen too many of these bikes that simply didn't have much grease on those bearings. I think that you can get them tightened up and they will be fine for a while but the lack of grease causes them to wear quicker so the more you tighten them up, they quicker they wear.

 

So to do it right, you really need to drop the front out of the neck and repack the bearings. Then tighten it properly and I think it will be good for many miles.

 

Good point.. you can only do the tap fix for so long before changing / re-greasing is required.. When I had mine replaced by the shop, I had new bearings installed, but I honestly think they didn't preload the bearings on installation, as the nut required a lot of tightening not long afterwards.. (not sure if this applies to this application, but preloading the torque, by applying a bit more torque to the nut, then loosening it off and re-torquing to the proper specs permits the bearings to seat properly in place and prevents them from loosening out later on when road steering force is imposed on them over time..)

 

Since I had 'tapped' the nuts tighter, the steering has been rock solid, and the bearing checks (pulling pushing on front wheel while bike is hoisted) shows no movement after 20,000 or so miles after having them done..

[vzuden]

I took mine out, cleaned, and repacked them this spring. It was the better part of a day's work. They had a fair amount of grease from the factory, unlike the swing arm bearings which were almost dry.