Bert2006 Posted November 10, 2015 Share #1 Posted November 10, 2015 Noticed for the first time when I let go of the bars this weekend that the front end would start to wobble. This would stop as soon as I grabbed the bars again. Other than that, no signs of any wobbling. Front tire is the skinnier 130 with 36lbs in it. Lifted bike on jack and the bars will move verry easily, hit the stop once and then settle down right away.One bounce. So this tells me the head bearings lock nuts should be tight enough. However I wanted to try to tighten them a bit but I cannot loosen the bolt on top of the bars. Will it hurt anything if I simply try to thighten the lock nuts without loosening the top bolt? Or should I simply leave it alone. Oh, it was extremely windy with very strong headwind when the wobbling occured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted November 11, 2015 Share #2 Posted November 11, 2015 Best to loosen the top nut. I don't use the "bounce" test. What I do is lift the bike and turn the steering 45 degrees to the left, hold it at that angle, and let go. If the steering head moves on its own, it needs to be tightened. Tighten the head and repeat the test. Once the steering is tight enough that it won't move....do NOT over tighten. When complete, tighten the nut on top of the steering head. I find the bounce test to be subjective. Too many variables such as how hard you push it to the left vs how hard I'd push it. Holding it at 45 degrees and letting go isn't subjective and in my experience works to get it to the right tightness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du-Rron Posted November 11, 2015 Share #3 Posted November 11, 2015 Bert, put 40psi (cold) in that front tire. Can't tighten adjuster nuts without loosing top nut. I also loosen top 4 triple clamp bolts when adjusting as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwrmcusn Posted November 11, 2015 Share #4 Posted November 11, 2015 I use 42 lbs in my front tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert2006 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted November 11, 2015 Asside from brute force, any trick to loosening that top nut. I tried and tried and it will not budge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted November 11, 2015 Share #6 Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Good advice from the other guys. You definitely don't want to over tighten the neck bearings as it will give you goofy handling characteristics as well. One thing I've always checked on my RSV's along with neck bearings is the preload on the swingarm bearings, if they are even just a smidge loose it will cause the bike to wander and can even make it wobble and they will get loose. Both my 06 and my 00MM I have had to adjust swingarm bearings more than once. Edited November 11, 2015 by Ace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du-Rron Posted November 11, 2015 Share #7 Posted November 11, 2015 Asside from brute force, any trick to loosening that top nut. I tried and tried and it will not budge... Cut a wrench down to fit between fairing and top triple clamp bolts. . Loosen top 4 triple clamp bolts. Then turn handlebars full left with bike on the ground and loosen stem nut. It is tight at about 92 ftlbs I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert2006 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share #8 Posted November 11, 2015 Du-Rron, thanks but why loosen the triple clamps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted November 11, 2015 Share #9 Posted November 11, 2015 Du-Rron, thanks but why loosen the triple clamps? Because they also hold the top bridge in place, if they're tight it won't go anywhere. Likewise, they're the last thing to tighten when you put it back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du-Rron Posted November 11, 2015 Share #10 Posted November 11, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV1100SE Posted November 11, 2015 Share #11 Posted November 11, 2015 I've never had to loosen those to tighten the steering head. Just loosen the one nut (27mm I think it is). Do you have a proper size wrench for it? Add a pipe to the end if you need to get more leverage. Work from left side, then right side, then left side.... Put something on top of the tank to protect it. The steering nut should be tight but you should be able to loosen it without a ton of effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted November 11, 2015 Share #12 Posted November 11, 2015 I've never had to loosen those to tighten the steering head. Just loosen the one nut (27mm I think it is). Do you have a proper size wrench for it? Add a pipe to the end if you need to get more leverage. Work from left side, then right side, then left side.... Put something on top of the tank to protect it. The steering nut should be tight but you should be able to loosen it without a ton of effort. Me either. Loosening the center main nut was all I needed to tighten up the bearings. To me, it seems the center steering stem "floats" in the top triple tree cover hole made for it...it isn't tied down to it at all other than the center nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted November 11, 2015 Share #13 Posted November 11, 2015 Me either. Loosening the center main nut was all I needed to tighten up the bearings. To me, it seems the center steering stem "floats" in the top triple tree cover hole made for it...it isn't tied down to it at all other than the center nut. That center nut tightens the top bridge against the nuts on the steering stem. It shouldn't "float". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted November 12, 2015 Share #14 Posted November 12, 2015 That center nut tightens the top bridge against the nuts on the steering stem. It shouldn't "float". Yes...but that is the only attachment I can see. The shaft of the center nut is "loose" around the top of the triple tree if the nut isn't there. So once the center nut is loosened, you can still tighten up the bearings. At least, that was the way I saw it when I did that this past summer. But maybe I was wrong....you know far more about it than I do...obviously. Guess I'll take another look at it when I lower the front end the rest of the way...another 1/4 inch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted November 12, 2015 Share #15 Posted November 12, 2015 http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?511-Tightening-the-Steering-Head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du-Rron Posted November 12, 2015 Share #16 Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) The manufacturer prints the manual for the average mechanic. Going by the book assures that each bearing will be tightened to their standard by the use of a torque wrench. This method takes a couple of hours because you have to remove the fairing. Then guys come along with a "better than average" skillset and develop shortcuts to save time, that trades on their skills to do the job correctly. In developing that "shortcut" the person thinks..."what is the minimum I have to move or get out of the way to get the job done". I dunno what skillset someone has when I answer a question, I just give them the best info I have, on jobs I have done, while trying to type and keep pizza off the keyboard. By the book... the top clamp bolts are loosened (then clamp taken off then blah blah blah) in order not to have the top clamp act as a spring under pressure when the stem nut is tightened down. Freebirds published shortcut method does not loosen the bolts. My modified method loosens the bolts, and more closely aligns with the factory method, because I know that triple clamp should be at least .002" lower than when I started due to the bearing tightening down and the stem coming up. I want the top clamp free to move during the process and I will tighten the top fork clamp bolts down last. This additional step to the published shortcut takes less than a minute ( once you have a cut wrench to fit) to loosen the four bolts and assures upon reassembly that your bearing tightening will last due to the top clamp now sitting on the top adjuster lock nut. Interestingly enough, the book tells you to loosen the bolts, but never tells you to tighten them back up during reassembly. Even the manufacturer can get a published process wrong I guess Edited November 12, 2015 by Du-Rron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted November 12, 2015 Share #17 Posted November 12, 2015 FreeBird wrote up a poor mans tech article on adjusting the steering nut. I've used it and it works.... http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?511-Tightening-the-Steering-Head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyS-NJ Posted November 13, 2015 Share #18 Posted November 13, 2015 Without looking I'd imagine the stem is integral with the bottom tree so in order to move the stem and forks (bottom tree locked to the forks), you need the let the forks slide through the top tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billmac Posted November 29, 2015 Share #19 Posted November 29, 2015 Would it not be easier to pull the fairing than waste two days trying to figure out how to do it with the fairing still on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du-Rron Posted November 29, 2015 Share #20 Posted November 29, 2015 Would it not be easier to pull the fairing than waste two days trying to figure out how to do it with the fairing still on. Well uhhhh..... now that you put it that way.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now