| Author | Message | ||
     Buelltroll |
Hold the front brake n move the bike back n forth and theres a VERY small noticeable wiggle and noise. I'm guessing its the steering head bolt. What are the torque specs n movement allowances on that? (A buddy has my manual and I recall it being discussed here before) | ||
| Stou |
From the service manual, "Tighten the steering steam cap to 38-42 ft-lbs" | ||
| M1combat |
Ummm.... You measure this by using a fish scale w/ the bike off the ground and level. Hook the fish scale in the axle, turn the bars all the way in either direction and than pull with the fish scale. There should be one to seven pounds of resistance when measured this way. Is the torque spec listed above for the three triple clamp bolts? Something doesn't sound right with 38-42ft/lbs, but I could be wrong  . | ||
| Cyko_bob |
Per the Manual (for an XB9S): Previous section says to place scissor jack under front end to get the weight off the front end. 1. Detach clutch cable at handlebar and ensure that throttle cables do not bind before measuring steering head resistance. 2. Remove steering stem pinch fastener at upper triple tree. 3. Loosen steering stem capnut and back off several turns. 4. Remove lower triple clamp pinch fasteners, two per side. 5. Tighten steering stem capnut to 38-42 ft-lbs (52-57 Nm). 6. Turn front wheel all the way to the right. 7. See figure 1-34. Hook a spring scale into the hole in front axle. With scale 90 degrees from fork leg, pull front wheel to center position. 8. The desired resistance is between 4.5-6.5lbs (2.0-2.9 kg) with a maximum resistance of 7 lbs (3.2kg). 9. Once the correct steering head pressure has been verified, apply Loctite 272 to steering stem pinch bolt, install and tighten to 17-19 ft-lbs (23-26 Nm). 10. Apply Loctite 272 to lower triple clamp fasteners, install and tighten to 13-15 ft-lbs (18-20 Nm). 11. When adjustment is complete, attach clutch cable and adjust. See 1.9 Clutch/ 12. Remove scissor jack. I had a little noise in my steering head...did not do the scale thing...just hoisted front end and adjusted to correct ft lbs...38-42...no noise in front end now. Hope this helps for those of you without a manual....cannot imagine having a bike without a manual, but hey, I have manuals from bikes I no longer own, ha ha! | ||
| Buelltroll |
Thanks Bob,I have the manual but a friend with a 12R is putting a vibrator under his passenger seat n borrowed it. Would this being loose explain a wobbly feeling front end in a hard sweeper corner? Or would that be suspension setup? | ||
| M1combat |
That could be a lot of things... Tire pressure, Tire cupping, suspension setup, improper technique (arms too stiff/grip too stiff/upper body too stiff), Loose steering head, failing bearings, pavement irregularities... Cyko - Thanks for posting that . | ||
| Bigsherm9r |
Hey! Listen up!!! I just discovered this while recently torquing my steering head bearings, it may explain the high number of people cracking their triple clamps... When you jack the bike up to get the front wheel off the ground, you jack it up by the muffler/engine, right? Well, while wiggling the fork, it feels like you can NOT get rid of the slop- this is because the bike is supported by the engine, and the steering head and frame are SUPPOSED to move independently of the engine/muffler/swingarm! If you keep torquing to try to remove this slop, you'll overtorque, and crack the triple clamp. You gotta look for slop between the frame and steering head, instead. Make sense? Sherm | ||
| Yeags30 |
i notice the wobble during braking....i shrugged it off....is it normal? | ||
| Odinbueller |
One thing I do when doing neck bearing pre-load adjustments, once everything is torqued to spec, try grabbing the bottom of the forks and pull out gently a few times to see if there is a "clunk" in the neck. If there is, try the pre-load adjustment again. If it persists, try putting some miles on it to see if the noise persists. If so, you may need new neck bearings and races. Try not to over tighten the neck bearings, as premature wear will result, causing a ratcheting effect when going lock to lock. |
