| Author | Message | ||
     Txfuzz |
Just had my 1125R service today and tech said the neck bearings need replacing, will take a week to get parts in...I haven't noticed anything, and my bike is a daily rider, can I still ride to work while waiting for the work to be done? | ||
| Jdugger |
Is it just clunking when you get on the brakes? Having to periodically re-torque the steering head is reasonably common... | ||
| Txfuzz |
yeah, just clunking...the guy working on my bike tried re-torquing, but said they needed replacing. Its under warranty but just wondering if should still ride while waiting for part to come in. I havent noticed any change in handling, on way to Dealership I took some twisties and it felt solid? | ||
| Bettybuell |
you should be able to tighten even shot bearings to where they won't clunk, maybe you can't turn the handlebars, but you should be able to get rid of the clunk. Maybe it's something else like the forks or brake pads or something. If you put your fingers on the frame and triple clamp at the same time do you feel movement? I wouldn't trust that tech. | ||
| Slypiranna |
Yea, good information BettyBuell. Don't trust that tech? Geez... FWIW, The procedures to set the head bearings aren't what you might think they are on the 1125. Buy a F*&Kin manual, try it and then post facts, not what you think you know. mm | ||
| Zac4mac |
The 11s front end has a clunk that is normal. One of the sliders/bushings inside has a little room to move and makes a clunk when it hits the stop. Odds are slim that you have worn out steering bearings, but more likely the normal clunk. Z | ||
| Chevycummins |
I went through this with my bike. The upper fork bushing is a split design, this design causes the bushing to be a little loose and makes a clunk noise. I notice my clunk mostly when pushing the bike around with the engine off. At times the noise may be a little louder due to the bushing rotating and the split area lining up with the load area (front or back part) of the fork. | ||
| Marcodesade |
Is there a simple procedure for a n00b to determine whether the clunk falls in the "normal" range? | ||
| Xl1200r |
+1 Zack. Marco - jack the bike up off the ground, and trying to move the front wheel up and down and side to side. If it doesn't make the noise, then chances are it's just the fork. I chased this down for a while before deciding it was just the fork. Other give aways are you can't feel any movement whatsoever on the triple trees, and the clunk has a "double hit" kind of sound to it. | ||
| Ccryder |
Typically when neck bearings go bad you can feel the balls falling into little indentations, kinda ratchet feeling, when you turn the forks. This can be felt when you raise the front end and take the load off the tire. If they are REAL bad, you don't even have to remove the load. Even when they are REAL bad they typically don't fail in a really dangerous fashion but, your handling can be affected. The clunk/ knock you are hearing/ feeling is probably the fork's internals, mine does it too. | ||
| Txfuzz |
Thanks guys for the responses. The mechanic who works on my 1125 at American Eagle harley/Buell in the Dallas, has always done a great job and has been working on Buells for a long time. The part is ordered and the work is covered under warranty. He told me he has seen five 1125R recently that needed new neck bearings and he think it might have been a bad batch. I havent noticed any difference in handling and to be honest i wear ear plugs when riding so didnt even hear it till he pointed it out...guess i will get the work done, while it is still under warranty. What causes the bearings to go? I am guessing they are sealed? Any I riding to hard? Road conditions? to many wheelies and stoppies? | ||
| Ccryder |
Ben: What is your model year and build month? Mine is an 08', with a FEB08' build. I've got 28,000+ s'miles and no issues with the neck bearings. | ||
| Dalton_gang |
I had mine replaced some where around 5000 miles. Keep in mind that I was doing a LOT of wheelies and a few stoppies prior to the bearing having issues, and I did adjust the head twice before bringing it in. | ||
| Gregtonn |
Typically when neck bearings go bad you can feel the balls falling into little indentations... Does the 1125 steering head have ball bearings or tapered roller bearings? G | ||
| Doctorneon |
It is not common to have to re-torque head bearings and they shouldn't go bad for a long time, and certainly on this new of a bike. Maybe they weren't properly greased when installed. I've seen this before on ducati's in the early 1990's. | ||
| Avc8130 |
The 1125 uses SEALED BALL BEARINGS. ac | ||
| Bicycle_man |
When setting up a "headset" I usually have success in eliminating bearing "slack" if I orientate the "split" in the top bushing to 3 or 9 o'clock as opposed to 12 or 6 o'clock before I set the preload. | ||
| Ccryder |
Christopher: "split"??? Oh yeah you are referring to the other man-powered two-wheeler. When you consider a 400# vs 50# bike the loads are a "little" different so that tip might not apply to these bearing since they do not have a "split" and are sealed captured balls. |
