Topic: The Airpod Solution

[754]

 Slight drag, but any movement you can see, is too loose. you can lift top triple tree and tighten it up.
 
 the 409, was it an Impala, Bisc, or Bubbletop ? 409 hp or 425 hp ?

[JWilde]

Sorry, but your friend is a dumb@$$...and I mean that in the kindest bro-speak. 

Your steering bearings are shot.  Time to install new roller bearings. 
$40 and 3-4 hrs.

Could be as simple as the spanner nut needing tightening

[flybox1]

Sorry, but your friend is a dumb@$$...and I mean that in the kindest bro-speak. 

Your steering bearings are shot.  Time to install new roller bearings. 
$40 and 3-4 hrs.

Could be as simple as the spanner nut needing tightening

Go for it, but if the clunkiness persists . . .

[JWilde]

Sorry, but your friend is a dumb@$$...and I mean that in the kindest bro-speak. 

Your steering bearings are shot.  Time to install new roller bearings. 
$40 and 3-4 hrs.

Could be as simple as the spanner nut needing tightening

Go for it, but if the clunkiness persists . . .

Its just really nimble. Like a bicycle front wheel.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

You don't want the stem nut too tight or it will bind movement.  If it is already tight and you have slop, it is time to replace the bearings.  IF so, buy some roller bearings (All Balls Racing).  There are plenty of youtube videos on replacement. 

IF you replace the bearings, take care when removing the old races.  Do NOT just pound them out indiscriminately/roughly with a chisel or punch.  Make sure to pack the new bearings well with grease.

[JWilde]

You don't want the stem nut too tight or it will bind movement.  If it is already tight and you have slop, it is time to replace the bearings.  IF so, buy some roller bearings (All Balls Racing).  There are plenty of youtube videos on replacement. 

IF you replace the bearings, take care when removing the old races.  Do NOT just pound them out indiscriminately/roughly with a chisel or punch.  Make sure to pack the new bearings well with grease.

Hi and thanks. Actually I had someone else (who may or may not know what he is talking about) tell me that its too loose. we stood in front of the bike on the right side. He slapped the handlebar to the left and the bars and wheel went very easily to the left. He said there should be more tension.

Im not sure what to believe because all this time Ive been talking to ppl (not here, the info I get here has been great so far) who have told me my choke was in the wrong position, and THEY were wrong, as FLY pointed out above.

[flybox1]

do you have the center stand on the bike still?

[JWilde]

do you have the center stand on the bike still?

yes

[flybox1]

Great.  Bearing test time.
Put it on the center stand.
Have a buddy lay over the rear part of the seat, so the front wheel is off the ground and the rear is on the ground.
Slowly move the bars from right to left.  any clunkiness? crunching? clicking?
do you feel a noticeable 'notching' right in the center?
Grab both forks on either side of the wheel...push n pull. 
Does it feel solid?  any rocking, clunking, crunching, etc.?

[JWilde]

Great.  Bearing test time.
Put it on the center stand.
Have a buddy lay over the rear part of the seat, so the front wheel is off the ground and the rear is on the ground.
Slowly move the bars from right to left.  any clunkiness? crunching? clicking?
do you feel a noticeable 'notching' right in the center?
Grab both forks on either side of the wheel...push n pull. 
Does it feel solid?  any rocking, clunking, crunching, etc.?

Did that. All of it. No noise at all. Smooth. Just really quick and not much friction. Like a bicycle wheel.

[754]

 If there is no play, probably okay.. but they usually wear in a manner that creates notches.. that is to say.. get it pointing straight ahead..now turn just slightly, does it want to return or move a bit further ? If it does its getting notchy and wants to return to the last or closest notch... do you get what I mean there ..

[JWilde]

If there is no play, probably okay.. but they usually wear in a manner that creates notches.. that is to say.. get it pointing straight ahead..now turn just slightly, does it want to return or move a bit further ? If it does its getting notchy and wants to return to the last or closest notch... do you get what I mean there ..

Yep I gotcha. The best way I can describe it is, the turning from left to right is not clunky, it makes no noise etc. Its smooth and falls very easily to either side. A cranky guy who was inspecting the told me its loose. Had he not said that, I wouldnt even be questioning if something improper was going on.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

If there is no slop and there are no clunks or notches, your bearings are probably fine.  That said, new bearings can help safeguard against head shake, oscillation and (worse) tankslappers -- especially if you are going to ride at highways speeds.  If you replace the balls, I would recommend sealed bearings (a la All Balls).

[flybox1]

+1  Sounds ok.
Id ride it until the point at which I rebuild anything on the front end, then its just a bit more time to install all balls roller bearings.
Just another upgrade to 40+ year old parts

[JWilde]

If there is no slop and there are no clunks or notches, your bearings are probably fine.  That said, new bearings can help safeguard against head shake, oscillation and (worse) tankslappers -- especially if you are going to ride at highways speeds.  If you replace the balls, I would recommend sealed bearings (a la All Balls).

Thanks! This weekend when I was on the dreaded Williamsburg Bridge, I hit a rough patch of ground where the pavement was torn up to lay new asphalt. for about 500 feet I was on really grooved road. Front of the bike (wheel) and handlebars didnt shake one bit. Super steady, ZERO headshake.

Check out these vids from this weekend

1. https://www.instagram.com/p/BFfebduNCXq/?taken-by=j_jeffrey_wilde

2. https://www.instagram.com/p/BFffBT6NCYj/?taken-by=j_jeffrey_wilde

[JWilde]

+1  Sounds ok.
Id ride it until the point at which I rebuild anything on the front end, then its just a bit more time to install all balls roller bearings.
Just another upgrade to 40+ year old parts

Thanks agin for your help FLY, bike is running great

[Ericcb750]

Flybox is 100% right, Trust me , My steering was loose when I first rebuilt my 78K and the first ride was freaking TERRIFYING!!!! After I went back to the drawing board, I added all ballz tapered rollers and made sure they were nice and tight.... no more steering issues.  You definitely do not want it loose, you're asking for a nasty accident like that man.

The tapered bearings are pretty cheap and work awesome. Just make sure the entire stack is the correct height, they come with a couple different size spacers (fat wahsers). There's a bunch of info on here about it. Be safe man.

[JWilde]

Flybox is 100% right, Trust me , My steering was loose when I first rebuilt my 78K and the first ride was freaking TERRIFYING!!!! After I went back to the drawing board, I added all ballz tapered rollers and made sure they were nice and tight.... no more steering issues.  You definitely do not want it loose, you're asking for a nasty accident like that man.

The tapered bearings are pretty cheap and work awesome. Just make sure the entire stack is the correct height, they come with a couple different size spacers (fat wahsers). There's a bunch of info on here about it. Be safe man.

Thanks. Had the bike checked over this morning and the "looseness" I have has been described as good. Dont need bearings. They are all good and everything is in working order.

[Ericcb750]

Apologies, I didn't see you had already worked the steering issue out buddy. Glad everything is all set now.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Could be as simple as the spanner nut needing tightening

This is where I'd lay my money....

If the shop rebuilt your front end, likely they used tapered bearings. But possibly someone forgot to properly tension the spanner nut before plopping the top clamp on (in a hurry to get the fork tubes installed and supported). It's a very easy fix and definitely would solve the problem you describe of a front end that "flops over too easily" but having smooth steering.

Yes, likely but not certain.  I had a pro wrench re-build my wheels (with new rims and spokes) and he re-used the original 40-year old wheel bearings.  I found out the hard way.

[JWilde]

Could be as simple as the spanner nut needing tightening

This is where I'd lay my money....

If the shop rebuilt your front end, likely they used tapered bearings. But possibly someone forgot to properly tension the spanner nut before plopping the top clamp on (in a hurry to get the fork tubes installed and supported). It's a very easy fix and definitely would solve the problem you describe of a front end that "flops over too easily" but having smooth steering.

Yep. That was the culprit. Even the top BIG bolt was loose! It was a dead giveaway.