Topic: How do you tighten up the steering (Left to right motion) VIDEO ADDED!!!

[JAG]

My handles bars (clubman) like to flail around back and forth very easily. Not the bars themselves the "steering".

For example. with the bike proped up and the front wheel off, the handle bars, forks, etc, won't stay straight, they'll slam to either the left or right, until that notch under the steering column, stops it. Quite annoying actually.

If that makes sense,  , how do you go about tightening, I guess the steering column?

Is that a bearing issue?

Thanks for the help,

JAG

[mystic_1]

There's an adjuster collar just under the top triple tree.  Procedure is to prop up front of bike, loosen the top cap nut, loosen pinch bolt, losen upper fork clamp bolts, raise the upper tree slightly, adjust the collar, and then reverse the procedure to tighten everything up.

Collar accepts the same tool as the rear shock adjuster.  Tighten it so that the wheel will tend to stay straight ahead but will still fall smoothly to the stop on either side if nudged slightly. 

While the front end is up in the air, try to push the front wheel forward and back, side to side, to see if there's any play in the steering head.  If you can't tighten up the bearings satisfactorily, or if it feels rough or "notchy", replace the bearings with a tapered bearing upgrade kit from All Balls.

mystic_1

[JAG]

Sweet... Thanks Mystic for the descriptive info!

This has been bugging me to no end, and it isn't very safe when you take your hands off the bars while at speed., whilst it's like that...

JAG

[JAG]

I have yet to tackle this problem.. I thought about taking a video to show exactly what it is doing.

The question I have is can I adjust the collar without using the rear shock adjuster? I don't have one.

Is there anyone out there with pictures of the process?

Mystic outlined some very clear instructions but I'm not to savvy on the terminology, such as where is the pinch bolt? Where is the collar? And how do you tighten the bearings?

Thanks guys, sorry for the ignorance, gotta learn some how

[Johnny5]

For example. with the bike proped up and the front wheel off, the handle bars, forks, etc, won't stay straight, they'll slam to either the left or right, until that notch under the steering column, stops it. Quite annoying actually.

I think that's just normal if the wheel is off the ground.

[JAG]

No the sloppy or ease of turning from side to side is while the wheel is on the ground. It's quite drastic when the wheel is OFF the ground. There is no tension in the steering column at all. You know the diffence between power steering and not having any on a car, well this is like driving a cadillac , I need to tighten it up so it's more like having "no power steering"..

For instance to install the engine or pull it out, I literally have to have someone standing there to hold the handle bars in place, if not they will slap me in the head..

[mystic_1]

The question I have is can I adjust the collar without using the rear shock adjuster? I don't have one.

Yup, channel locks or pliers will do the job, anything that can hook into the notches in the adjuster collar (see below) will work. 

I'm not to savvy on the terminology, such as where is the pinch bolt? Where is the collar? And how do you tighten the bearings?

Pinch bolt #13 below, clamps upper triple tree to the steering stem:




Collar is #12:




Turning the collar clockwise tightens it down against the bearings, removing slack.  Don't over-tighten, that'll cause the bearings to wear out very quickly and/or break under load.

mystic_1

[super pasty white guy]

I'll second the motion to just replace it if there's notchyness-  It's not all that hard and you'll be amazed by the difference when you're done.

spwg

[JAG]

here's a video for some eye candy..

It'll give you an idea of what's going on. It slides slower to the right due to the wires and cables being more ample on that side.

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name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[JAG]

sorry for the duel post of videos.. It's my first time trying to do this..  It's fun though.. Pictures and video speak a 1000 words!!

Thanks for all the posts.. I'm going to try and tackle it tomorrow morning.

[mystic_1]

Is your bike's steering geometry stock?  IE have you lowered the front, changed wheels, or whatnot?

mystic_1

[JAG]

not at all.. Everything is as it was from the factory aside from having those club man handle bars. All is as it should be.

[mystic_1]

Does look a little loose.  Here's something you can check before tearing things down:

Sit on the bike.  Apply front brake with right hand.  Place left hand on steering head with two fingers on the side of collar (#12) right where it meets the steering head, and two fingers on the steering head itself.  Use legs to rock bike forward and back against the front brake.  IF you feel any movement between the steering head and the adjuster collar, your bearings are very loose.

Like I said above, snug the bearings until the bars will stay centered if put there ( with front wheel off the ground) but will fall over smoothly to the stop in either direction if you bump the end of the bars with your hand.  If the front end swings slowly, or stops before reaching the steering stop, you're too tight.

mystic_1

[JAG]

Well I went out there and tested it, via those exact instructions and I didn't feel anything out of place, the only thing that happened was my forks going up and down.. So does that mean the bearings are alright, and the collar needs to be tightened??


Thanks for all the suggestions!!

JAG

[MCRider]

Well I went out there and tested it, via those exact instructions and I didn't feel anything out of place, the only thing that happened was my forks going up and down.. So does that mean the bearings are alright, and the collar needs to be tightened??


Thanks for all the suggestions!!

JAG

YOu can turn that adjusting collar with a punch and a hammer, it won't take much, a 1/4 to 1/2 turn should be all or you've got a problem.

That pivot should be very free, yours is the most I've seen. If the tests that Mystic mentions all pan out, and you tighten the collar a bit, that should do it. The only drag on that pivot besides the cables would be the grease in the bearing.

A little further off topic, that's the reason modern bikes have the brakes on the backside of the forks, so there weight has less influence on the side to side motion. Hanging out in front they become weights that exacerbate that motion.

[mystic_1]

The only drag on that pivot besides the cables would be the grease in the bearing.

Hmm, now that you mention it Ron...... I wonder if there's not enough grease in the bearings.  Of course, if you're going to re-pack the bearings you may as well slap in some tapered rollers while you're at it, not much extra work at that point.

mystic_1

[JAG]

I wonder if there's not enough grease in the bearings. 
mystic_1

What's used to grease the bearings? Is there an exact procedure to it?


"YOu can turn that adjusting collar with a punch and a hammer...."

I try and find the collar, tomorrow, and adjust it, but I've yet to see it.

Of course the only thing I've done towards this process is pulled away the handle bars, took off the center cap, and looked through the center to find it hollow..

[JAG]

Is this the adjustment for the collar??

This is located right under the triple tree.

You can see a notch in the ring itself

JAG

[MCRider]

Is this the adjustment for the collar??

This is located right under the triple tree.

You can see a notch in the ring itself

JAG

Yes that's it. Loosen the things above it so it can turn, punch it clockwise, won't take much, tighten the chrome cap nut down then the pinch bolt last.

[mystic_1]

Yup, that's it.

As far as greasing, you'd have to remove the front end and drop the triple tree, slather the bearing races with grease, reinstall the bearings, then reinstall the triple tree and front end.

mystic_1

[JAG]

Okay, I'm trying to go at it right now, and I can't seem to figure out how to raise the triple tree to gain more clearance. The pinch bolts are very loosened, the top cap and handle bars are removed. The bike is propped up off the front tire, I've even backed off the two caps that you take off to add oil to your forks and the triple isn't budging. What am I missing??

Is removing the front end simple? Can I drop the forks with the tire on it?

Thanks so much in advance.

JAG

[MCRider]

Okay, I'm trying to go at it right now, and I can't seem to figure out how to raise the triple tree to gain more clearance. The pinch bolts are very loosened, the top cap and handle bars are removed. The bike is propped up off the front tire, I've even backed off the two caps that you take off to add oil to your forks and the triple isn't budging. What am I missing??

Is removing the front end simple? Can I drop the forks with the tire on it?

Thanks so much in advance.

JAG

If the 3 pinch blts are loose, and the top Chrome Cap nut is off that should be it. THe caps for the oil fill are not material. I'm not sure you need to raise the triple if you can get to the notches on the adjuster nut with your punch. If you need to raise the triple, just tap it up with a mallet. I have a CB750 which may be different than yours in some respects. But I've never known it necessary to even lift the triple to adjust the bearings, nor should you have to loosen the pinch bolts on the fork tubes though it couldn't hurt, and certainly you would if you want to lift the triple a bit.

[mystic_1]

Have you loosened the top fork pinch bolts as well?  Once everything's loose, use a soft mallet to tap the upper tree upwards.  The fork caps don't need to be loosened.

mystic_1

[JAG]

Well, I did indeed get the triple to raise up a bit. But I've managed to only get the "adjuster" moved (clockwise) about a 1/4 of an inch. I figured with as loose as it is, it should have moved a lot more, quite possibly should have been Easier to move. I'll go tap on it some more but it doesn't seem like it wants to move any further.

[JAG]

Well it definitely isn't budging anymore. If I went counter-clockwise, it moved fairly easy, but going clockwise, it went up to a point and stopped. Which 'i think' would mean that it's tightened all the way, and again I only moved it 1/4". 

So does this mean the bearings are completely shot, since that little bit that was moved, didn't change things what-so-ever?