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Head bearing checking

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Tazman2

Tazman2

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Anybody have any pointers for me? I had my buddy pull on the back of the bike when on the center stand to take the weight off the front and I pulled and pushed on it and it seemed fine but when its wet out I get a uneasy feeling but could just be all in my head! Is it possible its loose but push/pulling on the forks won't move!? 12.6k on the bike btw. Thanks for any insight! :zen:
 
You might try using the wheel as your grab point instead of the bars- bigger lever that way. Also, I can usually feel it's loose if I stand next to the bike and rock it back and forth with the front brake on - don't push down, just forward and back. Of course this is dirt bikes, so not as much weight on the front end probably makes it easier.

If you're really concerned, the foolproof way to tell is to strip that top clamp off and get a good visual check. But depending on the bike, that can take a while.

All that said, for some reason on a street bike, I get uneasy in the wet. On a dual sport, no problem - :confused:
 
I've checked the service manual on this procedure before. It's not like the old bikes where you could feel if you were tightening the steering head nut too tight or to loose by rotating the handlebars. You're supposed to have a special measuring tool for our bikes to determine how much force it takes to turn the handlebars. It isn't much all at if I remember right.

I'd suggest putting the bike up on the center stand, jack the front end off the ground, grab the bottom of the forks, and pull and push front to back to see if there is any play. The steering head nut will need adjusting if there is any play. If there isn't any play, I don't think it would be worth the time to go through the adjustment procedure. Just be careful when you do this so you don't tip the bike over.

I'm willing to bet it probably has more to do with your front tire then anything else. What are you running up front, how many miles are on it, and what pressure do you keep it at?

Edited: Ok, I've been up to long and it's showing with my memory/reading comprehension. I see that you already jacked the front up off the ground and checked for play. Ignore my instructions to do this. Since you didn't find any play, I'd really lean towards the problem being your front tire (with a very very small chance of it being your front wheel bearings).
 
Ditto on checking tire pressures and wear patterns. After that , bearings. Sounds pre-mature for bearings though. I'll be changing out all my wheel bearings next tire change. Probably near the 65,000 mile mark.
I cleaned and greased the steering head bearings at about 40,000 miles on my 1250S Bandit. Was flush cleaning the forks / putting on new tires anyhow so wasn't much more to pull that stuff off. Tighten to just feeling drag. All was good and still good at 15,000 miles later.
 
Qualifier: I don't own a 1250

The steering bearing adjustment on a 1200 is based on the use of a spring scale in accordance with the factory service manual. You tighten the nut to a specific torque value and then back off 1/4 turn.

Attach a spring scale (similar to a fish scale) to the end of the handle bar and from dead center you pull on the scale. The "initial resistance" is to be within a specified range (7 to 17 oz. IIRC). Once the bars move the reading is void.

One thing you'll notice if you over tighten the steering head is the reluctance of the bike to right itself out of a corner - if you feel like you have to steer out to straighten up the bearing is too tight. It's not a good feeling.

Final thought - I seriously doubt your bearings are bad. There were many reported issues with the '07 models having too loose bearings from the factory though.
 
Yes I read the service manual and that is what I followed for checking play, etc. As far as my front tire goes it has about 7.5k and starting to get flat in the center. Pressures I run stock 36/42 front/rear. In the winter slightly over and in the summer exact on the dot for heat reasons! Is it possible the tire starting to flatten out is the cause of my weird feeling? Either way it'll get replaced by June when I do our 2 week vacation run down south! :rider:

PS: Forgot to mention that when windy and in general the bike doesn't feel as stable as it did from day one at higher speeds. Also a flat center tire issue?
 
Put it on the side stand, pull the bike over onto the side stand to lift the front wheel. You can tell right away if it is to tight/loose. I have always tightened mine by feel. It can't be so loose as to fall by itself or so tight that it requires effort to turn. Ideally it should slowly fall to the stop. I don't have a spring scale. The Voyagers have an extra washer in the head bearings that work the nut loose. The adjustment happens every 20K or so. Real **** on these bikes. The favorite solution is to remove the extra washer and have only one.
 
Tazman2 said:
Yes I read the service manual and that is what I followed for checking play, etc. As far as my front tire goes it has about 7.5k and starting to get flat in the center. Pressures I run stock 36/42 front/rear. In the winter slightly over and in the summer exact on the dot for heat reasons! Is it possible the tire starting to flatten out is the cause of my weird feeling? Either way it'll get replaced by June when I do our 2 week vacation run down south! :rider:

PS: Forgot to mention that when windy and in general the bike doesn't feel as stable as it did from day one at higher speeds. Also a flat center tire issue?
Click to expand...

I'm betting your problem is your front tire out of anything else. It's hard to notice the downgrade in handling with something like a tire because the progress from good to bad is so slow. It isn't until the handling gets really bad before you notice that something isn't right.

Handling can really get funky when the front tire loses its nice rounded profile.
 
I checked the stem bearings, the swing arm pivot bearings, the shock linkage bearings and center stand at 18k, and they all had very little grease in them, and others have found the same thing with less mileage than that. It only took me a full day to pull everything off and clean and grease the bearings, which is something I think I would look into doing even at your mileage.
 
MM you have a 2007 which I guess as mentioned above was known for issues. But if I had minimal grease wouldn't I have a noise/loose front end? I have neither. Might be my front tire the more I think about it. Its more squared off then the rear and getting close to the wear indicator. I will try to remember to take a pic and put it up for you guys! Thanks!

EDIT: What takes you a day will take me longer unfortunately. I'm mechanically inclined but not as efficient as you! ;)
 
Tazman2 said:
MM you have a 2007 which I guess as mentioned above was known for issues. But if I had minimal grease wouldn't I have a noise/loose front end? I have neither. Might be my front tire the more I think about it. Its more squared off then the rear and getting close to the wear indicator. I will try to remember to take a pic and put it up for you guys! Thanks!

EDIT: What takes you a day will take me longer unfortunately. I'm mechanically inclined but not as efficient as you! ;)
Click to expand...

I don't know of any issues with the 07's, as my bike has had zero problems, and my steering stem felt fine even though the bearings were lacking in grease, and I bet there not putting any more grease in the stem bearings on your 09 than they did on my 07.
 
MetrickMetal said:
I don't know of any issues with the 07's, as my bike has had zero problems, and my steering stem felt fine even though the bearings were lacking in grease, and I bet there not putting any more grease in the stem bearings on your 09 than they did on my 07.
Click to expand...

Several 07's on this site and the Max site had reported this. Dale had the issue as well. Grease was not as much the issue as it was simply loose at the factory and it was knocking and banging over significant bumps. Tightening to spec worked.
 
PhilS said:
Several 07's on this site and the Max site had reported this. Dale had the issue as well. Grease was not as much the issue as it was simply loose at the factory and it was knocking and banging over significant bumps. Tightening to spec worked.
Click to expand...

When you say tighten to spec do you mean using the scale? The service manual seems to explain how to do it when fully apart not really per say just to adjust from what I recall. :giveup:
 
Tazman2 said:
Anybody have any pointers for me? I had my buddy pull on the back of the bike when on the center stand to take the weight off the front and I pulled and pushed on it and it seemed fine but when its wet out I get a uneasy feeling but could just be all in my head! Is it possible its loose but push/pulling on the forks won't move!? 12.6k on the bike btw. Thanks for any insight! :zen:
Click to expand...

My handlebars were shaking when I took my hands off the bars. Turns out it was just a worn front tire. I thought it was bearings as well but no, just a worn front tire.
 
Carless said:
My handlebars were shaking when I took my hands off the bars. Turns out it was just a worn front tire. I thought it was bearings as well but no, just a worn front tire.
Click to expand...

Had that happen once on a new Tourance for my R1150GS I bought in Maine years back. Next time was on da Bandit 1250S with a well worn tires. Down in the 35 to 25 mph range region if I remember correctly.
 
With the riding season coming I'm gonna try to burn up the sides a bit and even it out. Worst case, a new one is going on by May at the LATEST especially up front before our June vacation ride! :)
 
Tried to take a pic with my phone didn't work out so well. I have about 1/2" of squared off tire up front. Is that enough for the funny handling when wet!?
 
My head bearings were feeling a little tight today, so I'm currently performing an adjustment on them by drinking some whiskey on the rocks with a beer chaser, and so far the adjustment procedure is going pretty well, and I think after a couple of more adjustments that it will be just fine. :chug:
 
MetrickMetal said:
My head bearings were feeling a little tight today, so I'm currently performing an adjustment on them by drinking some whiskey on the rocks with a beer chaser, and so far the adjustment procedure is going pretty well, and I think after a couple of more adjustments that it will be just fine. :chug:
Click to expand...
We should get together and make some adjustments.
 
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