| Author | Message | ||
     Jaredkuper |
Ok, after adjusting every nut/bolt/suspension setting I could find, I finally raised the front end off the ground to help me track down some play I feel in the front end while braking. Test: With front end off the ground, put hands on front axle and push back and forth (up and down). Verdict: It's not the brakes or forks. The entire front end has a very small amount of play, it pivots slightly up and down at the steering bearing. Is this normal? It's not a lot of play, just enough for me to notice. I read the service manual and it tells me how to remove and install, but doesn't say anything about play in that direction. I only have 3k miles, I wouldn't think that the bearing is worn out already. | ||
| Darthane |
No, there should not be any play in the steering head bearings. Mine's being a little odd, but I'm not sure if it's because there is a problem in the front end or it just feels so different now that I've got good oil in the forks and I altered the suspension settings. | ||
| Daves |
Jared, Your bearings are not worn out(probably not anyway) you just need to tighten them up. Look in your service manual, it tells you how to do it. They loosen up a little to a lot depending on how you ride. Wheelies, not that I ever do them, make it loosen up more and faster. Dave | ||
| Xb9er |
I have exactly the same problem Jaredkuper. Tightening the upper and lower triple clamps and the steering head capnut helped but did not completely eliminate the problem. I intend to repeat the loosening - tightening procedure to make sure I didn't screw it up. If that fails, I may just take it into the dealership. Dave, when tightening up the triple clamps, should it be done with the front wheel off the ground or on the ground. Thanks. Mike. | ||
| Jaredkuper |
Thanks, I'll check out tightening the bearings in the manual. Like I said, I already tightened all the triple clamp bolts and the capnut, but that was with the wheel on the ground. I may need to lather, rinse, repeat with it raised up. Hope I don't need any bearing specific tools!  | ||
| Hogs |
I do believe that the front wheel HAS to be of the ground.!!! | ||
| Darthane |
Ditto. Even with only 21 degrees of rake, there is considerable force pressing the steering stem forward against the lower bearing when the bike's on the ground. | ||
| Henrik |
Without the loosening, the tightening part of the procedure will likely not help much.  The fork tubes need to be able to slide in one of the triple trees in order to adjust/tighten the steering head bearings.Actually, I guess it doesn't matter which triple is loosened, as long as one of them is?? Haven't checked the manual, so read up on it before forging ahead. Henrik | ||
| Xb9er |
Thanks Buellers. Like an idiot, I did the loosening - tightening with the wheel on the ground.  That explains a lot of things. I did read the manual but must have missed some parts! Thanks again. Mike. | ||
| Tpoppa |
My xb9s has always had the front end click. Under soft to medium front breaking, at slow speeds, I could always feel it. Around 6000 miles it started getting worse. I followed the steps in the manual for torque-ing the steering cap nut and its all fixed! I wish I would have done this sooner. I mentioned this to my dealer at the 1000 mile maintenance, and was told it the floating front disc. IT IS NOT THE BRAKES! Under front breaking, backward pressure is put on the steering head bearing--if its loose it will click. Since I did this, my handling has improved. The front end feels more planted, and I am more confident throwing it into a hard corner. ...and yes, the front wheel must be off the ground. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Same story here. After I had the wheel bearing upgrade at Lighthouse Harley, Huntington LI, the clicking began. They said it was floating brakes. Bullsh-t. At 3000 mi. I replaced the tires with Michelin Pilot Powers, and while the bike was off the ground I tightened the head bearings as per service manual. The result was rather astounding: the combination of the tires and the adjustment was as though I had an entirely new and better handling motorcycle. This just reinforced my belief that you have to do your own work on your bike if you want to know what is going on. | ||
| Jerseyguy |
After my low side, I went over my bike very closely. I found that I had the same play in my front end as several of you mentioned above. I did the turning force test exactly as the service manual suggests and it took almost zero force to turn the wheel. I followed the service manual's tightening procedure EXACTLY as stated and the turning force then measured right back in spec. | ||
| Aa5ch |
Hmmm?  I wonder if a loose steering bearing caused the headshake under braking on my XB9SL? | ||
| Jerseyguy |
Aa5ch - I have heard that headshake can be caused by loose steering bearings. If I remember correctly, one guy blamed a tankslapper that resulted in a crash on loose bearings. | ||
| Aa5ch |
It happened to me twice somewhere around 1700-2000 miles if I recall....aggressive[not panic] straight line braking on clean,smooth, and dry pavement [once level, once slightly downhill]. The front tire was in good condition, inflated to the correct pressure, and the suspension settings were per the manual for my weight. I thought the bike was going into a tank slapper and never understood why it happened. It really shook my confidence in it. | ||
| Xbolt12 |
Aa5ch, You might have locked the front momentarily or hit a bump. I don't think the bearing would cause headshake on braking in a straight line on smooth ground unless it was very loose. I had severe headshake once on rough ground during acceleration. Now I have a steering damper and it makes a world of difference. Freeway droning is also less tiring now and the bike is just less twitchy at speed without any real minuses. xbolt12 | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
OK, just so you all know, round here it seems to be a known issue as Dave mentioned. They loosen up and must be periodically checked. I never came close to tank slapper action but did notice under braking and especially when downshifting I'd get some front end chatter. The re-torquing eliminated it and now I check it every couple thousand mi.  |
