Author Topic: who is up for ...  (Read 1697 times)

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thejij

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who is up for ...
« on: May 12, 2014, 07:55:14 PM »
taking my 750 yamaha for a rip? It seems to me the steering is funny or has a shimmy and i want to make sure its not just me that thinks this. I took it up to 120 tonight.... and then i really felt it... so perhaps it needs the head bearing changed.. i dunno..

anyone up for taking it out and confirming/denying ?

I have already made sure the tire pressure was correct, made sure the correct PSI was in the front forks etc etc..

Rusty Bucket

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Re: who is up for ...
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2014, 10:52:09 PM »
The usual dynamic test for head bearings is pretty easy to do - the steering geometry should damp undue movement, and it will if the connections between the various parts are in the ballpark, the most important of which are the head bearings.  If you take your hands off the bars and coast down slightly from 60 or 70 km/h (keep them close to the grips, but not touching) and then lightly punch one grip - the forks WILL shake, and if the head bearings are correctly adjusted and in good shape, the movement will damp out very quickly ( like after two or three 'shakes' at the most) if the bearings are too loose, the shaking will be slow to damp itself , may increase in amplitude, and you will be forced to grab the bars to stop it.  Sounds a bit scarier than it is, really, but it's not a good feeling exactly, either.  If it fails this test, tighten the head bearings, and run the test again.  The tighter the bearings, the quicker it will damp fork oscillation, up to the point where the bike has to be conciously 'steered' to run in a straight line - at which point the bearings are overly-tight;  back off the adjuster a skootch.
  The other way to organize this test would be to tighten the head bearings first, (if they are properly lubed, and not indexed or notchy-feeling) and feel the slight increase in drag as the forks swing with the front wheel clear of the ground.  The bike will then more likely pass the above test, because you have already addressed the likely cause of feeling loose and prone to shake it's head.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 10:57:33 PM by Rusty Bucket »

thejij

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Re: who is up for ...
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2014, 05:09:26 PM »
Russ,

I am confused at what you mean.. I tried it.. and it seemed like all i was doing was punching the handle bar and making it move .. maybe i hit it too hard..

I do notice that if I put my centre stand up and put the handle bars straight, they stay centred and dont roll, and a light hit left they will smoothly go to the left and fall over... if I do it to the right, I have to hit it a bit harder to make the same happen...


Dennis

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Re: who is up for ...
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2014, 11:13:53 AM »
The usual dynamic test for head bearings is pretty easy to do - the steering geometry should damp undue movement, and it will if the connections between the various parts are in the ballpark, the most important of which are the head bearings.  If you take your hands off the bars and coast down slightly from 60 or 70 km/h (keep them close to the grips, but not touching) and then lightly punch one grip - the forks WILL shake, and if the head bearings are correctly adjusted and in good shape, the movement will damp out very quickly ( like after two or three 'shakes' at the most) if the bearings are too loose, the shaking will be slow to damp itself , may increase in amplitude, and you will be forced to grab the bars to stop it.  Sounds a bit scarier than it is, really, but it's not a good feeling exactly, either.  If it fails this test, tighten the head bearings, and run the test again.  The tighter the bearings, the quicker it will damp fork oscillation, up to the point where the bike has to be conciously 'steered' to run in a straight line - at which point the bearings are overly-tight;  back off the adjuster a skootch.
  The other way to organize this test would be to tighten the head bearings first, (if they are properly lubed, and not indexed or notchy-feeling) and feel the slight increase in drag as the forks swing with the front wheel clear of the ground.  The bike will then more likely pass the above test, because you have already addressed the likely cause of feeling loose and prone to shake it's head.

When adjusting bearings, I find a "skootch" to be too much.  I usually use increments of "smidge" and sometime the even smaller "C___ hair"

Peace & Grease, Dennis


Kaw-meister

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Re: who is up for ...
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2014, 11:01:38 PM »
last time i had a bar wrenching expierience... it was actually a bad wheel bearing??? juss sayin.