madrazcbr Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Need some advice on steering. If you take off the steering, you will see two nuts. The nut at the bottom actually clamp to the nut on top. My question is what are these two nuts called and how does it effect the steering ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Please, no offense but with something as serious as your steeringhead bearing nuts, judgeing from your question wording, leave it alone. If you want to wrench on your bike, get a Honda manual, learn the terminology,and take a course. There are dealer mechanics that can't diagnose, lube and adjust head bearings correctly. We have had too many wrecks this summer. Both on this site as well as ones personal to me. Again no offense intended, just looking out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madrazcbr Posted July 28, 2003 Author Share Posted July 28, 2003 Hi Pete, This is the problem, my mechanic has tighten the upper nut and now when I ride the bike, I really can feel the road(stone, rough road, etc). When I asked him to untighten, he untighten the bottom nut. This cause the steering to be a bit light when you move it left and right. That is why I am asking this question. Just need to understand. Would love to get a Honda Manual. But it is not easy where I am staying. By the way is there a different between the US and Euro spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madrazcbr Posted July 29, 2003 Author Share Posted July 29, 2003 After the mechanic loosen the adjusting nut, the problem is still there. The steering is lighter though and sometimes I feel that the front tyre is floating when I am at speed more than 170 kmh. And now I am feeling that the bike is going sideways to the right. When I go thru rough surface(concrete road surface, pavement) the front fairing and the digital meter shake very badly as such I am riding on wooden tire. I put 40 psi in front and 42 psi at the back. Both tyre(BT020) only have 1500 km on it. Am I having an illusion. Need advice urgently as I am suppose to go for a 600 km ride this coming weekend two up. What is the effect of over tightening the locknut or adjusting nut. What will happen if I loosen up the locknut. Will it effect the steering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northman Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 What will happen if I loosen up the locknut. Will it effect the steering. It will greatly affect the steering when the adjusting nut backs off cause the locknut wasn't tight. Overtightening the locknut will have no effect on the feel of the steering. Have a competent mechanic setup your steering head, and quit wrenching on your own bike, until you have a better sense of how things work, and why. At this point, you're a recipe for disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madrazcbr Posted July 29, 2003 Author Share Posted July 29, 2003 Hi Guys, Dont get me wrong. This mechanical stuff is not my thing. I did not do anything to the bike. What I am trying to do hear is to understand the concept of the steering. As explain in my previous post I am having problem with the steering feel. After I understand the concept then when I talk to the mechanic at least they will not cheat me by repairing the thing that is not broken. The problem in the place I leave is there is no competent mechanic. Most of the mechanic here do the try and error way. I definitely do not want to be the "error". The nearest Honda Authorised dealer is in Singapore 500 km away. Even them do not want anything to do with my bike as I did not buy from them. I really dependent on this forum for advice before I see my mechanic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaXX Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Just to give you the quick mechanics, there are two sets of barrings in the steeringhead. The top set (under the top triple clamp) and the lower set (on top of the lower triple clamp). These two sets of barrings are held in place with the two steeringhead bearing nuts. If you put the bike on the centerstand and lift the front tire off of the ground, the handlebars should be able to swing freely from side to side. At the same time, the steering head bearing nuts should be tight enough to keep the stearing stem from moving front to back (to check this, put your bike on the centerstand and have someone hold the back of the bike down and with the front wheel off the ground, grab the bottom of the forks and try to move them forward and backward). If they move, the nut is not tight enough. The thing to keep in mind is you only want the Steeringhead bearing nut only as tight as is necessary to keep the forks from moving, yet as light as possible to keep from ruining the bearings. In addition, if you get the two steeringhead bearing nuts to the appropriate torque, when you tighten down the top triple clamp nut (the 12 or 14 mm allen head) you add additional pressure to the bearings. If you do the tests and the handlebars move easily from side to side (no drag) and the foks do not move front to back, your steeringhead bearing nuts are fine and you need to look elsewhere. Hope this helps. MaXX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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