Hobicus Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Just wanted to make sure... it's really only 18 ft pounds for the steering head bearings. Is that still true for the tapered variety? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBadExxample Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 For the steering head I don't use the torque wrench. It requires the expensive Honda specialty tool. I do it by feel. Just barely snug the rings down, then turn the front end from one stop the other. Tighten/loosen the rings till you get a nice smooth feel with just a little resistance. Also put the bike on the centerstand and have someone push down on the rear of the bike to bounce the front end up and down. Feel for any play/movement at the top and bottom of the steering stem. Repeat the above steps in a week or so. I had to retighten the rings just a little bit (like 5-10 degrees) after a couple hundred miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobicus Posted August 7, 2007 Author Share Posted August 7, 2007 For the steering head I don't use the torque wrench. It requires the expensive Honda specialty tool. I do it by feel. Just barely snug the rings down, then turn the front end from one stop the other. Tighten/loosen the rings till you get a nice smooth feel with just a little resistance. Also put the bike on the centerstand and have someone push down on the rear of the bike to bounce the front end up and down. Feel for any play/movement at the top and bottom of the steering stem. Repeat the above steps in a week or so. I had to retighten the rings just a little bit (like 5-10 degrees) after a couple hundred miles. Mile High was nice enough to send his expensive Honda tool, which is why I'm asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborneXX Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 18 ft. lbs. was too tight for mine when I put the tapered bearings in. There's instructions for checking the pull weight in the manual. I think it's 3 lbs. to pull the forks from center to full lock. If you have them too tight you'll get a slow weave at highway speeds. Which is what mine did. IIRC it took around 10 lbs. of pull to get my bars to move at 18ft. lbs. I had to back it down to around 14 or 15 to get the pull weight into spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBadExxample Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Mile High was nice enough to send his expensive Honda tool, which is why I'm asking. Then by all means use it. But don't disregard your own sense of feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobicus Posted August 7, 2007 Author Share Posted August 7, 2007 Sadly... I don't know what my own sense of feel is supposed to be... I was hoping to eliminate my 45mph wobble.. which I think was caused by it being too loose... Oh well, as long as I have the tool, it's not horrible to adjust stuff, so I'll just see how it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MileHi Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Sadly... I don't know what my own sense of feel is supposed to be... I was hoping to eliminate my 45mph wobble.. which I think was caused by it being too loose... Oh well, as long as I have the tool, it's not horrible to adjust stuff, so I'll just see how it works out. Rich, When i did mine I snugged it down to 18 Ft Lbs... Just make sure that once done, that the forks can be turned w/o a lot of resistance. I'm happy to be of service with the ol' tool. Keep it around for a few days after you adjust steering. That way if you need to re-torque or need to loosen it up, you'll have the tool to do it with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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