Hi, I am pretty sure my steering head bearings are shot and need replacing. Has anybody had this job done recently and how much did it cost, I am trying to work out if I can afford dealers charges (easier but presumably expensive), or if I'd better look for a reliable independent garage (probably cheaper, but I don't know any as I just got my first bade). Cheers!
I'd give it a 3 out of 5 spanners on the Haynes chart. It would be a 2, but you need to be careful how you remove the old ones and fit the new ones. Most time consuming bit is stripping the front end, that's where the dealer will charge for a few hours labour in taking it apart and putting it back together again. Not a big job really if you can lift the front to free off the yokes.
Make sure you have front off floor and not lifting by front put on side stand get someone to help foot behind side stand so it does not retract pull on right bar and lean bike against you really easy then check for notchiness not smooth action or any play .Check also we have loads say need new bearings and it's the play in the discs play in fork legs my rr6 had this .
Cheers mate, appreciate what you are saying; my gripe is that I have no garage where I can safely lock her up while she is in pieces
Cheers Wedgiewolves, I will try what you are saying, as soon as I had a chance to grab one of my neighbours (wife not happy to balance big bike! ) You are right I am not 100% sure that I do need the bearings replaced; I have gone through all sorts of tests, and finally when I took the top bridge off to actually see the upper bearing, I found that the retainer nut, the one on top, was so lose I could turn it one notch with my fingers after I bent open the clip noses; that can;t be right, I have seen all the youtube vids about it, and know it ought to be properly tight- not sure if someone previously tinkered with it or what. After tightening the retainer nut and putting all back together, I still have this weird phenomenon- when using the front brakes it feels as if the pads have grip and then lose it, but there is no pulsating in the brake lever; pads are brand new. I also cleaned the front discs including buttons/rivets (thanks to Sinewave for that tip), and weirdly the issue had almost disappeared, but then came back after a few miles. Frustrating. I even reset the suspension to factory defaults yesterday thinking someone may have played with the pre-load on one side (hence, the pre-load adjusters are now going to stay off!). Sadly this was not the answer. When you say you had a problem with your RR6- what did you find out in the end, what was the actual problem? With all the possible causes I really feel that it would be safer to let someone look at it who has experience with that sort of thing, in 30 years of riding this is the first time ever I have seen this problem. At the same time I don;t really roll her into a dealership, the one closest to me (Johns of Romford) I don;t trust much since I had an MOT done there on my TDM and he treated me like I was riding a piece of sh*t.
After cleaning ur buttons, can u now move the outer disc backwards and forwards. I can but couldn't before, this means I now have a clunk feeling when I first brake, wish I had left them alone tbh.
The top castle nut is marginally tighter than finger tight . I had fork leg play but this was after 3 years on track so had them rebuilt . Get a manual and s torque wrench bud and have a quick play around . Let someone set suspension for you then go from there . If you have a front stand take brake calipers off give wheel agood spin look for warp in discs . What's your front tyre like old new ? Check all the obvious before going to the dealers buddy
Hi, no I cannot- if you say you can move the rotor back and forth, I mean, how much can you move it? If it was properly lose then I'd say that must be wrong, the gaps provided by the buttons should really only allow for expansion of the rotor as it heats up, so it won't expand 'sideways' i.e. 'warp'. If in doubt have it checked out by someone a) experienced b) you can trust (i.e. someone who won't put their hands in your pockets as you walk through the door, telling you you need new discs plus a new exhaust as the vibrations caused by the old one caused the rotor buttons to come lose). After cleaning mine, I can move the rotor, yes, but not so much so that I'd say it can be moved easily or has 'play'.
Hi wedgiewolves, thanks for your input mate, you give a really good check list! My top castle nut was anything but tight- simply speaking it was lose. As said, I was able to tighten it approx. 1 notch with my fingers (yes, my fingers are strong, but I ain't super-human ) I have correctly torqued the top nut to 103 Nm as per manual, and then went and reset my suspension (all 3 values) to factory defaults, still the same. When I changed the pads, I gave the wheel a good spin as you say but could not make out any warp in either disc- not to say that this means they aren't warped, but defo not so bad that it would be noticeable to the bare eye. Front tyre is on its way out and I will need to renew soon, but it's not dead yet- and pressure is correct. Tick! I am determined to go and find and resolve this issue without throwing money at a dealer, I'd rather show my gratitude to someone who can help me out rather than get messed about by some dealer and line their pockets so they can feed their high horse Cheers!
Honestly, I cannot wait to find out what is causing this, and let everyone know, hope it will safe someone else going through the same gripes!
If you can wait a week or so you are more than welcome to come to mine and I'll look at the problem with you. I live just outside of Ipswich near to the A12 if this isn't too far for you. I am on crutches at the moment after injuring my knee so can't do it this weekend. I am at Donnington next Friday and Saturday but may be able to do the Sunday. I won't want any form of payment, just happy to help if you need it. I have replaced a few steering head bearings and use the method Wedgiewolves mentions to check they are tight enough, we can check your's are smooth and not too loose. Basically disconnect any steering damper, pull the bike up on to side stand and hold bike up by holding the frame, turn the steering to the right and you want the bearing preload to just allow the steering to fall to the left on it's own. Never had a problem with any bike I have set up like this. If the problem is that your brakes feel good when you first apply them then fade you may have air in the system or the pads may need to be replaced. I replaced the standard pads on my 2010 blade for SBS street excel pads and they improved the feel no end. I have 2012 now that I have had from new and the brakes are crap on that so will fit the same pads. Another thing you could try is to de-glaze the original pads. Do this by removing the pads from the caliper, if they are very shiny get a piece of wet and dry sandpaper (not too course grade) then on a flat surface rub the pads in a circular motion on the sandpaper until the shine has gone, put a small amount of copper grease on the back plate of each pad and then reinstall them. Let me know if this is any good to you and what the exact problem is as it is difficult to tell from your posts so far. What year bike is yours?
