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I pulled my fork stem apart tonight to clean/inspect/grease the bearings.
My question is how much pre-load to put on the star nut. The FSM says "snug the adjuster down until bearing play is taken up and the fork stem turns freely".
With that in mind, I hand tightened it to where it feels like there is zero clearance in the bearings.
Is that it? It's hard for me to feel if it seems tight enough with the whole front end apart. If the star nut is going to take two or three turns more, I'd rather do it now when it is easy to reach.
The way I've always done mine successfully is the 'Fall Away' method. You snug it to the point where when turning the fork assy slightly one way or another the forks will slowly fall to the side. Too snug and they bind and won't move. Let gravity do it's thing.
The way I've always done mine successfully is the 'Fall Away' method. You snug it to the point where when turning the fork assy slightly one way or another the forks will slowly fall to the side. Too snug and they bind and won't move. Let gravity do it's thing.
Does it matter how much of the fairing is re-installed first? The problem with this thing is that working inside of there is a four-legged-bitch.
Can I do the fallaway method after only re-installing the forks/wheel/fender?
Since the ones I've done were easier to get to, they had all that crap attached. You do need some weight there. Put back everything minus the fairing and give it a try.
First to your original question, to me yes you have snugged it up enough for initial testing. Unfortunately the fall away test is the only way to set it correctly, and yes it is a total SOB to do after reassembly, but required.
You want to install as much as you can and still access the nut (I have never done it on your model bike). Keep in mind the clutch cable is supposed to be disconnected so it does not affect the fall away test. Good luck.
I looked at 2 manuals (1994 & 2006). Both say to have front end in stock configuration. Remove any accessories because their weight could influence the swing results. The 1994 even says to remove clutch cable if that is interfering with swing. That could be a pain as the cable runs into the fairing on my 1994. Can't offer anything more because I've never done the adjustment.
Thanks all. I think what I'm going to do is get the forks/fender/wheel back in place, the try the swing test from there. Hopefully that gets it to "close enough".
I've done the fall away setting and to me it's too loose. With every bump you get a clunk out of the front end. I set it so there is just a very slight resistance (won't fall away on its own) But you can still turn the front end with the slight push of one finger... Never had an issue...
I've done the fall away setting and to me it's too loose. With every bump you get a clunk out of the front end. I set it so there is just a very slight resistance (won't fall away on its own) But you can still turn the front end with the slight push of one finger... Never had an issue...
I agree.
I adjusted mine to the book specs and I got a wobble at around 70mph.
I tightened it back up and everything has been fine since.
I agree.
I adjusted mine to the book specs and I got a wobble at around 70mph.
I tightened it back up and everything has been fine since.
The problem with that is...if you have other worn components such as wheel bearings or bushings what you've effectively done is masked the problem by tightening up the steering head. It's kinda like adding a steering stabilizer to a worn pickup truck front axle. it feels better, but did it really solve the issue? Ehh, Just a thought. Hey ya'll, Happy Friday! Time for a brew.
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Fork Stem Star Nut Adjust
