Steering head bearings
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Road Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 963
Likes: 1
From: Bellefonte PA
Steering head bearings
So, I've got a bit of a clunk going on ,and my bearings need to be tightened. I feel like the swing test is a little less than conclusive. I've read some stuff about guys just tightening by feel, but having never done it before I'm not sure that I have the feel. Anybody have a good method for determining the proper tightness without relying on the swing test? Bike is an 04 Road King. Thanks.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,807
Likes: 1,488
From: SW Washington State
thats a tough one, I like the 2 and a half method. with the clutch cable removed and front end off the ground, I pull the bars to one side and let go. when the bars go back the other direction thats [1] when the bars change direction to come back thats [2] and then when they just change direction a third time but dont really swing to far thats the 1/2.
The bearing feels good when there is just no binding or drag at all. experiment with the adjustment, make it bind, make it too loose and get the feel. The binding is felt when you first start to pull on the bars, thats where you want to feel for the drag, going back and fourth. of course you want no binding full travel, but once the bars are moving its hard to detect this binding.
The bearing feels good when there is just no binding or drag at all. experiment with the adjustment, make it bind, make it too loose and get the feel. The binding is felt when you first start to pull on the bars, thats where you want to feel for the drag, going back and fourth. of course you want no binding full travel, but once the bars are moving its hard to detect this binding.
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Road Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 963
Likes: 1
From: Bellefonte PA
Not really sure what to do. When I had new tires put on , the mechanic rode it and mentioned the clunk indicating that the bearings needed to be tightened. I jacked up the bike, took the nacelle apart, unhooked the clutch cable, and pumped the steering head full of grease until it oozed out the top. Then, I did the swing test, and based on that the bearings are actually too tight. The bars swung once, and part way back. That is all. I didn't want to tighten it since it was already too tight according to the swing test, which I don't have a whole lot of faith in, but I didn't want to loosen it either, because the mechanic told me he thought it was loose. So I put it back together and it doesn't really seem to be clunking anymore which I guess is just from being greased. Problem is, I think it feels loose. I don't have any significant handling issues, but sometimes it feels a little wiggly, following ruts in the road, and blowing around in the wind. It feels like it takes very little input to initiate a lean, almost like the bike wants to all over. I understand part of that is the round profile of the new tires compared to the squared off old tires, but it just doesn't feel particularly stable. I think I would like to try tightening it a bit, but I'm not sure how much, as I realize that too tight is no good either. Bike is an 04 Road King, 30,000 miles, brand new American Elites 40 psi rear/36 front. Sorry for being long-winded. Advice?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,747
Likes: 419
From: Vermont
Swing test is a joke. Start fresh ...it's not that hard. I have done a few that even with grease spewing out top and bottom...dry upper and worn out. Bearings are cheap. Tractor supply has them for a 1 inch trailer bearing. 18 bucks for the set same part number.
I remove brake calipers and drop fork tubes,front fender and wheel all in one piece.
Than pull the triple trees apart. Lower stem bearing press off or doing at home? Cut it off with die cutter. Clean all that crap grease out of the neck as it does nothing. Now toss the lower triple tree in the freezer( after you clean it up or your wife may remove your nuts. Lol) I hand pack the bearings with a good boat trailer grease. Put lower bearing on stem. To remove races in neck just weld a washer into neck races one at a time. While still warm...1-2 hits and they fall out. Now same thing with races. Freeze them. Than use the old upper bearing to push or drive them into neck. Now to adjust. Put together tighten upper super tight and give lower tree a good hit on bottom to make sure everything is seated. Do it again on top. Tighten super tight( you won't break it). Back it off than set it like a wheel bearing that it is. Do by feel. To tight u feel the bearing.too loose the nut is not tight and the tree moves too easy. Put back together and go ride your new bike!!! Big big difference . But most will never do this 20 dollar fix. Dealer won't .....it takes way to much time. Most times the tech will do dumb *** swing test. The grease fitting in my opinion should be removed......it does nothing but make a mess. I know it's a long post but it's the only way to fix a problem unless the bike is brand new.
I remove brake calipers and drop fork tubes,front fender and wheel all in one piece.
Than pull the triple trees apart. Lower stem bearing press off or doing at home? Cut it off with die cutter. Clean all that crap grease out of the neck as it does nothing. Now toss the lower triple tree in the freezer( after you clean it up or your wife may remove your nuts. Lol) I hand pack the bearings with a good boat trailer grease. Put lower bearing on stem. To remove races in neck just weld a washer into neck races one at a time. While still warm...1-2 hits and they fall out. Now same thing with races. Freeze them. Than use the old upper bearing to push or drive them into neck. Now to adjust. Put together tighten upper super tight and give lower tree a good hit on bottom to make sure everything is seated. Do it again on top. Tighten super tight( you won't break it). Back it off than set it like a wheel bearing that it is. Do by feel. To tight u feel the bearing.too loose the nut is not tight and the tree moves too easy. Put back together and go ride your new bike!!! Big big difference . But most will never do this 20 dollar fix. Dealer won't .....it takes way to much time. Most times the tech will do dumb *** swing test. The grease fitting in my opinion should be removed......it does nothing but make a mess. I know it's a long post but it's the only way to fix a problem unless the bike is brand new.
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 963
Likes: 1
From: Bellefonte PA
Bumpandrun, Thanks for the detailed explanation, but you're right, I will probably be one of the people who won't go through that whole process, unless it proves to be absolutely necessary. I would like to believe that at 30,000 miles the bearings are not shot and are still able to just be adjusted. I just need to figure out the "feel".
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 876
Likes: 65
From: CT
thats a tough one, I like the 2 and a half method. with the clutch cable removed and front end off the ground, I pull the bars to one side and let go. when the bars go back the other direction thats [1] when the bars change direction to come back thats [2] and then when they just change direction a third time but dont really swing to far thats the 1/2.
This is when I knew something was up. It kind of passed the swing test with 3 full swings. After I tightened the bearings, it rode like a new bike. The quality of ride handling deteriorated so slowly, I did not really notice.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,928
Likes: 69
From: Near Myrtle Beach, SC
Get a quality torque wrench and torque that top stem nut to the 80 ft lb specification. Do not guess at this. I believe that could be your problem.
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 600
Likes: 231
From: Dewey, Arizona 86327
Swing test is a joke. Start fresh ...it's not that hard. I have done a few that even with grease spewing out top and bottom...dry upper and worn out. Bearings are cheap. Tractor supply has them for a 1 inch trailer bearing. 18 bucks for the set same part number.
I remove brake calipers and drop fork tubes,front fender and wheel all in one piece.
Than pull the triple trees apart. Lower stem bearing press off or doing at home? Cut it off with die cutter. Clean all that crap grease out of the neck as it does nothing. Now toss the lower triple tree in the freezer( after you clean it up or your wife may remove your nuts. Lol) I hand pack the bearings with a good boat trailer grease. Put lower bearing on stem. To remove races in neck just weld a washer into neck races one at a time. While still warm...1-2 hits and they fall out. Now same thing with races. Freeze them. Than use the old upper bearing to push or drive them into neck. Now to adjust. Put together tighten upper super tight and give lower tree a good hit on bottom to make sure everything is seated. Do it again on top. Tighten super tight( you won't break it). Back it off than set it like a wheel bearing that it is. Do by feel. To tight u feel the bearing.too loose the nut is not tight and the tree moves too easy. Put back together and go ride your new bike!!! Big big difference . But most will never do this 20 dollar fix. Dealer won't .....it takes way to much time. Most times the tech will do dumb *** swing test. The grease fitting in my opinion should be removed......it does nothing but make a mess. I know it's a long post but it's the only way to fix a problem unless the bike is brand new.
I remove brake calipers and drop fork tubes,front fender and wheel all in one piece.
Than pull the triple trees apart. Lower stem bearing press off or doing at home? Cut it off with die cutter. Clean all that crap grease out of the neck as it does nothing. Now toss the lower triple tree in the freezer( after you clean it up or your wife may remove your nuts. Lol) I hand pack the bearings with a good boat trailer grease. Put lower bearing on stem. To remove races in neck just weld a washer into neck races one at a time. While still warm...1-2 hits and they fall out. Now same thing with races. Freeze them. Than use the old upper bearing to push or drive them into neck. Now to adjust. Put together tighten upper super tight and give lower tree a good hit on bottom to make sure everything is seated. Do it again on top. Tighten super tight( you won't break it). Back it off than set it like a wheel bearing that it is. Do by feel. To tight u feel the bearing.too loose the nut is not tight and the tree moves too easy. Put back together and go ride your new bike!!! Big big difference . But most will never do this 20 dollar fix. Dealer won't .....it takes way to much time. Most times the tech will do dumb *** swing test. The grease fitting in my opinion should be removed......it does nothing but make a mess. I know it's a long post but it's the only way to fix a problem unless the bike is brand new.
A lot of bearing races would have a little notch worn in them at about the center, 'cause that's where the front end is positioned unless you're turning. Potholes and large bumps hammer that thing.
Its not a difficult job, just time consuming and you've got to pay attention.
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 600
Likes: 231
From: Dewey, Arizona 86327
By the way, here's some thoughts on tooling.
You can buy or rent a race puller from a big auto supply, or get a cheapy from HarborF. That's for the frame head, although we used to be able to get a lot of em with a long punch inside the head.
Stem races, you could use a sharp low angle chisel, like a wood chisel to knock them off, or maybe a tie rod fork. Heat helps. Piece of iron pipe with a nice square end and a medium size hammer sets the bottom race, top one get s pressed on by the steering head nut when you're finishing the assembly.
To put in the frame headraces, we had a BIG bolt, like you would find holding beams together in construction, with a couple of heavy washers on each end. Start the races a little bit, then put in the bolt with the washers between teh bolt head or nut and the races (do both at once), hold the nut with a big box wrench and hit the bolt with the air wrench. Done! You could just turn the bolt with a 1/2 ratchet, then a breaker bar.
You can buy or rent a race puller from a big auto supply, or get a cheapy from HarborF. That's for the frame head, although we used to be able to get a lot of em with a long punch inside the head.
Stem races, you could use a sharp low angle chisel, like a wood chisel to knock them off, or maybe a tie rod fork. Heat helps. Piece of iron pipe with a nice square end and a medium size hammer sets the bottom race, top one get s pressed on by the steering head nut when you're finishing the assembly.
To put in the frame headraces, we had a BIG bolt, like you would find holding beams together in construction, with a couple of heavy washers on each end. Start the races a little bit, then put in the bolt with the washers between teh bolt head or nut and the races (do both at once), hold the nut with a big box wrench and hit the bolt with the air wrench. Done! You could just turn the bolt with a 1/2 ratchet, then a breaker bar.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,747
Likes: 419
From: Vermont
Bumpandrun, Thanks for the detailed explanation, but you're right, I will probably be one of the people who won't go through that whole process, unless it proves to be absolutely necessary. I would like to believe that at 30,000 miles the bearings are not shot and are still able to just be adjusted. I just need to figure out the "feel".
Torque wrench? Another myth unless u bought the bike brandnew and pull it apart
1 2014 street glide and 2 2015 ultras I have done now.,...... No grease in bearings from factory. Nice huh?