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steering head binding (Read 105 times)

buster6315 Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 353	steering head binding 09/28/17 at 19:03:03 I was riding to the bone orchard today & I realized that I was making a series of 'unsmooth' corrections to keep me going straight. It felt as though the steering head was binding; not operating freely. I lifted the front wheel when I got home and the forks turned from side-to-side freely. Any thoughts? Thank you! Geo
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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18101 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: steering head binding Reply #1 - 09/29/17 at 04:16:04 Put a couple of sheets of paper on the ground, then put the front tire on the paper, sit on the bike, and turn the wheel side to side (the paper will reduce the friction of the tire on the pavement). See if the forks turn left to right smoothly and don't bind. Check your tire pressure.
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Gary_in_NJ

Serious Thumper

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LS650 Cafe Racer

Posts: 2633
Amongst the Twisty Roads

Re: steering head binding
Reply #2 - 09/29/17 at 05:08:20

buster6315 wrote on 09/28/17 at 19:03:03:
I lifted the front wheel when I got home and the front fork turned from side-to-side freely. Any thoughts?

Geo,

Are you saying that one of the fork tubes is loose enough that it freely turns in the triple clamp? Or are you saying that the axle is loose and the slider rocks from side-to-side? Or are you saying that you raised the wheel and everything seems normal. I just want to be clear.

DO NOT RIDE THIS BIKE UNTIL THIS IS RESOLVED.

A life-time student of motorcycling.
LS650 Cafe, DRZ400SM, FZ6N, SV650S, CB900C, Ducati ST2, CB550F-SS
My LS650=> http://suzukisavage.com/yabb2.2/Attachments/Left.JPG

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hotrod Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 326 NC Gender:	Re: steering head binding Reply #3 - 09/29/17 at 05:18:15 Could be dry steering head bearings.
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buster6315 Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 353	Re: steering head binding Reply #4 - 09/29/17 at 06:55:33 Thanks for the ideas. Fork tubes are tight in the triple clamp. Axel is tight. I shall check tire pressure. I will put paper beneath the front tire and see if'n it operates smoothly. I don't notice any looseness in the steering head bearings. Perhaps it is dry bearings. I'm talking about a 1988 model w/12,800 miles.
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Gary_in_NJ Serious Thumper Offline LS650 Cafe Racer Posts: 2633 Amongst the Twisty Roads	Re: steering head binding Reply #5 - 09/29/17 at 07:28:51 With the front end raised off the ground, grab the fork tubes and see if there is any fore/aft motion. If there is, or if you feel any clicking, your head bearings are loose or worn.
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buster6315 Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 353	Re: steering head binding Reply #6 - 09/29/17 at 08:02:19 Yep. 22 psi in the front tire was the cause. Thanks again!
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Ruttly Serious Thumper Offline Thumpers Rule Posts: 5112 Manteca , CA Gender:	Re: steering head binding Reply #7 - 09/29/17 at 15:15:05 Shame on you , air is cheap !
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buster6315 Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 353	Re: steering head binding Reply #8 - 09/29/17 at 20:11:11 The darn front tire showed no signs of being under inflated. I suppose that is because with its advanced age, petrified, (like myself), the sidewalls did not collapse. No bull.
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IslandRoad Serious Thumper Offline It doesn't vibrate, it purrs! Posts: 1147 The Kiewa Valley, Australia Gender:	Re: steering head binding Reply #9 - 09/30/17 at 01:00:12 My bike was getting a bit wobbly on the twisties. I started looking at fork braces ..... ended up, tyre pressure was low
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