Split: Why FJR Steering Head Bearing Re-Torque?

Steering head bearings adjustment-I don't recall reading or hearing of other makes/models of bikes needing these re-torqued/adjusted at the 600 mile check, or at all unless after having the front end apart.

Why the FJR?

Wobbly front end, crappy brakes, soft paint....who knows? All I know is that doing the routine maintenance once in a while and on occasion replacing worn/broken parts all make a world of difference. It's a whopping 15 minutes of my year to retorque & 4 hrs one day replacing the bearings. Why the worry?

rbentnail said:

It's a whopping 15 minutes of my year to retorque . Why the worry?

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Worried? No,I asked why the FJR seems to be subject to having to retorque the steering head bearings as no mention of other bikes needing this done.

15 minutes? Less than that once you get to the actual steering head-removal of top triple clamp. etc. add more time if you have a riser plate on it.

All I know is on the early gen ll models very common issue was the steering head bearing was usually loose when the bike was purchased. Mine also came with a loose front axel nut. Always a good practice on any new bike when you get it home is go over everything including checking torques. Pm.

Needed on 3 different types of Gold Wings, a HD, and a Suzuki 350. They all need it some just don't educate riders that it's needed and some bear more weight on the front than others so needed it more often.

Many have reported loose steering bearings on their new Gen III FJRs, mine included (2014 A). Decel wobble typically is an indication which is what I experienced. I tightened them a good half turn (no torque wrench used) and I may need to nudge them a bit more. My test is to sit on the bike with it off the center stand. Hold front brake and rock back and forth slightly with thumb or finger between the frame and the triple clamp. Any movement whatsoever requires tightening. I feel just a skosh of movement, hardly perceptible after adjusting so I need to go back in a snug them up a bit more. Wobble is gone though.

Dan

There's an actual process to use which torques to a higher level, backs off, then torques to a lower level. It seats the bearings.

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/shb/shb.html

On my new 2015es I could turn the spanner nuts by hand. Bearings were never torqued. Might be a good idea to check them?

It's not just the FJR. All bikes need an adjustment after they get a few hundred miles on them. Every bike I've owned had loose head bearings and were adjusted before the 5000 miles mark. These included 2 Goldwings, Kawasaki Concours, FJR, BMW R1200RT and a few others. It seems that the bearings seat a bit when ridden. On the bikes that I have replaced the head bearings they also needed tightening after 1000 miles or so.

And that is exactly what I'm seeing especially on gen. 3's. Loose from factory, when replaced, another re-torque soon afterward.

Dunno 'bout the different manufactures call for, butt I usually re torque the steering head bearings on all bikes. ('cept fer that pos Bring Mor Wallet I owned, since the front end wuz sooooo vague anyways.)

I don't think the steering bearings are actually coming loose from the factory. I think they may just actually "bedding in" during the first few hundred miles. The two stage torque spec is supposed to seat them in with the higher torque spec (then backing off and re-adjusting to the actually desired pre-load) but I suspect that the initial 37 ft-lbs is not adequate to remove all of the tolerance slop. And you wouldn't want to exceed that 37 ft-lbs as you might dimple the bearing races. After the re-torque you should not need to adjust them much from then on.

RICK K said:

On my new 2015es I could turn the spanner nuts by hand. Bearings were never torqued. Might be a good idea to check them?

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The nuts on my '14ES were not that loose, but I did use a deflecting beam torque wrench to get an idea of what the lower nut was torqued to. The pointer almost made it to 10 ft lbs when it started to turn. Undoubtably the bearings had bedded in a bit since the factory assemble them.

Went through the process today to re-torque the steering head bearings on my '14, which required removal of the MV Motorrad riser plate, not too bad, just a little more time involved.

The stem nut on top was only hand tight, placed a 36mm socket on it to check the size needed and gave it a twist and it turned easy.(This one is to be torqued to an 85 lb-ft spec.)

Once the top clamp was removed, I removed the "top" nut, which wasn't snug against the lower nut. Loosened the lower nut, went through the torque sequences as outlined in the service manual and put it all back together.

The upper of the two castellated nut is only supposed to be finger tight against the rubber o-ring that is sandwiched between the two castle nuts, not really even snug.

You may already know this, but for those who don't, the steering stem nuts are torqued in a few steps (starting with everything fully loosened)

1) Tighten the lower castle nut to the preliminary torque spec of 37 ft-lb. This is to eliminate slack and squish the grease in the bearings in preparation for setting the pre-load.

2) Loosen the lower nut fully. 37 ft-lb would be too much pre-load on the bearings

3) Re-tighten the lower nut to the bearing pre-load spec of 13 ft-lb. This is the critical setting.

4) Install or ensure that the rubber o-ring is there next, followed by the upper castle nut on top of that. Upper nut is only finger tight against the o-ring, and you need to align the castles of the upper nut to match the lower nut position for the next step. If you over-tighten the upper nut you may inadvertently tighten the lower nut and increase the pre-load. Too loose is better than too tight here.

5) Install the locking washer over the upper castle nut. The long tang need to engage indents in the castles of the two nuts.

6) Install the upper triple clamp and steering stem nut and torque that to 85 ft-lb.

Note: It is the tang of the locking washer that prevents the two castle nuts from rotating (loosening) by being clamped between the upper castle nut and the triple clamp at 85 ft-lb, (not the upper nut being snug against the lower one). The upper castle nut could be very slack against the lower one and the locking washer would still hold the lower nut at the torqued pre-load.

Yeppers.

Step-by-step with an exploded diagram at the bottom of the page.

My point wasn't to give the procedure. It was to explain the purpose of the various parts involved.

Most procedures do not include that info. My belief is that if you know how something is supposed to work it makes it easier to do just that.

Good write-up Fred W.

For step #4 when installing the upper nut, the service manual states to tighten the upper nut and align that nut with the lower one, and if necessary to hold the lower nut in place so as not to allow it to move (affecting the specified torque spec.)when tightening/ aligning the upper nut to allow installation of the locking washer.

If you were to leave the upper nut loose rather than tight against the rubber washer and lower nut, wouldn't there be the chance of the lower nut loosening?

xcsp said:

If you were to leave the upper nut loose rather than tight against the rubber washer and lower nut, wouldn't there be the chance of the lower nut loosening?

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No, because the tang from the locking washer is long enough to engage the lower nut, and with 85 ft-lbs holding it, that washer is not going to turn.