Tapered roller bearings to 25#?

[Scarman]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a reality check please. I noticed my steering head bearings were tearing up the races when I did my usual inspection so I ordered a set of tapered roller bearings & races from All Balls. According to All Balls, they should be torqued to 25 - 30 foot pounds. Really? I've never torqued a steering head that much, but then again I've never used tapered roller bearings that I can remember.

There's a lot of knowledgeable folks here so I thought it would be best to get a second opinion before I crank up the torque wrench. I'm sure the bearings can take the load but I'm puzzled as to why so much torque is needed. I thought the idea was tight enough to remove the free play.

Thanks,

Dave

Clovis Ca.

 

[Bounce]

Torquing steering head bearings is a 2 stage process. You initially torque high to seat the bearing, back off, then seat to a lesser value as a final setting. The torque on the stem nut is mondo-high and not to be confused with the other 2.

Details here:

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

 

[Bill]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a reality check please. I noticed my steering head bearings were tearing up the races when I did my usual inspection so I ordered a set of tapered roller bearings & races from All Balls. According to All Balls, they should be torqued to 25 - 30 foot pounds. Really? I've never torqued a steering head that much, but then again I've never used tapered roller bearings that I can remember.

There's a lot of knowledgeable folks here so I thought it would be best to get a second opinion before I crank up the torque wrench. I'm sure the bearings can take the load but I'm puzzled as to why so much torque is needed. I thought the idea was tight enough to remove the free play.

Thanks,

Dave

Clovis Ca.

Dave,

When I installed tapered steering head bearings in my CBR1100XX last winter, I actually followed the torque guidelines from my old 1993 Goldwing Service Manual.

Since the GL1500 Goldwings used tapered roller bearings from Japan and so were the tapered roller bearings that I got from CBR Bearing Company, I used the same procedure as outlined in the Honda GL1500 Service Manual.

First I torqued the adjuster nut to 29ft-lb and turned the steering stem fully lock to lock a few times to seat the new bearings. Next I loosened the adjuster nut until it was hand-tight, then torqued it to the final setting of 14ft-lbs. Then, I turned the steering stem fully lock to lock a few more times and rechecked the adjuster nut torque. Finally... I attached a spring scale to a fork tube, as close to the lower triple clamp as possible, and then checked to make sure that it would take 4.0 - 5.0 lbs of pull to make the forks start moving.

Since instructions for a GL1500 Goldwing that weighs about 800 lbs worked perfectly for my CBR1100XX that weights 560 lbs., I suspect that they'd also work for a FJR1300 as well.