I have been lurking around for a while, so thought I’d start posting with an interesting issue I have just dealt with on my 2000 ST1100 ABS/TCS which I have owned for 13 years. I perform all servicing and maintenance myself.
A couple of months ago I noticed an intermittent loud knock coming through the handlebars on rough roads. Thought steering head bearings, and indeed there was movement there so replaced with tapered bearings and after seating a readjusting the problem seemed to be resolved.
Recently I noticed the handling did not feel right at the front of the bike, sketching on bends and overall unsettling. Bouncing the front end did not feel as smooth as I recall, so decided to remove the forks. Compressing out of the bike and they seemed ok, with hindsight I now know that the left fork was the issue. The fork oil was due to be replaced anyway, so removed the forks from the bike.
Upon removing the cap from the left fork, this is what I found.
Where is the damper rod?
Well it had separated from the cap, dropped into the leg, and the result was no damping. Not sure why this happened, it could have been my fault when last changing the oil. Oil changed and put back together and upon compressing, you can now feel the effect of the damper.
Now perhaps the head bearings and the damper road issue were indeed two separate issues, who knows.
Haven’t test ridden yet due to the rain, so looking forward to getting out tomorrow.
A couple of months ago I noticed an intermittent loud knock coming through the handlebars on rough roads. Thought steering head bearings, and indeed there was movement there so replaced with tapered bearings and after seating a readjusting the problem seemed to be resolved.
Recently I noticed the handling did not feel right at the front of the bike, sketching on bends and overall unsettling. Bouncing the front end did not feel as smooth as I recall, so decided to remove the forks. Compressing out of the bike and they seemed ok, with hindsight I now know that the left fork was the issue. The fork oil was due to be replaced anyway, so removed the forks from the bike.
Upon removing the cap from the left fork, this is what I found.
Where is the damper rod?
Well it had separated from the cap, dropped into the leg, and the result was no damping. Not sure why this happened, it could have been my fault when last changing the oil. Oil changed and put back together and upon compressing, you can now feel the effect of the damper.
Now perhaps the head bearings and the damper road issue were indeed two separate issues, who knows.
Haven’t test ridden yet due to the rain, so looking forward to getting out tomorrow.
