Steering Head Grease Interval

dwalby said:
yeah, and also check them every few hundred miles after installation. Depending on how fully seated you get them initially, they might loosen up a bit as the weight of the bike pounds them that last fraction of a mm into the stem.
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I'm gonna treat this tightening business like I would adjust a wheel bearing. Gonna snug it down till I get too much drag, then back it off and tighten again, just beyond getting some drag, then back it off about an 1/8th turn. When the races are installed, they will be fully seated. I'm not worried about them trying to move some infinitesimal amount after I install them. They won't be going anywhere. During installation, there is a change in sound when they fully seat, ya know, thunk thunk thunk after the tink tink tink. Let's you know they're where they belong.

Gawd, those oem bearings with the little balls and plastic. They looked ok when I removed them, however, the new All Balls tapered roller bearings are far superior, no plastic, just rock solid. It warms my heart and I know the bike loves em too! She's gonna be a sweet ride.

I still have to tune the beast. Going with slight oversize of main and pilot jets, K&N drop in filter and complete Delkevic exhaust system, with the round slash cut 14 inch mufflers.

Thanks for all the tips Dwalby. I appreciate what you have shared. Helps me focus on where to have and apply extra situational awareness.
 
glad things went smoothly for you. I didn't think about it until after I replied that the pry bar Terry S recommended is a perfect tool for pounding out the lower bearing, as the bend at the tip of the pry bar is just what you need to get the right drive angle to knock that thing out. I didn't have one in the garage so I used the threaded rod, but it sounds like a better option for those who might be reading this later. I know what you mean about the OEM bearings, they're a bit of a joke on a bike this heavy, better suited for a kid's Big Wheel than a 700 lb motorcycle.

You didn't mention, what are you using to torque the proprietary Honda steering stem nut?
 
I am a little barbaric at times; I used a long handle flat-blade screwdriver as a drift on to the steering stem locknuts. They actually have very little torque on them, and the lockwasher stops them backing apart, then the top clamp is wound down tight, so I don't get to concerned about using a special tool. Done gently, the drift does a good job with no damage to the nuts.

If you over-tighten the bearing, it becomes impossible to hold a smooth cornering arc or even ride easily in a straight line, as you have to overcome the bearing friction and tend to over-correct the steering.
 
dwalby said:
glad things went smoothly for you. I didn't think about it until after I replied that the pry bar Terry S recommended is a perfect tool for pounding out the lower bearing, as the bend at the tip of the pry bar is just what you need to get the right drive angle to knock that thing out. I didn't have one in the garage so I used the threaded rod, but it sounds like a better option for those who might be reading this later. I know what you mean about the OEM bearings, they're a bit of a joke on a bike this heavy, better suited for a kid's Big Wheel than a 700 lb motorcycle.

You didn't mention, what are you using to torque the proprietary Honda steering stem nut?
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Glad you asked. A chisel coming off. Just call me Butcher.:confused: actually, just took a few light taps to with a drift against the ears to get it started. Same with the secondary underlying ring nut. I suppose there's a cheap tool on ebay, like the Progressive Rear 465 shock tool to adjust the spring, only smaller. Until I got that tool, I've always just used a drift against the ears and worked them tight or loose. A tool would be a plus, however, it can be accomplished without destroying the nut if you don't get in as hurry and not wallop the begeesus out of it as you go to it. I don't anticipate running into a problem putting them back on. Famous last words...we'll see today.
 
Doesn't hurt to try it without the tool and see how it goes. The tool is necessary to know exactly what torque setting you have set, but in my experience I preferred to set them by feel rather than exact torque anyway. I think you're also supposed to torque it initially to some value I forgot, then back it off and set it to the small torque required for the final adjustment setting. Having the tool makes that initial torque operation a lot easier, but I'm not 100% sure you have to do that. It probably helps seat the bearings in the races though. I've got the tool sitting in the garage if you need to borrow it. Others have fabricated their own tool by grinding away at a regular socket of the proper diameter to leave the 4 square lugs at the perimeter.
 
dwalby said:
Doesn't hurt to try it without the tool and see how it goes. The tool is necessary to know exactly what torque setting you have set, but in my experience I preferred to set them by feel rather than exact torque anyway. I think you're also supposed to torque it initially to some value I forgot, then back it off and set it to the small torque required for the final adjustment setting. Having the tool makes that initial torque operation a lot easier, but I'm not 100% sure you have to do that. It probably helps seat the bearings in the races though. I've got the tool sitting in the garage if you need to borrow it. Others have fabricated their own tool by grinding away at a regular socket of the proper diameter to leave the 4 square lugs at the perimeter.
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I would think their torque spec is great for the plastic and all.
 
The spec for OEM ball bearings is 20 ft lbs (p. 13-18, Honda ST1100 Service Manual)
The spec for tapered roller beearings is 8 ft lbs (p. 18-21, Honda Common Service Manual)
The procedure for setting steering bearing preload with a spring scale is on p. 18-22/23 in the HCSM; the ST1100s' spec is 3.3-4.4 lb (p. 1-11, Honda ST1100 Service Manual).

Edit: the Honda special tool for the stem bearing nut is in the STOC loaner tool kit.

Many folks do it by feel... how the front end "falls off" from straight ahead.

Tapered roller bearings will tolerate a preload a bit on the "loose" side far better than caged ball bearings, IMHO.

John
 
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Finished the steering assembly rebuild today. Followed TerryS's lead. The assembly is back together except with those beautiful tapered roller bearing assemblies. The action on the steering is smooth as silk too. Yeehaw! Mission complete. Thanks for all the support guys.
 
dwalby said:
You didn't mention, what are you using to torque the proprietary Honda steering stem nut?
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Read last night in the Sticky pages under Tech for ST1100, MIKE MARTIN'S Maintenance pages. Under the section titled CHASSIS, there is a sticky on steering head roller bearing installation. Great reading.

To further answer your question, how to adjust that proprietary nut, you'll find you can over tighten the roller roller bearings by hand without any tools. Backing off the bearing assembly preload in tiny increments by hand until the forks will pass the free fall test alows reaching the sweet spot.
 
And John, thanks again for reiterating how many folks adjust by feel. What was weird was how the locking nut and the bearing nut both turned together on the stem, but the upper triple tree nut torqued down holds everything in place. The simplicity of design really awes me. It works.
 
lomita said:
To further answer your question, how to adjust that proprietary nut, you'll find you can over tighten the roller roller bearings by hand without any tools. Backing off the bearing assembly preload in tiny increments by hand until the forks will pass the free fall test alows reaching the sweet spot.
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I think the only reason I bought the tool was because I was expecting to need more torque than is actually required, and to be able to set it to an exact torque value. I think I also figured it would be easier to adjust the nut in very fine increments using the tool. But I realized that I could get a better adjustment by feel, not by torque, and like you say the final torque values are pretty small. Its been a long time, but I think I ended up using the tool and turning it by hand to get the last fine adjustments.
 
Looking to mount the front tire back on this weekend and feel how the forks, and steering rebuild work together.
 
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