Headstock bearing

[Lee337]

No, not the usual 'it's too loose' thread, quite the opposite.

When I first picked my Tiger up , I noticed what I considered t be a small handling issue. First I thought it was an under inflated tyre so I stopped, inflated the tyre to the correct pressure (it was around 23psi) and rode it home, the steering was improved but not great. I put this down to the front tyre being worn, so changed it. Again, a slight improvement but I still wasn't happy.

Fast forward to November 2018, I discovered that the headstock bearing was a little tight, to the point which with the front wheel off the ground, the steering was stiff (like a steering damper turned up to 11).

A morning in the garage with the Triumph workshop manual & adjustment tools sorted it & with the headstock adjusted all was well and a nice long ride and many others throughout December revealed the handling problem solved.

Fast forward again to mid February 2019, I took the bike out today, first time in about 3 weeks & guess what?  the handling issue is back. Lifted the front wheel off the ground and the headstock bearing is too tight again.

So, what's causing this?   

I want to understand what's causing this before I spend time (& money) replacing the bearings, especially if I don't need to.

[Bostedsprocket]

Did you grease the bearings up last time or just back the pressure off? I had a similar problem with a Suzuki bandit a few years back, turned out the bearing seals had perished and because I rode it in all weathers the salt and rain water had got in and fouled everything up.

Best of luck hope you sort it.

[Lee337]

Had a good look at the problem yesterday evening. Backed the pressure right off & with the wheel off the ground, it was still stiff. I figure it's the bottom bearing.

Anyway, for the sake of around £30 and a little time, I'm going to replace the bearings. I'm going to replace the fork oil at the same time, not that I've checked it but the Tiger's done 58k miles & came with no history, so probably needs doing anyway.

[Bostedsprocket]

Yeah you might as well change the oil if your dropping the forks out, ive seen a few posts about fork oil, some reckon a 50 50 mix of 10w and 15w works really well, ive never tried it myself but might be worth looking into.

[Timbox2]

I went with  10 + 15 cwt, when I did mine. The cast wheel bikes have a harder set-up than the earlier spoke wheels anyway. But, at 58K new springs would probably make a massive difference too. Saying that, if your on the OE rear shock I would expect it to be some what wallowy, brand new they werent that clever

[Lee337]

Rear shock looks original so will probably replace it later in the year. Fork oil will be a mix of 10 & 15.

Problem I have at the moment is every fixing holding the front mudguard on is seized.

[Chris Canning]

If you only ride one up a mixture will work fine but most of mine is two up and I went straight 15wt and 20 miles down the road warmed up is prefect and I guess it's been like that for 15+ years.

[Lee337]

I ride solo more often than not, but Mrs L does like to ride pillion. I'd also say 95% of my riding is on fairly well maintained tarmac (as well maintained as it can be on UK roads), but there's a few roads round where I live that would be more suited to 4x4's. That's the 5% bit.   

[Lee337]

Think this could be the problem...

[Chris Canning]

Oops 

[Mustang]

I wonder if a properly placed ZERK grease fitting added to the frame so you could give a shot of grease now and then.
That bearing would then stand a chance at lasting 50k miles

[Lee337]

I wonder if a properly placed ZERK grease fitting added to the frame so you could give a shot of grease now and then.
That bearing would then stand a chance at lasting 50k miles

Possibly, but by the time it needs replacing again, I'll have changed bikes & the chances of me going off road (other than the odd potholed side road in Lincolnshire) is going to be rare, so it should last a while. My last bike, a Honda Blackbird managed 40k miles without changing the headstock bearings, so I'm expecting the new 'all balls' bearings to last a while. 

[Chris Canning]

I've got 42,000 miles on mine and their still good,no winter riding,no power washing and rarely use a bucket and sponge clean it with a damp cloth.

[Bostedsprocket]

I ride through winter but never power wash mine soapy water and sponge for plastics, rag soaked in wd40 for everything else.

[Lee337]

Well, finally finished replacing the headstock bearings, together with an oil change for the forks. Had to wait a couple of days for some replacement mudguard bolts to come from Fowlers, which arrived Thursday.

First ride this afternoon & it's like a different bike. It goes where I point it, doesn't want to wander on roundabouts, there is pretty much half the dive when braking & to top it all off, I bought a new Shark lid (after scraping the last one along the road). A completely different riding experience.

My Tiger is again a Joy to ride