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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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. :icon_mrgreen:
Think this could be the problem...
Oops :icon_sad:
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
Quote from: Mustang on February 23, 2019, 10:45:39 AM
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. :icon_biggrin:
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.
I ride through winter but never power wash mine soapy water and sponge for plastics, rag soaked in wd40 for everything else.
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 :icon_cool:
You don't mind putting the work in when you get a good result like that, sound stuff happy for ya!
Quote from: Lee337 on March 02, 2019, 05:46:00 PM
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 :icon_cool:
Which grade fork oil did you go with ??
I did a 50/50 mix of 15 and 10 weight on mine. Feels just right for me, one up on rural A & B roads :icon_wink:
50/50 mix of 10 & 15