hold the front brake and bounce the front. if you hear a clicking its time to adjust the head bearings.

 

While riding or on rear stand?

 

Just took the bike off the front stand while rear stand still attached. Squeezed front brake and compressed forks 5-6 times and didnt hear any clicking. I proceeded to get the weight off the front end by jacking it up with a regular jack and turned handlebars from right to left to check for notching or something of sort. Read that somewhere.

I ran across this comment while searching

"check your steering head bearings....if they become loose (from doing wheelies).....the steering pivot will make a clunking noise....you may hear the noise when you stop aggressively too, this is great for the bearings...lol....so tighten the nuts up and be done with it, info is in your service manual about how tight to pre-load everything"

 

Heres the deal, bouncing the front wont tell you jack! The weight is already on the lower bearing. You need to suspend the front end by means other than a front stand or head stand to see. Sure if the bearings are THAT bad you can hear clunking and stuff it may be noticeable on the ground but usually not. So go strap it to the rafters in the garage and while standing in front of the bike try pulling the forks to you to see if there is any movement. Also there should be an ever so slight drag in the steering. Not a lot but something. If you can swing your steering and if flops violently against the stop its too loose. There should be a slight preload on the bearings which also gives you this slight drag. I had a wierd feerling zx6r, the front almost felt like my tire was going flat. Tightend the steering head bearings and was brand new.

 

You need to suspend the front end by means other than a front stand or head stand to see. while standing in front of the bike try pulling the forks to you to see if there is any movement. Also there should be an ever so slight drag in the steering. Not a lot but something.

Got the front end off the ground, and removed the front wheel. Before removing the tire/wheel, i couldn't hear so much as a sound, but pulling back and forth on the forks without the wheel mounted, I can hear a clicking noise. When i pull to me and when i push back towards the bike. You mentioned there SHOULD be a slight drag in the steering which there is. Also, it doesn't feel as though there is any looseness or free play in the steering. Just the clicking sound.

Before I remove the forks and the stem nut, how can i tell if i need to replace the bearings, or tighten/adjust them? And exactly how do you adjust the steering bearings? I've watched about 20+ vids on you tube and most of them show replacements.

 

With the front suspended stand in front of the bike. Grab the forks closer to the bottom. Push towards the bike and pull away back and forth. You shouldn't have any play in that direction. If there is play or slop then the bearings are worn, possibly shot.

Rotating the steering back and forth, there should be a bit of drag. It shouldn't turn completely freely, but it should still be smooth. You should be able to slighty feel the bearings working.

You could just tighten the head nut to get by for a while. If it were my bike I would just replace them.

To tighten it:
Remove the forks
Remove the top yoke nut and washer
Remove the top triple
Now you will see the 2 stem nuts
You need a special tool or you can try to improvise with a spanner wrench or something
Remove the first lock nut and washer
Tighten the steering head nut to about 50 ft-lbs
Rotate the steering stem back and forth about 5 times to try to re-seat the bearings
Back the nut off 1\2 turn
Rotate the steering stem an see how it feels. It should have a little bit of drag but should feel smooth
If it's good, put the washer back, and tighten the lock nut. I don't have a manual w me but I think the lock nut is supposed to be somewhere around 65 ft-lbs
Reinstall the top trip hand tight
Reinstall the forks without tightening the top trip pinch bolts
Tighten the top yoke nut. Again, check the manual for torque
Tighten the top pinch bolts

To replace bearings:
Once you take the lock nut and washer off
Remove the stem head nut and the steering stem will drop out the bottom
Remove the upper dust cover and seal
Remove the upper bearing and upper inner race...the lower bearing will be on the stem
On the stem, remove the bottom inner race and seal
On the frame, remove the upper and lower outer races
On the stem, install a new bottom seal and inner race
Place the bottom bearing (pack it w grease first) on the stem and bottom race
Install new upper and lower outer races on the frame
Install the stem from the bottom and hold it up as you
Install the upper bearing (pack it w grease first)
Install the upper inner race
Install the upper seal and dust cover
Tighten the steering stem nut as above, to seat the bearings
Move the steering stem back and forth a few times
Back it off 1/4-1/2 turn and follow the above to put it back together

 

With the front suspended stand in front of the bike. Grab the forks closer to the bottom. Push towards the bike and pull away back and forth. You shouldn't have any play in that direction. If there is play or slop then the bearings are worn, possibly shot.

Being that there isn't any play in either direction when i pull/push on the forks, + when moving the bars from side to side it still feels smooth, is it safe to assume the bearings are still good? I'm checking to see if the local dealership stocks a bearing kit for my year/model bike to be on the safe side.

Thanks for the info man. It really helps.

 

I would try snugging them up a little to see if that helps, it really doesnt take much for it to feel like dogshit. Like i said with my zx6r there were no indications but the bike drove itself, i got wallowing in corners and really felt scary to ride. I think i maybe spun the bottom nut a total of 1/16th of an inch to get it to where i felt it was tight enough and all my problems went away.

 

Thanks Spitz Just before getting online, i called up the local dealer and told him what was going on and he seemed to think that i needed to tighten the lock nut as well. He said that another good sign that the bearings need to be changed is, when you're riding it will be kinda hard to steer. As if the bike wants to continue to drift left/right and you will have to keep compensating to steer.

I know that wasn't the case with my bike because, after about 3-4 more wheelies it continued to make the clunking sound, but on the ride home, my steering was never effected. In fact, I let the bars go to see if it would shake, wobble, or drift. It did neither of the three. So im going to try the adjustment first. Hope that solves the problem. I will keep you'll posted.

I think i maybe spun the bottom nut a total of 1/16th of an inch to get it to where i felt it was tight enough and all my problems went away

Wow!!! Should that even be considered as being spun:lol J/K. That little huh.

Once again, thanks for all the advice thus far fellas.