Handlebar fore & aft movement at triple tree mounts.

[POG]

Gen 2 2014 S10. I recently noticed some fore and aft play in my handlebars. The pivot points are where the handlebar cradles go through the top triple tree. The movement is about 1/8"at the handlebar ends. I can see the cradles move when I push or pull the handlebar back or forward. Bolts holding the cradles on are torqued tight to at least 23 ft-lbs.

I'll snap a shot of the cradles foward and one back. Hopefully you can see the play by the gap between the cradle mount and the top of the triple tree.

Thoughts, advice, warnings?

Thanks.

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View attachment 114296

 

[POG]

I found an answer to my situation in this post. I, too, have installed the Rox risers.

Handlebar movement?

Kruzzin5, You know how it is. We all have different opinions and most importantly riding styles and backgrounds. Erics background is long distance Iron Butt style with more miles than I can comprehend. My background is primarily off road and hard core extreme riding. I have done a few cross...

www.yamahasupertenere.com

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[POG]

And this post, too. https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?url=https://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?threads/how-to-remove-flex-in-handlebars-2014-and-later-models-fixed.18943/&share_tid=18943&share_fid=33658&share_type=t&link_source=app

Does anyone have anything bad to say about the washer/spacer insert?

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[Matt51F1]

I can’t really say about the spacer insert. I’ve not had that issue happen before so, personally, I would have been looking at the state of the threads thinking that they might have been stripping out.

 

[Cycledude]

I believe generation 2 uses rubber to reduce vibration, my generation 2 definitely vibrates less than my previous generation 1.

 

[EricV]

It's just a normal facet of the Gen II vibration dampened mounts. Nothing is wrong with it. I sometimes wonder how hard some riders are cranking the bars that this is an issue for them?

 

[POG]

Eric,

I don't think that I am cranking on the bars. Mostly on-pavement riding. Spirited at times, but not totally insane. I did put on bar risers last year, which ads lever arm distance and more torque at the bushing. Funny thing is that I did not noticed the movement at all until one day last week. It felt like the bars "broke free" during a slow down from maybe 45 mph. All of a sudden, the bars were moving when they were not a moment or a day before.

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[EricV]

I was running Rox 2" pivot risers on my '15. There was a small amount of movement, but never anything that bothered me while riding. Most of my riding was pavement or gravel/dirt roads. No true off road riding other than light trail stuff.

You could remove the triple trees and pull them out to see if there is damage. Anything is possible. I hope you can sort it out to your liking. Either by finding a smoking gun issue, or by adding some washers to reduce the movement, if that's what you want.

 

[Drif10]

On my 14, I tried the washer trick. My old wrists did not like it much, as sharp wheel hits on potholes went full force to my wrists.

But without the washers there was more flex than I thought there should be, so I installed new OEM bushings.

That was the solution for me. Guess the rubber inserts were worn out.

 

[fac191]

Not trying to diss your riding skills. I have an ES with 25mm risers on so not too high. I do notice movement but never enough to concern me. When riding i do try to be aware of how my knees are against the tank as that helps if i need to stop quickly so i dont overload my weight onto the bars. As said you could renew the dampers in the bar clamps. Also check your suspension is set up for your weight if not already done. To little preload on the front and weak damping coupled with weak damping on the rear and the extra suspension travel compared to a road bike will cause it to dive at the front more under braking.

 

[POG]

Not trying to diss your riding skills. I have an ES with 25mm risers on so not too high. I do notice movement but never enough to concern me. When riding i do try to be aware of how my knees are against the tank as that helps if i need to stop quickly so i dont overload my weight onto the bars. As said you could renew the dampers in the bar clamps. Also check your suspension is set up for your weight if not already done. To little preload on the front and weak damping coupled with weak damping on the rear and the extra suspension travel compared to a road bike will cause it to dive at the front more under braking.

Appreciate the suggestions. No disrespect noted. It's funny though, I've had the bike for 3 years and have put on 19k miles in that time. Didn't notice it until about a month ago. It's as if the dampers abruptly lost their rigidity. It's not a huge issue. I checked the torque on the nuts holding the bar mounts and they are fine. I'm not likely to find myself riding down the road and all of a sudden I'm holding a set of bars that are no longer attached to the bike .

I'll check the suspension, too. That's a solid suggestion - I've noted some weaping on the front forks, so time to break out the old 35 mm film and/or change the seals.

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[BaldKnob]

On my 14, I tried the washer trick. My old wrists did not like it much, as sharp wheel hits on potholes went full force to my wrists.

But without the washers there was more flex than I thought there should be, so I installed new OEM bushings.

That was the solution for me. Guess the rubber inserts were worn out.

I recently purchased new bushings but upon disassembly found that I have nothing in the tool kit to remove the outer race. What did you use to do this job? TIA

 

[POG]

Doesn't the rubber bushing come as part of the damper holder assembly? The pic shows the part, which is available at partzilla. With the whole damper holder you don't need to push the old bushing out, right? Just swap the whole assembly?

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[mybackhurts]

Ride more worry less. You can give em a light yank while straddling the front tire to get it straight. I have rox risers on my 23.

Just like your bike growing up.

It moves a bit they arent hard mounted. Your's is a 2014 tho so that's a decade old maybe the rubber is tired.

Try to move the bars on the bike in motion. If you muscle the bars while the bike is static it will be out of wack a few mm. Bike is heavy and you add leverage with the risers.

 

[BaldKnob]

Doesn't the rubber bushing come as part of the damper holder assembly? The pic shows the part, which is available at partzilla. With the whole damper holder you don't need to push the old bushing out, right? Just swap the whole assembly?

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Gotcha… I’ll give that a try next time I get the chance. My thoughts are the rubber bushings may be damaged during the exchange. Honestly, the movement I feel when the bike is stationary never becomes an issue once underway so it’s very low on the “need to fix” list.

 

[Drif10]

Sorry, haven't been on here in a bit.

I used a socket to engage the outer sleeve of the bushing. And a bigger socket on the other side that can receive that piece.