Repacking Steering Head Bearings

holligl

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This periodic maintenance item (16K mi) is past due on my 2014. It does not display any give or shake I can distinguish, and turns left/right very freely (maybe too freely?) when the front wheel is elevated.

Searching the site here I did not find many clues or tips for doing this particular job. The service manual bounces around a lot: front wheel, handle bars, etc. I would assume one could remove the handle bars intact with switches, grips, etc. assuming the cables would allow movement out of the way, but I would appreciate hearing from someone who has done it. I would also need to procure the special wrench for the ring nut, if someone knows a good source for that. I would plan to do this at the next front tire change (early next year unless I find some great deal on tires).
 

OldRider

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holligl said:
This periodic maintenance item (16K mi) is past due on my 2014. It does not display any give or shake I can distinguish, and turns left/right very freely (maybe too freely?) when the front wheel is elevated.

Searching the site here I did not find many clues or tips for doing this particular job. The service manual bounces around a lot: front wheel, handle bars, etc. I would assume one could remove the handle bars intact with switches, grips, etc. assuming the cables would allow movement out of the way, but I would appreciate hearing from someone who has done it. I would also need to procure the special wrench for the ring nut, if someone knows a good source for that. I would plan to do this at the next front tire change (early next year unless I find some great deal on tires).
If it ain't broke don't fix it. I've seen a lot of bikes go their entire life without the neck bearings being touched. If you ever have a problem, it will come on slow and you'll have plenty of time to deal with it.
 

holligl

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OldRider said:
If it ain't broke don't fix it. I've seen a lot of bikes go their entire life without the neck bearings being touched. If you ever have a problem, it will come on slow and you'll have plenty of time to deal with it.
Every 16k miles does seem excessive. I have close to 23k on it.
 

OldRider

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holligl said:
Every 16k miles does seem excessive. I have close to 23k on it.
I'm sure Ericv or one of the other high mileage S10 owners will pipe in here with their view of this. As far as repacking the bearings, without a lot of abuse or water getting into them, 100K miles should be no problem. You may need to retorque them at some time, but you can get the tool cheap on Ebay and it's a pretty simple procedure.
 

Checkswrecks

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+1 to probably being OK, but I would check the play to see if they need to be re-torqued.

That said, Yamaha is not known for using lots of grease and pulling them out to re-pack can't hurt. Same with the rear suspension.
 

whisperquiet

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I just replaced the OEM front tire on my '13 at 12,500 miles and decided to change/clean/lube the steering stem bearings and front suspension fluid at the same time (well not at the same time exactly, but sequentially). The steering stem bearings had some grease, were wiped off, new grease slathered on, and the were snugged up to what I felt was good. Subsequent rides revealed no difference in feel.......just what I was looking for as the bike felt good before the re-lube.

Changing out the front fork suspension oil was/is more involved and difficult, but was completed with a dumping of the old fluid, cleansing the inside of the assembly with mineral spirits, and a re-fill with BelRay 5w cartridge fluid set at 150mm. The old fluid looked decent but was dirty and the change of fluid makes the front end feel a little more plush.

I completed the same tasks on my previously owned '12 and '13 at the first front tire change to minimize labor.
 

RED CAT

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Mine's a 2014 ES with 41,000kms and I did have to retorque the steering head bearings as I did on my 2012 at about the same mileage. The large nut under the bars coming loose is usually a good indicator that it needs a retorque, that and a little more noise from the front end. Easy to do. Just remember to loosen the top triple clamp on the forks before tightening the bearing nuts under the triple clamp. The top one under the triple clamp is a lock nut and bottom one needs tightening and then the lock nut, then the top nut on top of the triple clamp. Then retighten your triple clamp to the forks. ::001::
 

holligl

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RED CAT said:
Mine's a 2014 ES with 41,000kms and I did have to retorque the steering head bearings as I did on my 2012 at about the same mileage. The large nut under the bars coming loose is usually a good indicator that it needs a retorque, that and a little more noise from the front end. Easy to do. Just remember to loosen the top triple clamp on the forks before tightening the bearing nuts under the triple clamp. The top one under the triple clamp is a lock nut and bottom one needs tightening and then the lock nut, then the top nut on top of the triple clamp. Then retighten your triple clamp to the forks. ::001::
This sounds like the approach I'll take, once it warms up. For now I'll look for the ring nut wrench.
 

hogmolly

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I know this is an older thread but I have some questions....

1) can the bars be moved forward far enough away from the triple clamp to remove the triple clamp? On other bikes I just bungie the bars (with everything still connected like hoses and wires) to the front and pull the triple clamp off.

2) can the triple clamp be removed without touching the ignition? I can't tell by looking at it.

I'm sure some of you have done the job to access the bearings.

Thanks.
 

Bryce

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hogmolly said:
I know this is an older thread but I have some questions....

1) can the bars be moved forward far enough away from the triple clamp to remove the triple clamp? On other bikes I just bungie the bars (with everything still connected like hoses and wires) to the front and pull the triple clamp off.

2) can the triple clamp be removed without touching the ignition? I can't tell by looking at it.

I'm sure some of you have done the job to access the bearings.

Thanks.
I pulled the forks and then was able to lift the upper triple and bars as one big assembly. Triple, bars, cables, wires, ignition, mirrors.. the entire she-bang.
then just bungeed it to the accessory bar.

 

gv550

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I bought this socket from vince_goosey@hotmail.com, fits the locknut perfectly and it made the job a breeze. I've purchased sockets for my other bikes from him off his eBay store but the Super Ten app wasn't listed (it may be now) so a quick email got it coming to me.
 

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holligl

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gv550 said:
I bought this socket from vince_goosey@hotmail.com, fits the locknut perfectly and it made the job a breeze. I've purchased sockets for my other bikes from him off his eBay store but the Super Ten app wasn't listed (it may be now) so a quick email got it coming to me.
There is another similar thread that discusses the different torque with various tools and angles. If you use this instead of the Yamaha tool, you will be somewhat under torqued, since the Yamaha tool adds additional length to the application. Specified torque is for their tool. You would need to know the length of the Yamaha tool to calculate the difference. Maybe someone with the tool can provide the length.
 

hogmolly

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If an extension to a torque wrench is at 90 degrees, then no compensation is needed.
 

gv550

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The service manual shows the torque wrench at right angle to the Yamaha steering nut wrench, and a note specifying it needs to be that way. The torque spec would be the same for both tools.
 

RCinNC

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I did the steering head just a couple weeks ago, and that's where the topic of torque settings for the locknut were covered in detail ( http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=21829.msg310667#msg310667 ).

I'd never seen that socket style tool before; it's a much better concept than the one that Yamaha makes.

As far as the necessity of doing the steering head check goes, I can say that the bearings on mine were adequately packed with grease that was still really clean, and the races looked fine. This was after 31 months and around 34,000 miles (it's a 2014 S10). There was no sign of any rust/corrosion. I did repack the bearings with Bel Ray waterproof grease.

I was very precise about the proper torque settings for both the locknut and the steering head nut, since any slop in the bearings is a recipe for poor handling and premature wear. Now that they're set, and the bearings are freshly greased, I doubt if I'll need to do this again for a long time unless I actually notice a problem.
 

gv550

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Ya, the socket is so much nicer than a hook wrench. Vince makes tang sockets for most every bike out there and other bike related tools too. I'm a bit of a 'tool guy' and I actually fondled the socket around in my hand, it's such a fine piece of art. :p
I did my steering service at 21,000 kms, everything was perfect and lots of factory grease. Just dying to use the socket!
 

Pdrhound

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I did the steering head just a couple weeks ago, and that's where the topic of torque settings for the locknut were covered in detail ( http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=21829.msg310667#msg310667 ).

I'd never seen that socket style tool before; it's a much better concept than the one that Yamaha makes.

As far as the necessity of doing the steering head check goes, I can say that the bearings on mine were adequately packed with grease that was still really clean, and the races looked fine. This was after 31 months and around 34,000 miles (it's a 2014 S10). There was no sign of any rust/corrosion. I did repack the bearings with Bel Ray waterproof grease.

I was very precise about the proper torque settings for both the locknut and the steering head nut, since any slop in the bearings is a recipe for poor handling and premature wear. Now that they're set, and the bearings are freshly greased, I doubt if I'll need to do this again for a long time unless I actually notice a problem.
This link is not working for me?
 
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