Steer tube chatter... CHECK YOURS !

[~TABASCO~]

Hey guys,

Not sure if this "warning" is buried in a past post. Went out for short ride tonight and hit about 10-15 miles of dirt roads. I was hearing a loud chatter in the front of the bike. I stopped and checked out a few things. Come to find out its the steering nut / bearings. It has come loose and the bearings in the steer tube are loose. So I just road back to the house. Ill fix it at the office tomorrow but you guys should keep an eye on yours. This is the top nut that has the rubber cover over it, right behind your key. If you ride off road or even go over rail road tracks you WILL hear it. Ill check the TQ speck and post it, but I anyone that has a TQ wrench should double check the bearings and this nut..... You might have to tighten the jam nuts under the top triple tree as well. I suspect I will have to take my top triple tree off tomorrow and double check the bearings and nuts. Then re-tourque the top nut...... Today, the first time I touched the top nut I could spin it off with my fingers... Thats not good....
Make sure you keep en eye on the TQ and bearings.....

 

[Aussie_TDM]

Hey guys,

Not sure if this "warning" is buried in a past post. Went out for short ride tonight and hit about 10-15 miles of dirt roads. I was hearing a loud chatter in the front of the bike. I stopped and checked out a few things. Come to find out its the steering nut / bearings. It has come loose and the bearings in the steer tube are loose. So I just road back to the house. Ill fix it at the office tomorrow but you guys should keep an eye on yours. This is the top nut that has the rubber cover over it, right behind your key. If you ride off road or even go over rail road tracks you WILL hear it. Ill check the TQ speck and post it, but I anyone that has a TQ wrench should double check the bearings and this nut..... You might have to tighten the jam nuts under the top triple tree as well. I suspect I will have to take my top triple tree off tomorrow and double check the bearings and nuts. Then re-tourque the top nut...... Today, the first time I touched the top nut I could spin it off with my fingers... Thats not good....
Make sure you keep en eye on the TQ and bearings.....

+1 Jaxon,
I found the same clatter off road and was thinking WTF because I found the nut finger tight / loose but found the head stem adjustment OK . I just loosened the top triple clamp tp fork tube bolts and retorqued the stem / centre nut and then retightened the clamp to fork tube bolts to spec.

I did think I had read of this somewhere else but could not locate the subject at the time.

Cheers Rick

 

[stevepsd]

Hey guys,

Not sure if this "warning" is buried in a past post. Went out for short ride tonight and hit about 10-15 miles of dirt roads. I was hearing a loud chatter in the front of the bike. I stopped and checked out a few things. Come to find out its the steering nut / bearings. It has come loose and the bearings in the steer tube are loose. So I just road back to the house. Ill fix it at the office tomorrow but you guys should keep an eye on yours. This is the top nut that has the rubber cover over it, right behind your key. If you ride off road or even go over rail road tracks you WILL hear it. Ill check the TQ speck and post it, but I anyone that has a TQ wrench should double check the bearings and this nut..... You might have to tighten the jam nuts under the top triple tree as well. I suspect I will have to take my top triple tree off tomorrow and double check the bearings and nuts. Then re-tourque the top nut...... Today, the first time I touched the top nut I could spin it off with my fingers... Thats not good....
Make sure you keep en eye on the TQ and bearings.....

The maintenance on these is to check them for looseness every 4,000 miles and repack every 16,000 miles.

Several folks have reported loose steering stem bearings as the miles pile on.

Here is the procedure (pretty basic) and the torque specs:

-steve

 

[Firefight911]

Yup, 8200 miles and I pulled my steering head bearings, replaced, and reinstalled. The top triple tree but was tight but the steering head bearings needed doing.

And before anyone thinks or interprets my post, no, I do not find the need to do this at all out of the ordinary or a sign of anything other than something that routine maintenance is for. I have beat the front end quite a bit off road and on road and have done innumerable max brake stops and deliberate ABS activations.

This is a very good reminder to be attentive to our bikes and not dismiss the required parts of preventative maintenance, ala wheel spokes.


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[Epping]

Thanks for this post. I have had an annoying rattle from new. A bit like a loose washer on a bolt. I have been unable to find out what it is. As I mostly ride with ear plugs. I only hear it when I'm "riding to the shops" without plugs. I will check in the morning.

 

[stevepsd]

Yup, 8200 miles and I pulled my steering head bearings, replaced, and reinstalled. The top triple tree but was tight but the steering head bearings needed doing.

And before anyone thinks or interprets my post, no, I do not find the need to do this at all out of the ordinary or a sign of anything other than something that routine maintenance is for. I have beat the front end quite a bit off road and on road and have done innumerable max brake stops and deliberate ABS activations.

This is a very good reminder to be attentive to our bikes and not dismiss the required parts of preventative maintenance, ala wheel spokes.


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::026::

It's just normal maintenacne. Nothing more. Nothing less.

 

[imrubicon]

Are special tools required to make this adjustment as I would buy them as I dont trust my local stealer to do a through job if I take it in , Im sure Ill get charge the full service price but doubt I would get full service paid for sadly
My good dealer went out of business

 

[~TABASCO~]

No, it's really easy. I fixed mine in less than 10 minutes. Used some blue lock tight to keep that sucker tight. For sure double check that nut.

 

[protondecay123]

What size wrench did you use to tighten it? My largest wrench is 19 mm and its larger that that.

 

[Koinz]

I think it's a 22mm or 15/16 in SAE size. I had just tightened this nut up a few weeks ago. I thought the front end was going to fall off. ??? Tighten to 94ft lbs

 

[20valves]

There's the steering head bearing nuts and then there's the steering stem nut on the top clamp. The steering head bearings, when tightened to spec, really makes a difference in front end feel and suspension performance. Always a good maintenance item to keep in spec. And the top lock nut for the steering head bearing is only supposed to be finger tightened anyway. Use a torque wrench and follow the manual procedure, it works! I bought the special spanner for this almost 30 years ago for my FJ1100. It's worked for every Yam I've bought since. ::008::

 

[Koinz]

And the top lock nut for the steering head bearing is only supposed to be finger tightened anyway.

According to the Manual, that lock nut is supposed to be tightented pretty damn tight - 94 foot lbs. once I re-tightened, it quieted everything down. I did use a click type torque wrench as well.

 

[protondecay123]

I think it's a 22mm or 15/16 in SAE size. I had just tightened this nut up a few weeks ago. I thought the front end was going to fall off. ??? Tighten to 94ft lbs

That size is incorrect. My 22mm wrench is way too small. ::005:: I've got up to a 26 mm wrench and it's too small. :question:
I took some calipers out and the nut seems to measure 1 and 1/16 inch. Would someone who has tightened the nut please share with the rest of us what tools and tool sizes you used to tighten the nut? :question: I can't find anything about the nut size in the service manual.

 

[Firefight911]

The top lock but for the steering head bearing is NOT the same but as the top triple nut so 90+ ft/lb will destroy your bearings so make sure we are all on the same page with regard to nomenclature.

The size of the top triple but is the same as the rear axle nut.


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[protondecay123]

The top lock but for the steering head bearing is NOT the same but as the top triple nut so 90+ ft/lb will destroy your bearings so make sure we are all on the same page with regard to nomenclature.

The size of the top triple but is the same as the rear axle nut.


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The Steering Stem Nut is what it's called in the Service Manual. That's the one with a rubber cover in the center of the steering stem. This is the top nut that has the rubber cover over it, right behind your key. Stevepd has posted the adjustment procedure for the steering head from pages 3-19 and 3-20 from the service manual . I don't think this is the nut in question, they don't sit right behind the key as in Jaxon's original post.

 

[Koinz]

That size is incorrect. My 22mm wrench is way too small. ::005:: I've got up to a 26 mm wrench and it's too small. :question:
I took some calipers out and the nut seems to measure 1 and 1/16 inch. Would someone who has tightened the nut please share with the rest of us what tools and tool sizes you used to tighten the nut? :question: I can't find anything about the nut size in the service manual.

Ya, sorry. It was a few weeks ago and I'm at work right now, so I can't go out to the garage and pull the socket out that I used. Just to avoid confusion, I am referring to the nut with the rubber cover on it, just under the handle bar and behind the ignition key. How else can I describe it. ???

 

[Firefight911]

There are ring nuts (2 of them). They reside BELOW the top triple clamp and are what apply torque to and hold the steering head bearings in place and at the proper tension. Then there is the top triple clamp nut or steering stem nut which resides on TOP of the top triple clamp.

As always, this is an area that if you are unsure or unfamiliar with what is going on in this area get some professional help. Steering head bearings are critical to the safe operation of a motorcycle and an over tight or over loose condition can cause an unsafe motorcycle pretty quickly.

 

[protondecay123]

Ya, sorry. It was a few weeks ago and I'm at work right now, so I can't go out to the garage and pull the socket out that I used. Just to avoid confusion, I am referring to the nut with the rubber cover on it, just under the handle bar and behind the ignition key. How else can I describe it. ???

The Steering Stem Nut is what you are talking about and that is the same nut that Jaxon was talking about in the OP. I just got off the phone with him and he used a 27 mm socket to tighten it down.

 

[20valves]

According to the Manual, that lock nut is supposed to be tightened pretty damn tight - 94 foot lbs. once I re-tightened, it quieted everything down. I did use a click type torque wrench as well.

You'd do well to re-read the manual my friend.

And tightening the steering stem nut above the top clamp won't do anything to achieve proper steering bearing torque.

 

[~TABASCO~]

I think most people are correct on this topic. But this "issue" really has two answers. And for people that don't know, we are all agreeing about two situations and both are correct.. In most cases like this, its the two jam nuts under the top triple tree that come loose and the bearings are 'rocking' in there seats. Normally this is what makes the noise and the situation what it is. In this case you take the top triple tree off, you fallow the service manual, you add the correct TQ to each nut, Etc. (this is all assuming that the two nuts have come loose and the bearings are really 'loose'... A few days ago I thought this is what I was going to need to perform to fix the issue. Many cases in my life when I have felt and heard the noise I heard, I would have definitely thought this is what I was going to need to do to fix the issue...
Being that the bike is new, I decided to TQ just the triple tree down and see what that does. I checked the free play in the forks / Triple tree and that was OK. I TQ the top nut down and the problems is fixed.... This is the first time I have experienced a loose triple tree that was as loud as loose steer tube bearings. Sounds the same, but not the same. So on this bike, in this case there are two possibilities of the 'popping'.. It could be only the top nut (more than likely)..... Or it could be the traditional loose steer tube bearings. Being that these bikes are so new, I would "think" that anyone that experiences this 'popping' has a loose top triple tree nut, and probably not the two jam nuts under the top triple tree. If you run into any issues you should have Yamaha check it out, or check it out yourself so you can fix one or the other... ::008::