I have searched the DIY but dont understand somethings.

between 35 and 40 steering wobbles. 03 Heritage, just hit 25,000 and front tire has a little over 10,000 with about 5/16-1/4 tread on it, stlii looks pretty good.

as far as steering head adjustment it says do the "fall away" procedure.

What and where are the Pinch bolts? Do I take odff the cap and adjust that bolt?

Help me...LOL

Or what else can be wrong?

Thanks guys..and girls

 

The factory mumbo-jumbo is a real PITA. Here is a procedure I've used for several years. I cadged it from another site. Guy who developed it was an old-time HD mech. He passed away a couple years ago.

Jack the front end of the bike off the ground. Tighten the adjusting nut until the front end is hard to turn. Next turn the handlebars back and forth, from stop to stop, through several cycles. Notice the front end becomes easier to turn. Back off the adjusting nut to a slightly loose fit, then tighten to about 9 ft-lbs torque. (Skip note: I usually end up with mine torqued to about 15 ft-lbs) If the front end still wobbles after this (tire pressure good and tire in good condition, with no cupping, etc.) and the wobble occurs during deceleration, tighten the adjusting nut a bit more.


If you get a shimmy and more tightening does nothing to help, then suspect that the steering head bearings have shifted and the races are no longer parallel to the axis of the steering head. This is not unusual in HD bikes as they are relatively heavy. Modern bike head bearings tend to shift back and forth in the frame, especially on the heavier bikes, and this causes the bearings to become non-parallel. Any free play in the head bearings will compound this situation. This sets up torque forces that constantly try to correct themselves resulting in a shimmy, or head shake. The cause is not looseness; the bearings have shifted, and things ain't parallel. Pull the front end off and try to reseat the races in the frame neck.

Check the head bearings frequently IAW the service manual. Since these bearings do not move around like those on an axle, they tend to stay in one spot in relation to the race. Therefore every blow on the front end from road conditions tends to flatten the individual rollers or ***** ever so slightly. Over a period of time these flat spots can cause a condition whereby you point the forks straight ahead, and they tend to fall back onto the flat spot, causing a weave as you go down the road. If tightening the preload does nothing to correct the situation, suspect flat spots in the neck bearings.

 

If you loosen the pinch bolts on the lower triple clamps and then do the adjustment on the steering head this will allow an even tightening and the bearings will stay even or parallel. Reason for this the triple clamp will slide up or down the forks so nothing binds.

 

Thanks for posting the excellent writeup; I've saved it for future use.

 

Check for cupping on the tire....
Check front tire aligment,,,,sit on the bike straight,,,close your eyes and move the handle bars straight,,,,have a buddy eyeball the tire from about 25ft away....if it all looks good then go ahead with pococj procedure,,,,with the bearings set,,,,u could feel if the race was bunged up,,,,while its up in the air,,spin the tire and check for bent rim and loose spokes......wobbles suck!!!!

 

lbjohnson1, do you mind if I add that bit to the writeup I keep on file? Sounds like excellent advice.

Reckon I also oughtta make sure it is a "given" that the tire is good, the wheel bearings are OK, etc.

 

thats all great, but nobaody has answered my questions....

What and where are the Pinch bolts? Do I take off the cap and adjust that bolt?

 

Yeah they did - in lbjohnson's post he says, "If you loosen the pinch bolts on the lower triple clamps . . . "

From that I figured you'd be able to find them. To be a little more descriptive - the pinch bolts are the bolts on the lower triple tree that "clamp" the fork tubes in the tree.

 

Must of posted at the same time so never mind. What he said.

 

The bearing tensioner nut has a shoulder to center the upper tree and preload the bearings (like pococj said),,,,,to adjust the tension,,,,a hammer and a long round punch works for me....