Checking fork play can be tricky on heavy bikes like these old 1000's.
Pulling & pushing at fork bottoms doesn't always show any visible play in fork bushes or head bearings unless they're well shagged or don't have enough preload via castle nuts, hence too loose.
You can nearly always feel a bit of fork bush play, this is normal, bushes have a working clearance.
If you read up on the torque up sequence of head bearings, you'd think WTF are Yamaha on about, seems ludicrous the amount of preload they state is required.
This only applies to ball bearing races not taper rollers bearing.
If taper roller, they need far less preload than ball races.
Ball races need way more preload, bottom castle nut needs to be torqued up a given amount, then loosened off & torqued up to a lesser amount as stated in W/shop manual.
ensure you have the correct rubber washer between upper & lower castle preload nuts, as a similar rubber washer should be fitted on steerer tube under top bearing, don't see a logical reason for this under bearing washer, seems it's to keep a wedge of grease up top around upper bearing, but this only seems viable if u massively flooded upper bearing with far too much grease, so may be my thinking is wrong?
All seems way too much preload for my liking, hence I didn't tighten mine up to recommended torque, just did mine hand tight till no play could be felt, on 1st rd test steering bearing were knocking & I could feel it thru steering under braking, so I whipped top yoke off & tightened preload nut a little more, then a rd test .. did this process till knock went away, all seems ok now ... I bought taper rollers but OEM bearing were still in good order, so I washed em out with brake cleaner & repacked em in high spec high pressure grease ... steers mint & no rattles or knocking.
Hope this helps
