old - Fazer Owners Club - old
General => General => Topic started by: adeejaysdelight on 27 July 2014, 02:22:52 pm
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Hi guys,
I had my MoT last week and was advised that the steering was notchy. To explain further, when the front brake is applied and the bike is rocked back and forth, there is a notchy sensation through the bars. I guess its from the bearings at the point where the yolks/suspension is connected to the chassis? Does that sound about right? Could it be that everything just needs torqued up? Or will the whole bearing unit need replacing...
I go on tour in a few weeks, so I would like to get it sorted beforehand. However, I don't want to have to start a major job (as I did last year just before I set off... Never again), so if there is a temporary fix, I will go with that for now.
As usual, any help appreciated :)
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Hi guys,
I had my MoT last week and was advised that the steering was notchy. To explain further, when the front brake is applied and the bike is rocked back and forth, there is a notchy sensation through the bars. I guess its from the bearings at the point where the yolks/suspension is connected to the chassis? Does that sound about right? Could it be that everything just needs torqued up? Or will the whole bearing unit need replacing...
I go on tour in a few weeks, so I would like to get it sorted beforehand. However, I don't want to have to start a major job (as I did last year just before I set off... Never again), so if there is a temporary fix, I will go with that for now.
As usual, any help appreciated :)
If its driveable take it along to Dynotech Ecosse and Willie or Martin will tell you pretty much straight away what's involved.
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loose can be tightened/adjusted
notchey means the race has worn little indents in it so when the bearing travels over it, it's .............notchey
only difficult part of replacement is removal and fitting of bottom bearing on steering stem.............unless you have a press handy that is!!
20mins work for an engineering w/shop if you give them the bottom yoke, the rest you can do yourself if you've got a centrestand
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I had my MoT last week and was advised that the steering was notchy.
I've had that as an advisory on my FZ6 on every MOT since 2009.
The comments I've had from various mechanics have basically come down to "Well, it's a Fazer, isn't it?" :)
Frankly unless it's actually affecting the handling (I've never noticed it whilst riding), I wouldn't worry about it.
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My old man had his FZ6 steering bearings replaced.......apparently it isnt unknown for the yamaha factory to forget to put grease inside the bearings :eek
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Don't ignore it, get it sorted. Fully functioning, smooth operating bearings are there for a reason. Easy enough to do, but if you are not happy doing the job, book it in with a trust worthy mechanic. Seems like BBB has pointed you in the right direction already ;)
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I did the job myself with home tools and lack of a press on my FZS600 - you need patience, but its doable :)
Think I did the job over two evenings about 9 months ago now
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watch this it will give you an idea of what is involved?
http://youtu.be/NO1KNF3toQg (http://youtu.be/NO1KNF3toQg)
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Thanks for the advice guys. BBB, as you know I usually do all the work on my bikes myself (if I can). My only issue here is time... Dynotech is a good shop though, and if I am unable to do it myself that is where I will go.
I don't fancy ignoring it. I am traveling to 10 countries in 17 days, with another trip to the Nurburgring and a visit to the Stelvio pass. I would rather do the work here than at the side of the road over there.
The cost of the parts is not to high, so I guess I will just get the stuff ordered and go from there. I need to stick a set of tyres on anyway. And change the front sprocket to standard. And adjust the suspension settings. And do and oil and filter change. And sort a blowing exhaust header. And.... basically get the machine ready. Another wee job should not make that much of a difference :D
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Definitely get them changed. It'll transform the handling of the bike if they're worn.
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I took the bike to DYNOTCH ECOSSE today to get Willie to have a look.
The advice was "keep your money for holiday and do them before your next MoT"
Sorted.
I will maybe do it over the winter.
Oh, and the bike just rolled over 35000 miles, and it's still in great condition :D
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Dont ignore it or leave until the next mot Im surprised at a mechanic advising you so, :rolleyes if they are notchy they are goosed if the tester could feel it you should be able to ,they are only going to get worse and end up biting you in the arse and it will start handling like a bloody tesco trolley ,parts are cheap and its a very easy job ,you dont need any special tools or a press ,should take you no longer than 90 mins and that includes time stood feeling chuffed with yourself with brew in hand ,re the grease comment thats an urban myth everybody and his dog has a tale about 15 year old headstock bearings having no grease in them an its guff ,Ive stripped head sets out off 3 year old bikes from all manufacturers and never seen one without any grease in them :)
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Went on a basic bike maintenance course with OMC the other night. They covered the head race bearings. Showed us how to balance bike on side stand/back wheel and check for notchy bearings as you describe. One chap had turned up on a GSXR with totally fecked head race, bars would just lock into dead straight as you turned them.
Either way, sounded fairly simply fix to swap bearing in top and bottom yokes. Especially as lights etc shouldn't need to be removed as their not attached to forks, and so they can be just dropped out the bottom. I assume this is true on fazer.
The other thing I was recommended, was to always swap in a taper pin bearing, rather than the default ball and cage bearing, as a taper pin will always last much longer, take much more abuse and are only a few quid more. Again I assume Fazer's are fitted with ball and cage at factory and there is a drop in taper pin replacement, anyone confirm this?
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Yes, you can leave the fairing and headlights on to the do the job but you do need to move the handlebars out of the way ideally.
The Fazer comes with ball and cage bearings, but you can get tapered rollers as a replacement which is exactly what I did :)
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I might just order an All Balls kit (American brand?) and be done with it. I'll never hear the end of it if I go to the Nurburgring and I end up in the armco because of a set of head bearings y'all told me to replace failed.
Sometimes you foccers are, well, ;) :thumbup
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That's the ones that I put in mine :)
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That's the ones that I put in mine :)
Was that to your 600 or thou? If it was the 600, how did yo[size=78%]u find the job? [/size]
Are you quite happy with the quality, fitment... And so fourth?
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The all balls kits are good kits wont go far wrong with them :)
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That's the ones that I put in mine :)
Was that to your 600 or thou? If it was the 600, how did yo[size=78%]u find the job? [/size]
Are you quite happy with the quality, fitment... And so fourth?
This was on my 600. The job wasn't terrible but I did take a shortcut and use a dremel to cut off the old race from the steering stem as it had rusted in place due to water getting in. I carefully used a hammer to get the new races in to place as I didn't have a bearing puller and wasn't prepared to pay for one at the time.
As for quality and fitment, the fitting was perfect and quality was very good. It transformed the front end of my bike, but that's not surprising considering the state of my 600...
I'm still glad I did the job, even if the bike was only on the road for about 2 - 3 months after the work
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Perfect, thanks guys.
I will order that stuff today, although I think I will wait for my mate to come back from his holiday before I dismantle my bike. He is a pro mechanic, and my touring partner. I had the bike in parts trays just before we were due to leave last year. I think I was supposed to be sorting a blowing head gasket or something. Its only fair I give him a bit of warning this time :lol .
I have a bunch of other "wee" jobs to be getting on with anyway. Oh, and I have 4 or 5 days off next week too. So, as the Scottish summer seems to be over, I'll have piss all else to do...