Magnet on the bottom of my ignition switch

[Anonymous]

Ok guys, here is one for you. I recently rebuilt the front end of my 1978 GS750E. New bearings in the tree and the forks, and new seals in the forks. But when I put it back together I realized that on the bottom of the ignition switch there is a magnet that helps keep the steering centered to go straight. That magnet no longer snaps the forks back to dead center. Any ideas???

[Anonymous]

I've never heard of magnets on there but I think the self-centering effect you used to have was worn out or too tight head race bearings. Did it feel like the bars would click into position pointed straight ahead? My old GSX250 used to do this and it was just the bearings had worn to such an extent that they had a groove in their shell!

Your rebuild has cured the problem with new bearings and correctly torqued bolts. If you put the bike on its stand and lift the front wheel, the steering should turn smoothly from side to side. Don't worry about stability in a straight line because it's the gyroscopic effect of the spinning wheels that keeps a bike flying straight and level.

[Anonymous]

Made a mess of that last posting (that was a 2nd attempt!) and so lost my train of thought in the last sentence. What I should have said was, it's mainly the steering geometry of the bike that makes it feel stable or otherwise in a straight line and the gyroscopic effect of the wheels that keeps you upright. I think that's better.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

OK,I got it.It's mainly the gyroscopic geometry that effects the steering that keeps your wheels upright?
As for a magnet, I think he's looking at the steering lock that goes in and out at bottom of switch when you turn key all the way left. KK.