she's home! now a fork question..

[rustybronco]

now a question.. my community has speedbumps.. and my forks made a "tack!" noise when going over them.. is that normal?

I get that on my gs850g going out the drive in the am. I second the comment to check the head bearings
I need to look at mine for that same reason, just haven't found time yet.
turn your forks through center while sitting and try to detect any roughness, you can also try tightening the head bearing nut but be careful the steering doesn't bind going through center because of a bad bearing.

[seuadr]

I get that on my gs850g going out the drive in the am. I second the comment to check the head bearings
I need to look at mine for that same reason, just haven't found time yet.
turn your forks through center while sitting and try to detect any roughness, you can also try tightening the head bearing nut but be careful the steering doesn't bind going through center because of a bad bearing.

good ideal. will do. i need to find someone around here with some free time and who knows what they are doing to them to take a look mebby if that doesn't clear it up.

[seuadr]

it's starting to clack at low speed on any big bumpm like going into a raised parking lot, etc. definitally going to have to take a look at it. my book isn't here right now, do i need new fork seals to just pull the top apart and look at it? i'll also see if i have any air in them and if so, what PSI.

[psyguy]

before going into the forks

put the bike on the centrestand and have someone push the rear end down so that the front wheel comes up off the ground
now pull and push the front wheel to see if you get any play in the steering stem
make sure the steering stem top nut is tightened to a specified torque

[seuadr]

put the bike on the centrestand and have someone push the rear end down so that the front wheel comes up off the ground
now pull and push the front wheel to see if you get any play in the steering stem
make sure the steering stem top nut is tightened to a specified torque

ya.. it looks like that nut isn't as tight as it could be, i'm gonna get a big cresent from work tommorow and tighten it up a bit and see if that works. i'll have the book and a proper torque wrench this weekend to double check it.

[psyguy]

good call

you need a proper torque setting as it's easy to overtighten that nut and still get a seemingly fine feel at the steering
but that overtightening is going to kill bearings

if the nut is in spec, but you still get some play there, probably the bearings need replacement

[TheCafeKid]

you need a proper torque setting as it's easy to overtighten that nut and still get a seemingly fine feel at the steering
but that overtightening is going to kill bearings

if the nut is in spec, but you still get some play there, probably the bearings need replacement

Also when checking the steering head, see if it feels like it drops into a notch on center. If so, the bearings need replaced.

I should clarify this. Turn the bars, if they feel like they drop into a notch, or notches, the bearings are pitted and need replaced.

[rustybronco]

The nut that adjusts the head bearings has four notches in it, the chrome hex nut on top is a jam nut to keep the adjustment from changing. when you set the preload on the bearings with notched nut and then tighten the top nut the load on the bearings will increase and it will take more effort to turn the handle bars. you may have to start a little looser then tighten the top nut. you want a little load on the bearings, but not to tight.

[seuadr]

The nut that adjusts the head bearings has four notches in it, the chrome hex nut on top is a jam nut to keep the adjustment from changing. when you set the preload on the bearings with notched nut and then tighten the top nut the load on the bearings will increase and it will take more effort to turn the handle bars. you may have to start a little looser then tighten the top nut. you want a little load on the bearings, but not to tight.

ok! i did some testing today, first, the bars move smooth through the whole range no matter how slow i turn them with no weight on them, so, no sitting down in notches. however, i did locate the sound of the "tack" noise... the forks are compressing so far that the black rubber cap on top of the tubes is hitting the housing where the forks attach to the tripple tree! i'm guessing this is a problem with lack of air/oil can anyone confirm? i have not seen any leaks on the ground, but i did not install these forks, a PO did so there is no way of knowing if he added the right amount/any at all/ the right kind of oil. any opinions?

[rustybronco]

No oil, bad springs, wrong fork tube length. but I think it would be more of a bam! than a tack .

[seuadr]

No oil, bad springs, wrong fork tube length. but I think it would be more of a bam! than a tack .

no air at all in it.. i put about 50psi of air in there and it doesn't make any noise whatsoever. one of the things i didn't think at all to check when i got the bike!:-?

that said.. what is the factory recommended range? (i'm sorry for all the questions, but as i said i left the book at my parents house so i can't look it up till this weekend, since they live an hour away )

[tkent02]

Air or not, when the forks are fully compressed it shouldn't hit the triple tree.
Something wrong here, wrong tubes or they may be just raised up too high in the attempt to lower the bike to look cool or shorten it for some little person?
Maybe they were trying to fix some other problem?

[seuadr]

Air or not, when the forks are fully compressed it shouldn't hit the triple tree.
Something wrong here, wrong tubes or they may be just raised up too high in the attempt to lower the bike to look cool or shorten it for some little person?
Maybe they were trying to fix some other problem?

i don't know.. the PO was a harley mechanic that said he replaced the forks and said it scared the **** out of him to ride.

[rustybronco]

no air at all in it.. i put about 50psi of air in there and it doesn't make any noise whatsoever. one of the things i didn't think at all to check when i got the bike!:-?

that said.. what is the factory recommended range? (i'm sorry for all the questions, but as i said i left the book at my parents house so i can't look it up till this weekend, since they live an hour away )

it depends on the rear shock settings, 7-21? psi range iirc, I think mine are at 11psi.

[tkent02]

i don't know.. the PO was a harley mechanic that said he replaced the forks and said it scared the **** out of him to ride.

Replaced with what?
And why?
What scared him?
I don't get it.

Are the forks right or are they not? Got pics?

It shouldn't bottom out by hitting the top of the slider, no matter what.