83 vt500c bad steering head bearings ?

[83vt]

I just finally got my bike back from a bike shop that had it for 5 weeks. It ran great on the way home, no problems. When I rode it over to a friends house, some of the roads are in such bad shape that trying to miss every bump is not possible. Anyways, since going to his house I noticed some forward/backward movement in the handle bars every time I brake now. I jacked the front tire and pushed/pulled on the forks and seen a 1/16th to 1/8 movement from the steering head. Is replacing the bearings a hard job, or is it just really involved since everything has to come off? Any better replacement bearing set I can buy and is that all I would need- just the bearings?

[orlenz]

You can get allballs bearings, I bet they would be cheaper than stock bearings from the dealer, not a big job to replace them

[83vt]

I was just checking them out on ebay. I didn't think the job would be to hard, just involved according to my clymer book.

[luisr320]

Originally Posted by orlenz

You can get allballs bearings, I bet they would be cheaper than stock bearings from the dealer, not a big job to replace them

Try to tighten everything to remove the slack. There in almost no movement on those shperes to make them go bad. How many miles on the meter? Why did it stayed so long in the shop?

[83vt]

It has just over 10,000 miles. I will try just tightening them since I won't have to remove as much. I have another thread that explains my long wait at the shop. Its "problems with bike after first ride".

[number13]

Try tightening the steering stem first. Bad bearings usually feel 'notched' more than sloppy.

[83vt]

So, I tightened the big nut on the stem and everything is now nice and tight. The handle bars moves easily left to right with no roughness. Something new I notice now is with the wheel off the ground, the handle bars hold themselves in the straight ahead position whereas before they would turn to one side as soon as the front tire left the ground. Is this normal? Like I said they turn very easily left and right, just seems like there's a little groove or something that holds it straight ahead. I'm going to take it out for a little ride now and check for any play again in the bearings when I get back.

[luisr320]

Originally Posted by 83vt

So, I tightened the big nut on the stem and everything is now nice and tight. The handle bars moves easily left to right with no roughness. Something new I notice now is with the wheel off the ground, the handle bars hold themselves in the straight ahead position whereas before they would turn to one side as soon as the front tire left the ground. Is this normal? Like I said they turn very easily left and right, just seems like there's a little groove or something that holds it straight ahead. I'm going to take it out for a little ride now and check for any play again in the bearings when I get back.

Maybe you overtighted it. Do you have the shop manual of your bike? Is there any guidence regarding the required torque?

[83vt]

I do have a clymer book for the bike and you don't actually torque that big nut. You just snug it until the play is gone. It's the other nut that gets torqued. I don't think I over tightened it as it still turns very easy. It seems to have less vibration on my test ride through the handle bars. It also seemed to track straighter than before. Everything is still tight too, so I hope that just tightening that nut is all it needed.

[number13]

...just seems like there's a little groove or something that holds it straight ahead

That means the bearings are bad. Replace them when you get a chance.