Was out riding on my R3C and noticed that it was wandering when in a straight line, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right. Having only had the bike a few weeks and its only covered 4000 miles it seemed a tad odd.
Inspected the front tyre and made the assumption that the Metz will take about 20 miles to warm up and 'perform'.
Took into account road camber etc.
Was in the process of constructing a lift to get the thing off the ground (pics of the lift coming soon) it came time to test the stands efficiency, getting both wheels off the ground soon revealed the problem.
Notched headstock bearings.
Looking at the manual and the fitment for the bearings it states:-
5. Slacken the locknut and adjuster nut.
6. Adjust the bearing free play as follows:
a) Tighten the adjuster nut to 40 Nm.
b) Slacken the adjuster nut fully.
c) Re-tighten the adjuster nut to 6 Nm.
d) Loosen the adjuster nut by 90°. Note that
there will now be free-play present.
e) Hold the adjuster nut in that position while
tightening the locknut to 40 Nm.
Note:
Ensure the adjuster nut does not move as the locknut is tightened 7. Seat the top yoke assembly in position then refit
the washer and top nut, tightening it to 65 Nm.
1. Top nut
8. Check that the free play has been eliminated and
that the steering can be turned freely from lock to
lock without any sign of tightness. Re-adjust if
necessary.
Please note this has been edited for clarity but the full chapter is available in the manual.
Following this procedure should in theory be correct.
BUT
When I was stripping out the front end I unscrewed the stem locknut and then tried to unscrew the preload nut.
I had to use a spanner to slacken it off showing the bearings were loaded up.(Didn't check by how much).
I can only assume they had been set up wrongly at the factory as the last owner who is the first owner, has not had any adjustments made to the headstock.
May be the answer to some of the wandering encountered by some as when I road tested the bike it stayed put in a straight line and didn't wander, the handling was improved, still not right but thats down to the 6yr old metz on the front.
The front wheel needs to be off the ground, preferebly with the bike upright, and the bars turned VERY gently and slowly lock to lock. At about the straight ahead position the notch can be felt but due to the weight of the front end and cable routings is more difficult to detect.
Not wishing to teach peeps how to suck eggs with this description but I have been around bikes for a little while now and the notch is not easy to detect.
Note that it is the TOP bearing that is notched worse than the lower race. (Opposite to the norm).
Inspected the front tyre and made the assumption that the Metz will take about 20 miles to warm up and 'perform'.
Took into account road camber etc.
Was in the process of constructing a lift to get the thing off the ground (pics of the lift coming soon) it came time to test the stands efficiency, getting both wheels off the ground soon revealed the problem.
Notched headstock bearings.
Looking at the manual and the fitment for the bearings it states:-
5. Slacken the locknut and adjuster nut.
6. Adjust the bearing free play as follows:
a) Tighten the adjuster nut to 40 Nm.
b) Slacken the adjuster nut fully.
c) Re-tighten the adjuster nut to 6 Nm.
d) Loosen the adjuster nut by 90°. Note that
there will now be free-play present.
e) Hold the adjuster nut in that position while
tightening the locknut to 40 Nm.
Note:
Ensure the adjuster nut does not move as the locknut is tightened 7. Seat the top yoke assembly in position then refit
the washer and top nut, tightening it to 65 Nm.
1. Top nut
8. Check that the free play has been eliminated and
that the steering can be turned freely from lock to
lock without any sign of tightness. Re-adjust if
necessary.
Please note this has been edited for clarity but the full chapter is available in the manual.
Following this procedure should in theory be correct.
BUT
When I was stripping out the front end I unscrewed the stem locknut and then tried to unscrew the preload nut.
I had to use a spanner to slacken it off showing the bearings were loaded up.(Didn't check by how much).
I can only assume they had been set up wrongly at the factory as the last owner who is the first owner, has not had any adjustments made to the headstock.
May be the answer to some of the wandering encountered by some as when I road tested the bike it stayed put in a straight line and didn't wander, the handling was improved, still not right but thats down to the 6yr old metz on the front.
The front wheel needs to be off the ground, preferebly with the bike upright, and the bars turned VERY gently and slowly lock to lock. At about the straight ahead position the notch can be felt but due to the weight of the front end and cable routings is more difficult to detect.
Not wishing to teach peeps how to suck eggs with this description but I have been around bikes for a little while now and the notch is not easy to detect.
Note that it is the TOP bearing that is notched worse than the lower race. (Opposite to the norm).
