HEADSTOCK CLUNK

6 months ago I crashed at 130KPH. Major bike and body breakages all headed now.

PROBLEM
In the garage when turning the bike around there is a "CLUNK" well, not really, but if I listened through a stethoscope I'd surely hear it. Although when riding it's seems fine but when turning back and forth to reposition the bike in my garage there is extreme roughness and what appears movement in the headstock, like the bearings are wrecked.
SOLUTION
I changed both bearings.
STILL PROBLEM
No difference, still the same damm "clunkiness".
QUESTION?

1. Should I tighten up the 2 nuts holding the headstock up more?
2. I don't have a torque wrench and the nuts are very, very thin so is there a special spanner to tighten one against the other?
3. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks guys.

Sounds like headstock ! Did you replace the bearing cups as well ? There is a bit of a procedure to adjusting the head bearings on the R3 . Firstly I would invest in a torque wrench , they are relatively inexpensive . The head bearings need tightening to around 30nm if memory serves me correct , and then backing off quarter of a turn or so . Free play is then checked with the front wheel off the ground and the first 2 steps repeated if any play is felt ! If this is the bike you crashed , check that the steering stem isn't bent . Coz if it is the bearings will never adjust right . If all is well at the headstock , check the front discs . If they are the floating kind , ie, the rotor is held on with large round rivets , the rivet holes can elongate giving forward / rearward movement in the disc rotor when front brake is applied . This also registers as a clunk through the handlebars !

As said invest in a decent torque wrench not a twenty dollar piece of crap but a good one, why are you running around with a stethoscope on?

Nat67 said:

Sounds like headstock ! Did you replace the bearing cups as well ? There is a bit of a procedure to adjusting the head bearings on the R3 . Firstly I would invest in a torque wrench , they are relatively inexpensive . The head bearings need tightening to around 30nm if memory serves me correct , and then backing off quarter of a turn or so . Free play is then checked with the front wheel off the ground and the first 2 steps repeated if any play is felt ! If this is the bike you crashed , check that the steering stem isn't bent . Coz if it is the bearings will never adjust right . If all is well at the headstock , check the front discs . If they are the floating kind , ie, the rotor is held on with large round rivets , the rivet holes can elongate giving forward / rearward movement in the disc rotor when front brake is applied . This also registers as a clunk through the handlebars !

Click to expand...

Thanks Nat67, for your time and interest. I am appreciative.

Yes, it is the bike I crashed (2005 Standard in my profile pic) I couldn't make the 130kph corner attempting to keep up with about 30, 21 year olds on their sports bikes. I'm 60. Unlike me, the bike was not totally destroyed, slide about 25m on tarmac then about another 25m onto muddy, soft long grass, however I suspect the bike did do a cartwheel along the way, in the soft stuff. I just hope the steering stem isn't bend, unlikely though and not really something one can check at home.

Yes, I did change the inner bearing races and the cones, ie the full bearings.
You say "a bit of a procedure to adjust the head bearings" ....... mmm it didn't strike me as being a step by step difficult procedure so do you know of documented Triumph instructions somewhere on the internet? With the front wheel off the ground, I tightened the 2 big nuts until the steering became tight, then freed off with about 1/8th turn to allow easy free movement, like we did on our bicycles when we were kids.
I think I'll jack it up again, pull off the mudguard, wheel and forks again, as it's the only way to allow access to the 2 big nuts and then give those nuts another slight tighten.
If that doesn't work, I'll buy a torque wrench and carry out as per your instructions.

As the "clunk" was not apparent before the accident, it would surprise me if the front discs may be the cause. The "clunk" is apparent when wheeling the bike back and forth in the garage turning it around even without applying the front brake. So Nat67 do you agree that I can rule out the discs?

Thanks again Mate for your help.

scot in exile said:

As said invest in a decent torque wrench not a twenty dollar piece of crap but a good one, why are you running around with a stethoscope on?

Click to expand...

Didn't help solve my problem Scotty but sure made me laugh.
Cherrio.

Running around with a stethoscope asking if you need to tighten your nuts???

Really get a GOOD torque wrench. So many of the specs are so small you can easily over tighten bolts and never get them off again.

Rango said:

Thanks Nat67, for your time and interest. I am appreciative.

Yes, it is the bike I crashed (2005 Standard in my profile pic) I couldn't make the 130kph corner attempting to keep up with about 30, 21 year olds on their sports bikes. I'm 60. Unlike me, the bike was not totally destroyed, slide about 25m on tarmac then about another 25m onto muddy, soft long grass, however I suspect the bike did do a cartwheel along the way, in the soft stuff. I just hope the steering stem isn't bend, unlikely though and not really something one can check at home.

Yes, I did change the inner bearing races and the cones, ie the full bearings.
You say "a bit of a procedure to adjust the head bearings" ....... mmm it didn't strike me as being a step by step difficult procedure so do you know of documented Triumph instructions somewhere on the internet? With the front wheel off the ground, I tightened the 2 big nuts until the steering became tight, then freed off with about 1/8th turn to allow easy free movement, like we did on our bicycles when we were kids.
I think I'll jack it up again, pull off the mudguard, wheel and forks again, as it's the only way to allow access to the 2 big nuts and then give those nuts another slight tighten.
If that doesn't work, I'll buy a torque wrench and carry out as per your instructions.

As the "clunk" was not apparent before the accident, it would surprise me if the front discs may be the cause. The "clunk" is apparent when wheeling the bike back and forth in the garage turning it around even without applying the front brake. So Nat67 do you agree that I can rule out the discs?

Thanks again Mate for your help.

Click to expand...

If it's clunking without touching the brakes then yes that rules out the discs .
I agree totally , all the bikes I have ever owned was just as you describe but the R3 head bearing adjustment is specific . You can download a pdf for the manual from the Internet, or maybe another member here will post up the page for you ? If all fails I will post up the manual page in the morning when I get to my shed ! If the bike cartwheeled I would certainly expect a bent stem at the very least considering the weight of the bike . Have you tried lifting the front wheel off the ground and rocking the Forks whilst holding the bottom legs ? This will give you an indication of play at the bearings .
I reckon you used up all yer nine lives surviving that one mate ? Your a lucky man !

Yes, it is the bike I crashed (2005 Standard in my profile pic) I couldn't make the 130kph corner attempting to keep up with about 30, 21 year olds on their sports bikes. I'm 60. Unlike me, the bike was not totally destroyed, slide about 25m on tarmac then about another 25m onto muddy, soft long grass, however I suspect the bike did do a cartwheel along the way, in the soft stuff. I just hope the steering stem isn't bend, unlikely though and not really something one can check at home.

Yes, I did change the inner bearing races and the cones, ie the full bearings.
You say "a bit of a procedure to adjust the head bearings" ....... mmm it didn't strike me as being a step by step difficult procedure so do you know of documented Triumph instructions somewhere on the internet? With the front wheel off the ground, I tightened the 2 big nuts until the steering became tight, then freed off with about 1/8th turn to allow easy free movement, like we did on our bicycles when we were kids.
I think I'll jack it up again, pull off the mudguard, wheel and forks again, as it's the only way to allow access to the 2 big nuts and then give those nuts another slight tighten.
If that doesn't work, I'll buy a torque wrench and carry out as per your instructions.

As the "clunk" was not apparent before the accident, it would surprise me if the front discs may be the cause. The "clunk" is apparent when wheeling the bike back and forth in the garage turning it around even without applying the front brake. So Nat67 do you agree that I can rule out the discs?

Thanks again Mate for your help.[/QUOTE] A good quality torque wrench preferable dial indicator type makes this job easy. So does a service manual. For about $100.00 bucks you can get a hard copy.

Thank you Nat67, sonny, scotty and Indian Jones for all of yours advice and attention helping me solve the issue.

FIXED...........FIXED...........FIXED.

Jacked up the front end yesterday and stripped it all down again. In the process of the re-assembly I noticed one of the chrome risers which houses the handlebars was ever so lightly loose. I just nipped it up literally, a couple of mm turn and the problem is resolved. It must have been moving left to right and visa verse when turning................damm.

Bit of a waste of time. However, I did enjoy working on my bike and the experience of headstock bearing replacement. Most gratifying is fixing something yourself and not parting with $650 quoted by the dealer.

Thanks again guys.