Steering head bearing coming loose again

[racefactory]

Got new steering head bearings but the monkeys (won't do any naming here) who put them in didn't put a locking thing with the tabs on and it's come loose.

So I tightened it up and it's been fine for a good while but I just took it on a hard ride and it came loose.

Any idea how much and where I can get one of those thing with tabs that is supposed to stop the locking nut come loose?

[bistard]

Try the dealer for your brand of bike & order one!!!

[Katman]

The locking nut shouldn't be able to come loose if the steering head has been assembled correctly (even without a lock washer). The top yoke prevents it from doing so.

Make sure the fork pinch bolts are loose before tightening the bolt (or nut) that holds the top yoke on. Then retighten the pinch bolts.

[bogan]

The locking nut shouldn't be able to come loose if the steering head has been assembled correctly (even without a lock washer). The top yoke prevents it from doing so.

Make sure the fork pinch bolts are loose before tightening the bolt that holds the top yoke on. Then retighten the pinch bolts.

It will come loose if the lower bearing is drifting down the stem, DAMHIK. Good tip about loosening the pinch bolts. Maybe a bit of locktight and a watchful eye if the locking bit proves elusive.

[racefactory]

The locking nut shouldn't be able to come loose if the steering head has been assembled correctly (even without a lock washer). The top yoke prevents it from doing so.

Make sure the fork pinch bolts are loose before tightening the bolt (or nut) that holds the top yoke on. Then retighten the pinch bolts.

Thank you... I think I may have tightened the pinch bolts before doing the top yoke centre nut up. Hopefully it will hold.

Also, the head bearings shouldn't be done up tight, iis that right? Just get it to stop turning and then do up the locking nut? Is it ok to do without a stand and the bike weight still on the front wheel?

[Katman]

The adjusting nut doesn't need to be much more than finger tight.

If you're doing it with the wheels on the ground you'll need to have either the top pinch bolts or the bottom pinch bolts tightened otherwise the front may slide down the forks. By leaving one or the other pair of pinch bolts loose you're allowing the top and bottom yokes to clamp down together on the steering head as they should.

[Max Preload]

It will come loose if the lower bearing is drifting down the stem, DAMHIK. Good tip about loosening the pinch bolts. Maybe a bit of locktight and a watchful eye if the locking bit proves elusive.

If the lower bearing is drifting down the stem it wasn't put on properly.

[racefactory]

How do you put it on properly? It seems pretty straight forward.

[Max Preload]

How do you put it on properly?

By driving it against the shoulder it's designed to be against at the base of the stem.

[racefactory]

But the adjusting collar should only be done up finger tight? Drive it against the shoulder with that?

[bogan]

If the lower bearing is drifting down the stem it wasn't put on properly.

Certainly not, but it does happen.

But the adjusting collar should only be done up finger tight? Drive it against the shoulder with that?

no, never overtighten the adjusting collar otherwise you'll will need to repeat steps 1 through all! Use a press to seat it against the shoulder is the best way, there are some other techniques available but all put the force through the same race that needs seating.

[Max Preload]

But the adjusting collar should only be done up finger tight? Drive it against the shoulder with that?

HELL NO!

The bearing needs to be drifted or pressed on by the part of it that is in immediate direct contact with the seat, in this case the inner race.

[Max Preload]

Certainly not, but it does happen.

Yes, I'm merely saying that it's not like it slips if it's correctly assembled.

[racefactory]

Stupid question- What do you mean by drift it in? Will something long and hard suffice to hammer it on? Is the objective to get the bearing so the small rollers are not just sitting but rather pushed in and compressed so the bearing won't move about? I don't have a press

Manual makes it out to be so simple... put bearing in, do up collar but not tightly, put the lock nut on, put the lock washer on, put the top yoke on. Before I did exactly that, just placed the bearing on there and did up the lock nut. It was fine and felt good for quite a while. Obviously it's wrong though.

[Max Preload]

Please forgive me- will a rubber or soft hammer do? I don't have a press.

No. But a tube cut square (as in perpendicular to its longitudinal axis) and just slightly bigger on the inside than the stem is on the outside and a bit longer would if used with a hard faced hammer.

But I very much doubt that the bearing not having been correctly pressed home is actually the problem. You could tell if you were to look at the bottom of the inner race and see that it was proud of the shoulder on the stem. You would also check the upper and lower out races ('cups') to make sure they're correctly seated against their respective shoulders too. You can tell this by the sound they make when punched - a dull sound and indicates they're still short of the shoulder. A solid ringing sound means they're properly seated. You'll know if you're putting them in and the sound changes with the blows on the drift (punch) when they're bottomed out.

Katman has it - the assembly of the head bearings needs to be done before the pinch bolts on the clamps that hold the forks are nipped up or you'll be tightening against them and are unlikely to achieve the correct assembly.

Loosen one set of the fork leg clamps, adjust the steering head bearings for no play and not stiff, tighten the stem top nut over the top plate down onto the top bearing lock nut, tighten the fork leg clamps.