crashed my bike, play in steering stem(?) HELP!

Evening gents

Crashed my '04 CBR600RR, it slid down the road and hit something, smashing the top cowl, front fairing/clock bracket and damaging the headlamp plastic moulding (not the actual glass, that survived unmarked) where it part company from the destroyed top fairing. It obviously took a whack to the front area somewhere.

The forks look OK in my unproffesional opinion. I can "bounce" them up and down to full compression by applying the front brake and shoving down on the bars, and they seem to travel OK.

However, there is play in the steering stem. when I compress the forks or apply the front brake (tried riding at slow speed up my garage block), there is a judder/clunk. I can see the top and bottom steering stems shift approx 2mm as you "bounce" the suspension. Apart from this, the bike feels normal when riding (all be it in first gear at slow speeds up and down my garage block). The only obvious problem is the freeplay in the stem.

I have not had a chance to take pics of the bike, but here is the page from the workshop manual that best describes the area. I have drawn arrows to show where the play is:


My question is, what could be causing this? Could it be that something has simply come loose during the spill and needs tightening back up to the correct torque? If so what? Could a damaged bearing cause this? It looks like you need a series of special (no doubt EXPENSIVE) Honda tools to undo the special Honda nuts and stuff holding all the bearings and insides in place. Would it be worth taking the bike to a proper mechanic and getting them to check/replace the bearings in the steering stem? If so, how much (ball park) would you expect this to cost (parts and labour)?

The bike slid on one side before impacting. It had crash bungs fitted which prevented the frame/engine etc from touching the tarmac. Im really hoping that this freeplay is nothing major

Any help advice will be greatfully received

Cheers

It may have ovaled the head stock where the bearing sits,with a front end impact thus giving you the play in the stem you mention.

unlucky bud.
have you raised the front off the ground and checked the bearings and movement ect?
like you said it could just need tightening.

Pipmoff wrote

It may have ovaled the head stock where the bearing sits,with a front end impact thus giving you the play in the stem you mention.

FUCKING HELL!!!! I hope not . I take it the only way to fix this is a new frame?

Burney_Rubber wrote

unlucky bud.
have you raised the front off the ground and checked the bearings and movement ect?
like you said it could just need tightening.

No I have not. Sorry for being thick, but how exactly do I check the bearings and movement?

Thanks for your replies, I'll re-check this thread tonight when I'm back from work (cant access this site at work).

Cheers

I have straightened quite a lot of forks / yokes / wheel spindles on bikes and think it is unlikely that you have damaged the frame if you cant see that the forks are bent.

Firstly the fact that you can push up and down ok is not an indication that they are straight. fork legs normally bend just below the bottom yoke. Really you need to take the legs out and clamp the slider (alloy bit at bottom!) in the vice and rotate the stantion (leg) this will immediately show a bend. Bows of less than about 5mm are difficult to see on the bike to the untrained eye. Secondly when forks spin round and hit the lock stop then the bottom yoke oftens gets a twist. This is easy to check with straight fork legs, but is sidetracking from your reported problem!

As regards your orginal play, firstly you need to adjust the headstock as per the manual... no play but not tight, and that means not tight lock to lock. Typically a force of about 300 grams at the bar end lock to lock is tight enough. Often they quote a settling torque to pull up any play, then back off and retorque gently to just nip up the bearing. If there is play after you have set the lower torque... then there isnt any choice but to strip and inspect. I cant help feeling that if you have 2mm of play then maybe you had some play/wear before but didnt realise it.

as said before, adjust the bearings before panicing. Quick and easy job if you have a trolley jack (if not they are cheap and a useful investment!). If they are ovaled there are ways of dealing with the problem. They can be bashed round again (heated up first), they can be filled and have the seats reground, they can be ground and have a collar fitted, or the bearings can be fitted with chemical metal to fill the hole. Bike-align or maidstone motorliner should be able to sort it out if your in the south.

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Rehab is for quitters!
TIT#93D
www.dazedproductions.co.uk

Thanks for the replies

As advised, I will jack up the front of the bike on thursday when Im off work. However, I don't think I will be able to tighten the stearing head or strip it to check the bearings etc as according to the Honda workshop manual you need these tools:


I don't see how I can undo/tighten the steering stem nut as its a funny shape and needs the Honda socket:


Can these Honda sockets be purchased by joe public or are they only available to dealers to make you have to go to them for servicing etc? If they are freely available do I have to buy them from Honda or are there cheaper outlets?

oil slick, I will stick the forks in a vice and rotate them as you suggest

Dazed&Confused, yep Im in the south. Cheers for the specialist places, I'm praying it won't come to that

Thanks again chaps

potentially you could make that socket youself out of a piece of pipe and an old socket welded into one end, a bit of filing/grinding and bingo one castle socket, or alternatively would a "C-spanner" fit it ??

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John Wayne is my hero, he uses a sixgun, I use six hammers