Headset needs greese?

[WALKMAN]

Just got back from most excellent romp, mud, rocks, hills and streams, lots of water. The best riding I've had on my on my new scoot. :cool:
My question is should the headset give any resistance when turning the bars? There is no resistance on my KLR 250. The strange thing is I like the feel just the way it is. I'm probably just used to it as is.
I hear these bikes like their greese, so is it time?

96 kdx 200 Fat boy, LA sleeve to 240. this bike rips.
99 klr 250 Cobra Exhaust, DOT knobbies. this bike sips

 

[Canadian Dave]

Its a good idea to service your headset bearings at the same time you do your linkage bearings. You'll want to grease both when the bike is new and then at least once per year after that.

David

 

[KdxChode]

there shouldn't be any resistance. When on a stand your bars should freely swing from one side to the other.

 

[WALKMAN]

Thanks for the advise, sounds like rebuild time.

 

[canyncarvr]

Reading.....'Should it give resistance..' and the other bike has '..no resistance', do I assume correctly that your KDX DOES have resistance?

If so (with the bars/front wheel still on), I'll bet it's already too late to grease it and have it ok.

With the front wheel and handlebars off (less mass), move the forks back and forth. Feel a 'snicking' or a detent in the straightahead position?

When you take it apart, look at the bottom race (inside the frame). You'll likely find the facing of the race is gone. Grease won't fix that. The bearing will need to be replaced.

re: 'is it time?' Hindsight and all...but the time was SOME time ago.:(
(lessons from personal experience)

 

[WALKMAN]

No blame here, we can put that on the person who lacked TLC for my newest family member. I don't think I would even take it apart without rebuild parts in hand. Hoping this is an easy project, any tips? What is the right greese? My 20 year old tub of wheel bearing greese is still half full.
The resistance can be felt most when wheeling the bike (pushing it) around to get on trailer although I can feel stiffness when riding. There is no spot where it feels different when turning thats why I thought it may supposed to be that way.

 

[canyncarvr]

In any case, the headset needs to be greased......that notwithstanding..

I don't think I understand for sure what the problem is.

Put the bike on a stand, front wheel off the ground. Moving the bars from lock to lock, you should feel NO resistance in the headset. Maybe a bit stiff when turning to the right due to cables, but it's not hard to differentiate one 'feel' from the other.

Where the bottom bearing will first be felt is moving the bars either left or right of center. If there is any detent in the center, the bearing is at the very least in need of grease.

As I noted before, it's much easier to feel the bearing 'snick' when it's moved if the front wheel and the bars are off the bike. That's another indication of 'needs grease' (at least).

If it's just 'stiff' all over, and no 'snick' or detent, maybe you'll be lucky and get by with cleaning/regreasing.

What grease? The best you can get. Don't know if '20yr old tub of' fits that description or not.;) It needs to be waterproof and tough. What's currently sold as chassis/multipurpose (black moly-disul) grease seems useless for the task imo.

It's the 'when wheeling the bike..' part I wonder about.

Oh..try this. Lever the front end off the ground using the kickstand as the fulcrum. The bars should drop from side to side when centered by hand, then let go. It should drop pretty hard to the LH side, less to the RH side (again, cuz of the cables).

Easy project to take apart, clean and grease. Tougher to remove the bottom bearing. Some have effectively used a punch/drift and hammer to remove it. That was someone that worked with bearings for a living as I recall. He likely used a few tricks of his trade I'd guess.

It's hard to remove the bearing with a puller, cuz there is no purchase for the fingers of the puller.

It's common to press the stem OUT of the bottom clamp, pressing the bearing up the shaft in the process. I'd prefer to not mess with the stem if I didn't have to.

I cut mine off with an air cutoff tool. Worked good. Put new bearing back on with a piece of 1 1/4" pipe, capped on one end and a 2 1/5# sledge. One moderate tap and it was seated (on a stem that had been in the freezer overnight).

My local bike shop told me $45 or so to take it off.

Now then...don't you feel a lot better???

 

[WALKMAN]

How come I never hear anyone on this site say "I took it to the dealer and paid them $150 to fix it"? I'll bet this thread is going to turn into one of those 10 pagers now.
I will try the test you suggested when I get home. I also think it's not just the headset that needs attension, I should do the wheels and swing arm as well in which case my bike is going to be ALL TAKEN APART and the weekend is coming. Anybody ever drilled and installed greese fittings on these critical locations. Is there already one there for the swing arm?
Thanks again for your help, will update.

15 minuts tearing up the yard is better than no ride at all.

96 kdx 200 Fat boy, LA sleeve to 240. this bike rips.
99 klr 250 Cobra Exhaust, DOT knobbies. this bike sips