Buell 2002 P3 - 1.15 STEERING HEAD BEARINGS

1-26 2002 Buell P3: Maintenance
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STEERING HEAD BEARINGS 1.15
GENERAL
Check steering head bearings:
● At the 1000 mile (1600 km) initial service and at
every 2,500 mile (4,000 km) service interval thereaf-
ter.
● When storing or removing the motorcycle for the
season.
Lubricate and adjust steering head bearings:
● At every 20,000 mile (32,000 km) service interval.
Lubricate the steering head bearings with WHEEL
BEARING GREASE (Part No. 99855-89)
INSPECTION
With motorcycle front end raised off of floor, check to make
sure front fork turns freely, without any binding or interfer-
ence. Also check to make sure there is no appreciable front
to rear fork shake indicating excessive bearing looseness.
1. Detach clutch cable at handlebar.
2. Remove seat and fuel tank. See 4.2 FUEL TANK
COVER/FUEL TANK.
3. Attach lifting straps to frame tube behind steering neck.
Raise front wheel off floor using a floor hoist and lifting
straps. Turn front wheel to full right lock.
4. See Figure 1-32. Attach a spring scale into the hole in
the front axle. With scale 90 degrees from fork leg, pull
front wheel to center position. It should take 6.5-7 lbs
(2.9-3.2 kg) to pull front wheel to center.
5. Attach clutch cable to handlebar.
NOTE
Check that clutch and throttle cables do not bind when mea-
suring bearing resistance.
ADJUSTMENT
1. Detach clutch cable at handlebar.
2. Remove seat and fuel tank. See 4.2 FUEL TANK
COVER/FUEL TANK.
3. Attach lifting straps to frame backbone behind steering
neck. Raise front wheel off floor using a floor hoist and
lifting straps.
4. Turn front wheel to full right lock.
5. See Figure 1-32. Attach a spring scale into the hole in
the front axle. Pull front wheel to center position. It
should take 6.5-7 lbs (2.9-3.2 kg) to pull front wheel to
center.
6. See Figure 1-33. To adjust:
a. Loosen both pinch screws on lower triple clamp.
b. Loosen center cap pinch screw on upper triple
clamp.
c. Loosen cap nut, then tighten to 48-52 ft-lbs (65-71
Nm) to seat bearing. Loosen cap nut and retighten
to 28-32 ft-lbs (38-43 Nm).
7. Recheck tension using spring scale. See Step 5.
8. Tighten both lower triple clamp pinch screws to 22-29 ft-
lbs (30-39 Nm).
9. Tighten center cap pinch screw to 7-10 ft-lbs (10-14
Nm).
Figure 1-32. Steering Head Bearing Check
Figure 1-33. Fork Stem and Bracket Assembly
7736
a0137x2x
Center Cap
Cap Nut
Lower
13-16 ft-lbs
(18-22 Nm)
22-29 ft-lbs
(30-39 Nm)
Pinch Screw
Lower Triple Clamp
Upper Triple Clamp
Upper
Pinch Screws (2)
Pinch Screws (2)
7-10 ft-lbs
(10-14 Nm)
To Adjust:
48-52 ft-lbs
(65-71 Nm) then
loosen and re-tighten
to: 28-32 ft-lbs
(38-43 Nm)