I have had the bike up to 103 mph indicated chasing sport bikes, and the Terra was rock solid at that speed straight up and transitioning turn to turn on the stock tires. I have D606's that I keep for off-roading, and it is none to stable above 65 mph or so with those tires mounted.
Finished the bearing install after work yesterday. I can tell already it's gonna be better than it was. As stated before, first time I sat on the bike I thought the steering was super light, loose feeling. It didn't feel both notchy, just super easy to turn the bars. That should have been a red flag... My theory is I bet none of these bikes had the headstock checked at the first service if there was one. The Italians or Chinese or whoever built the frame powder coated the frame and the race seating surfaces and just slammed the bearing races in. I saw in a thread somewhere showing black stuff in the bearings. Pretty low brow engineering. One guy on YouTube spent all day hammering on the races trying to get them in. Bad idea. After the lower seemed stubborn I decided to take some emery cloth and lightly smooth the surfaces. I wanted to clean any 'paint galling'. Made me wonder if the nitwits considered the paint as part of the tolerance...??? Anyhow, they went in nice and snug. I have a race bearing tool I use on airheads to remove and insert the races. I'll can post more on that if anyone has interest. Time for a test ride, if the winds die down today...
OK, this is where I put on my cone shaped hat, sit in the corner and say "Duh" for not addressing the obvious in the first place Despite 30-40mph gusts in the local canyons the bike feels as it should, much more stabile and predictable all the way up to 85+. On any other day when the wind isn't as ridick as it is today in SoCal, pushing it To the Ton wouldn't appear to be a problem. And all this even with 2 clicks of preload added and no stabilizer. I put the GPR on just now. I reckon it's gonna be the cherry on top...
great. Did you plug the steerer tube? You may have noticed the redundant slot in the steerer tube close to the bottom bearing. That's where water and dirt get into the bearing through the opening at the top. The GPR will cover the hole but i would still plug it.
Right. I found a nice soft rubber plug for the top and a plastic insert that slipped into the bottom.
FWIW, I also experienced headshake and after trying several simple things already mentioned, opened up my steering head bearings. Mine still had grease, but the marks on the races are more significant than the ones pictured above by Rapid Dog. So far the project has been relatively smooth, but getting the races out of the frame is proving to be a challenge. There's only a very small lip on the race that protrudes, so it's pretty tough to bang it out with my cold chisel. Anyone found something that works?
O.K., this is what I use. I happened to have one in my special tool drawer. It's a very clever tool designed for just that problem. Designed for use on BMWs but it worked fine for the Husky. The 'split ring' hard steel washer knocks down inside the race and retains it's shape once inside. Line it up evenly and center so it catches the lip of the race and turn it out with a wrench. Cycle Works - STEERING HEAD OUTER RACE BEARING PULLER- BMW's 1970 and LATER - $49.00 I didn't take a pic of the race removal but this one is the same principle, once you get the kit it's common sense. You use the large collar shown above between the steering stock and the pu;lling nut/washer also above. The tapered bolt holds the split ring washer. I used the same set of nuts/washers and threaded stock and old bearing race to install the new races.
Other than that, as far as removing and replacing the bearing and race on the steering stem, I did exactly what these guys show.... View: https://youtu.be/_Ozfh93CvBs
Thanks mate! I've got one more trick up my sleeve, but then I'll be sending off for that puller. Looks perfect!
If they're really stubborn, like mine were, use a TIG or MIG to weld a bead around the inside of the race and it will fall out before you get all the way around.
Yep, this is the method I used only just heated one spot in the furthest forward part of the race cherry red with the TIG torch (small oxy/acetylene torch will work too) and let it cool. This will give it a place to collapse under the tension. It comes right out. If the oil tank freaks you out, just drain it and drop some dry ice pieces in and wait for the CO2 vapor (it will look like smoke) to start coming out of the oil fill hole. This will deplete the oxygen and make it safe for heating. For the bearing on the lower stem, cut off the cage and do the same. It will expand under the tension. I pressed mine off to save the seal, but it was stubborn. I removed all my powder coating and the bearings still went in hard, so RD and other members who discovered this before are correct that they did not take the coating into consideration.
Sorted... After the head bearings done and the GPR installed this is a pretty well behaved bike. Didn't really need the stabilizer but it is a nice addition anyhow.
