Head/steering bearings

Jody, have you got a floating front disc? check that for ticking noises on free play, mine made that noise over bumps. I went thru checking wheel , head bearings but it ended up being that

 

If it is found to be the head bearings I would be inclined to have the taper ones fitted. Just had it done on my old Sprint and the difference is amazing.
Some years ago I did my own on CB750 and again it was so much better.
Dont do it myself these days tho,lol

 

When I mentioned mine to Steve Jordans, they said it is highly recommended to use the Triumph bearings on the yoke, they have been issues with other after market types that just don't sit right!

Apparently mine is showing the first stages of needing wear but I am hoping to get a few more miles in before I do.
There is a vood video done my Delboy

Linky

 

I did mine on my 2008 America, yes it's well worth doing, even if it turns out to be floating disc making the noise ! If your model triumph is like the America, the bearings could be a weird size! One of my headstem bearings was 26mm and took a lot of searching to find, genuine is quicker but costlier, OEM bearings were just under three times dearer than the timkin ones. The Aussie price for set of top and bottom was $96 timkin was $24 bottom and $18 top. OEM bearings aren't necessarily the best available, found that out 30yrs ago on my 1983 RGS 1000 Laverda. OEM wheel bearings were ridiculous price and not as good as several different after market ones at 1/4 the price!!!
The tapered needle roller bearings can be adjusted to have preloaded and hence absolutely no play/movement except rotational !! Makes steering much more precise and gives better feed back when you ride harder into corners.

 

As RT said here is Delboys garage video showing how to replace head bearings. Like a lot of these mechanical jobs, not difficult just need to be prepared and take your time:

 

Nope, when I took my bike in for a Dyno Run, they mentioned the head bearings had a slight give in them, and recommended genuine bearings, they arn't a Triumph dealer and they knew I wouldn't take my bike there for maintenance as they were 45 miles from me. I beleive it was a genuine recommendation from their experience.

However, it isn't something I will be doing this year, maybe come spring.

 

May sound daft, but I had almost the same thing. get on bike, stand it up and it clicked. rocking it forward and applying front brake it clicked head bearing did need doing so I did em amd it still clicks I've a good friend who's a bike mechanic. he is convinced it's the forks. Maybe worth a look?

 

My next door neighbour recently bought a 2 yr old explorer from a dealer, had a knocking noise coming from front end, took it to steve Jordan's in leatherhead and found head slightly loose!!! and recommended a heavier grade fork oil

 

Hi Jody, do you know how to check front bearings ? Put bike up on stand, secure it or have a mate hold it steady. Take hold of the bottom of both fork legs pull/push firmly you are looking for movements , you will feel if the bearings have any play, next test rotation, grip bars and turn from left to right one lock to tother, if notchy or tight loosen or replace, to check wheel bearings grasp top and bottom of wheel from one side push top / pull bottom and vice versa, should be no play/movement at all.
Any serious movement detected is bad, should be minimal to nothing and smooth when rotating, spin wheel if in doubt ! If the wheel always stops in one position it is out of true balance ! Heavy spot will always be at the bottom.

Cheers .

 

Replacing head bearings can definitely be a DIY job, but it's important to diagnose the source of the ticking noise first. Once you've confirmed that the noise is indeed coming from the head bearings, you can decide whether to replace them with OEM parts or go with roller bearings. Here's a breakdown of both options:

 

@jannick you do realise this thread is from 2016 don't you so the contributors may no longer be about?