Steering Head Bearing Adjustment

By Dennis Santopietro

Q: Dear Fix My Hog, I will become a paying subscriber if you can give me some pointers. Somewhere to start with my issue. My problem is this: I have a 2009 Ultra Classic and it has been giving me issues with front fork wobble at low speeds or de-acceleration. You can also feel a sway to the left or right, depending on the road surface, when rolling over grooved pavement or raised lettering on the road surface. The dealer tried to tell me that this is normal to avoid stress on frame and so on….I don’t believe this to be true or it would have been wobbling right from the start. This was a gradual problem and it really concerns me. Can you help with that? Thank you. desert_dog A: Check the condition of your front tire. After checking for proper inflation, look to see if the tire is crowning. It should not feel, or look increasingly raised as you slide your hand over the top of the tire toward the center. Your low speed wobble is probably being caused by an incorrect steering head bearing adjustment. The clamp load on the bearings is too loose. We have complete videos on both of these topics. Everything you need to know about m/c tires and a thorough video on neck adjustment. There is no reason for your m/c to be wobbling, or drifting down the road. Check out our videos and do it yourself or look for a new dealership. Related Videos: Steering Head Bearing Adjustment

Share tips, start a discussion or ask one of our experts or other students a question.

Make a comment:
characters remaining

2 Responses to “Steering Head Bearing Adjustment”

  1. Rick

    I had the exact same symptoms on my 2016 CVO Limited after putting on approx 2000 miles. Went to the dealer, explained the symptoms and the dealer said the neck bearings needed adjustment. They were right. When I got the bike back, it was immediately apparent that was the problem, handling was so much better. BTW - dealer didn’t charge me for the adjustment.

  2. Bob

    Hi Guys, My '08 Ultra is at 50K miles, and the maintenance schedule indicates it's time for steering head bearing adjustment. I watched the premium video. Questions are: a) should the bearings necessarily need to be replaced at this point, or just adjusted, assuming no galling, or bad bearings? b) I assume the radio needs to come out, too, to get at the adjustments. Anything else I should know with a fairing up there, to be able to make the task as easy as possible? I know it is a tight space. Are there any detailed instructions for doing this on an Ultra? I do have the factory service manual, too, and will reference that, as well. Thanks, Bob