Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey all - long time no visit...
I'm curious as to what the symptoms are of a failed head stem bearing?
I was riding on the weekend after having the bike stored for 6 weeks and whenever I braked on a slight angle, I was experiencing slight brake shudder through the bars/ brake lever.
I have checked the tension of the caliper bolts, handlebar mounts, top yoke bolt, fork bolts, rotor glazing, pad thickness and even checked wheel bearing play.
I doubt my 1000km old front Pilot Power has flat spotted from being stored, but could be a culprit?
I do not have the facilities to lift the front end off the ground & am curious if anyone could offer suggestions as to what might be the issue?

Cheers.

Daz.

Put the bike on its side stand and stand on the left of the bike. Pull the bike towards you so it leans on the stand. The front should lift and the bike will ballance against your hip. Getting a friend to help may be a good idea. Once the front os in the air turn the bars lock to lock. If the head stem bearings are shot the will be a knotchy feeling at they turn slowly side to side, usually with a big notch in the centre.

Other causes of ur shake could be warped discs, or rusted discs grabbing ( A good ride will cure that), yes the tyre could be falt spotted if sat on concrete in 1 spot for months, but you'd feel that riding, not just on the brakes. If could also be where the fork oil has seperated over time. Pump the fork up and down hard and see it the problem is better or not.

Thanks for the reply, photomike.
I rode relatively hard for about 5 hours, so any potential flat-spots or fork oil 'seperation' would've been well & truly eliminated.
I will try the side-stand trick for the stem bearings...