Steering Head Torque

flatrack said:

Thanks! Have you checked yours? What's the torque setting?

Click to expand...

I have not checked mine, but checking is the simple part because it's as crude as blocking up the bike and grasping the forks and gently rocking the front forks and moving them from right to left. Any looseness or binding and you skip to the head adjustments.

Head adjustment involves tearing it down to the lower spanner nut. You loosen that nut and retorque it to 52Nm or 38 lb-ft using the Yamaha steering nut wrench 90890-01403. It is basically a crows foot spanner wrench that allows you to use your torque wrench. I assume that the listed torque spec is based on the exact geometry of that Yamaha tool.

If you choose to tear down and grease the bearings, use a lithium soap based grease and reassemble with the lower spanner nut torqued as noted above.

That is the condensed version. You guys should jump on this Yamaha service manual before they become hard to get. I know it isn't cheap, but think of how often you drop $100 on other accessories without hesitation. I'm just saying....

Schu

So, I’ve been told by numerous dealers over here today that I can’t order a manual. Apparently, they aren’t available to mere customers any more, only the dealer techs, via some on-line portal. Maybe it’s fear of people attempting something themselves, bodging it, and then possible subsequent litigation. Who knows.....

Even when explaining its available in the US, and giving the part number clearly displayed on the front of the manual shown on a US eBay ad, no go. Apparently this is the case in the U.K. for all new Yam models over the past few years - MTs etc...... Ridiculous.

However......one lovely dealer, who has been asked by a customer for a workshop manual before (apparently, some owners DO still attempt routine maintenance, and give a **** how their machine works), told me that he is quite happy to download the manual onto a USB stick for me, providing I send him a copy of my V5 to prove I own the bike, even though he didn’t sell me the bike in the first place!

So.....potentially a result here! We may have access to an electronic copy shortly.
Ben

It's a pain in the backside, but I checked/adjusted the steering head bearing torque at about 2,000 and again around 5,500 miles.
The SCR's got nearly 8k miles now and has recently new Michelin Anakee III rubber:
Zero head shake when coasting down or at all, really and on a variety of pavement (concrete, asphalt, rain grooved concrete.)
Shocks are on the base setting as delivered and the only mod to the bike that *might* have any effect is the addition of SV650 bar end weights.
I don't think the weights have any effect one way or another, though.