So, thanks to smokinjoe who put this question in my head, and hasnt responded yet .... I am looking at getting a steering damper for my bike for after i get my suspension reworked by Jamie, I am doing a full set up, Spings, valves and shock, possibly a brace.

But smokinjoe raised the question of headbearings causing my issue and not the fact of needing a damper, could this attibute to my headshake in the harsh florida corners with alot of pavement changes/ small potholes/ uneven pavement?

If so, what should I check to figure out if i need to do them, as i said I will have the forks off to send to Jamie, if I need them I might as well do them at the same time.

The Bike has 22k on the clock also so its not a high milage bike, but I dont know how the PO rode it before me.

 

Well... It's an easy, cheap fix really... And the OEM ball bearings have a tendancy to wear or "pit" making the feeling both nothcy and sloppy, so I'd say it's worth while to swap in a pair of roller bearings, giving you at least as many trouble free miles ahead of you...

All ***** Honda VTR1000F Steering Stem Head Bearings Seal Kit 98 05 | eBay

 

+1 Tweety.

I have a damper on my CBR, but haven't felt the need to do it on the VTR - and I ride pretty hard.

Properly set up suspension + swapping to roller bearings does wonders for the stock front end.

 

+3 I agree with both of thee above.

 

Yeah, and if you want to see harsh roads, take a trip to the Brooklyn-Queens expressway. One motomag actually said "this road is not navigable by motorcycles" HA its my daily ride but not for the faint of heart.

Kind of looks like they are testing missles or Beruit or something.

Bearings are tedious but not hard.

 

Joe, you must have meant Beirut, Lebanon I thought that would be Bay Ridge Brooklyn or is it Brooklyns Gasa strip? Just kidding
New York roads are not for the faint of heart, that's why you need an XR650L or similar.

 

Yeah, Bay Root. Thats what I meant. War zone of some kind.

You know what I'm talkin about.

 

HAHA, well you definitely have us beat out here, I thought Louisiana was the only state with worse roads than us.

Thanks guys for all of your help, I guess since the bike will be down for a week or two any ways while Jamie does my suspension and I do my CCT's I will also make sure to replace the head bearings as well.

 

Hey sailor, yeah you should replace them anyway since crapped out ones will disguise many other things.

BUT dont ask me questions about how cuz I just wrote a small novel on how to for some other thread tonite so go look that one up.

 

Don't worry Joe, ( I know how to use the search function) I have already seen it, read it and saved it so if need be I can refer back to it if I get stuck for some reason. Thanks for the help.