Dropping front forks
 

After fitting a Metal Mule lowering link I raised the front forks through the headstock by about 15mm but the result on handling is horrible.

So I've loosened the bolts to drop the front forks back again but easier said than done. Is there a technique?

you will need a block of wood to put on the edge of the top of the forks and tap it with a hammer to move them down again

You also need to take the weight of the front end - jack the bike up under the bashplate (or a centre stand if you have one) - leaving the front wheel in place can actually help, as it will pull the legs back through the yokes - make sure they don't go too far though!

J x

Flippin' eck - than was my 1000th post! Good job it was a useful one!

J x

I'm now wondering whether it really is the raised front forks that are giving the weird feelings.

It's as if the front tyre keeps getting caught in a rut and when I've been going straight for a while the effect when I turn is much worse.

The bike was fine before being serviced in Spain and I put it down to the MM links or the change I made. But could it be something to do with steering head/bearings?

Have you checked the tyre pressures?

I have the same links leave the forks where they were. Dropping them will make it turn quicker

leaving the forks as they are and lowering the rear will really slow the steering down.. not sure what the MM links are but I assume 35mm ??

I'd start off by lifting the forks through 5mm or so and take it from there.. small changes in fork height make HUGE chages to handling/steering

When I dropped my forks down it made my steering really unstable over 50mph, so I put them back to normal and stiffened the back suspension 2 clicks on the spring, and it works fine now for me, turns quick enough and no wobble on the steering at high speeds.

I think you have just got to try and see what works for you, and ONLY DO ONE CHANGE AT A TIME, or else you won't know what fixed it.

Thanks for the assistance, eventually found a cycle shop in Morocco and put the forks back to where they were. Things are much better.

On the positive side I had the side stand shortened and a bigger footprint plate welded to the bottom. Cost me the equivalent of �1.

Oh dear, celebrations were premature. Looks like it is the steering head bearings. When I have the front wheel off the ground there's now a definite catch when I turn the forks.

If you can't get replacements straight away, maybe try turning the rollers through 90' and packing with some heavy grease? I know it's bodgery, but can sometimes be enough to get you out of a grind.

Might be worth slackening them off as well. Perhaps on the service they were overtightened.:icon_scratch:

steering head bearings
 

I am in the middle of a similar problem. My 09 Tenere has done about 12000 miles, I have only had it since last winter and did one ~1200 mile trip on it a few weeks ago. Since then I; replaced the swing arm (snapped chain....), put a new rear tyre on, put 4 way adjustable lowering links on (initially at the - 25mm setting - too low so changed to - 10mm) dropped the yokes down the forks 25mm.
Loaded up and set off for a trip. The bike was practically unrideable below say 30 mph, refusing to steer at really low speeds and resisting input then diving into the corner at moderate speeds. Seemed fine above about 50.
I turned round went home and reduced the forks to - 10mm and set off again. It seemed better so off I went. The handling just got worse and worse, really slow and it would not respond to input, especially stopping, like it was on a rail, only straight on possible, a bit faster (15 to 30 say) it resisted steering input and had to be forced and would only hold a line on a bend with significant positive throttle and super gentle input. Going up to 50 more of the same really, but a bit less violent if asked to do something it didn't want. Over 50 it was fine.
So I coped with this for a 600 mile trip - luckily it was dry - I think I would have been off it in the rain. It was very weird as a natural input got a wrong response and I had to react and correct very quickly, working out what to do....

Of course, so many changes I didn't really know what was causing the problem and maybe a mix. Very early on in the ride I had checked the tyre pressures and they were OK.

So when I got home I put the forks back to normal and had a very short ride round the block and it seemed OK. However.... last night I dragged it out to clean it and it wouldn't steer just being walked backwards.....

So I got the front end in the air and finally realised that the steering was dodgy, notchy and sticking, sometimes would move OK, then sometimes stick. Head bearings then. Pretty poor to have fialed so soon. I will order some and get it sorted, then we'll see if I can get the front a bit lower again - assuming it is OK once the bearings are in.

Don't think I have ever had to replace head bearings before. Will I be able to get the old ones off and new ones on OK myself, or is it a workshop job? Anybody got any other tips, general or specific to the Tenere please?
Paul

[quote=Tim Cullis;133030]I'm now wondering whether it really is the raised front forks that are giving the weird feelings. [quote]


I'm not surprised,,, you now have a chopper... you can't lower/raise
one end with out screwing up the geomitrey of the other..

If you have lowered the rear you have now got more rake & trail in the front..
To get it back to where it was before you fitted the links..
you NEED to lower the front the same amount.. you may need 30mm
bar risers to get the forks to slide though the clamps enough with out hitting
the handle bars..

Every 10mm in the rear link hole spaceing = 25mm drop in the ride hight..

steering head
 

so, I got the bearings changed and everything back together, but I confused about something, the manual says tighten the stem nut to 45nm and then the lock nut to 5nm (from memory). There is a rubber washer between the two, in the diagram and on my bike. I have not tightened the nut up like that, just nipped it so the forks move freely and no play. I feel as though the lock nut will not really be doing its job with the rubber washer in place and not tightened properly to the nut. Can anyone adivise (I am assuming the original bearings are different somehow, but I still can't see how you can tighten the stem nut up to 45nm.....)
Paul