Head bearing torque

[proze]

I reinstalled my triple this evening and attempted to use the torque values in the service manual. The bottom one was okay. 45Nm and then a quarter turn back. Nice and smooth. But the top one is specified at 80Nm but could never be that tight. It was suuuuper notchy until I backed it off to under 40Nm.

I know I have to measure the steering force with a scale after the handle-bars are on again, but does it sound okay so far? With the top nut that loose?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Bibio]

a lot of people have difficulty with this. the specified torque values in the manual are for fresh installed bearings to seat them properly. if the bearings have been in before you dont need to torque them. tighten the first lock nut finger tight with the socket then back off about 1/8 turn then install washer then tighten next lock nut till a tiny little play can be felt in the bearings. once done put the top yoke on and use the top nut to fully adjust the bearings play. once the forks are on then grab the bottom of them and give them a good pull front/back at intervals from lock to lock. no clicking or notchyness should be felt. dont worry about using a scale to measure resistance.

[proze]

Thanks for the info, Bibio, I appreciate you sharing your experience. I'll set it up as described, then.