my honda cbf 125

[Lutin]

Yep, the twonks probably overtightened it

Off Topic -

Isn't "Twonks" a lovely word.

On Topic

Yep, I'd agree with that assessment too.

[hammers19]

so we all agree that thhe bearing r to tight and its got nothing to with break. so tomorrow the bike is going in for a warrently claim for the suposed warped front disk break which is causing me the problems. so how do i go bout telling them that i know the bearings r to tight? shall i just let them get on with is and c wot happends?

[twistgrip]

Hi Hammers, I take it we are talking l--gs here if you are in Harleston. First off get a straight edge (steel rule, ordinary ruler or you may have a knife in the kitchen that is straight) place the straight edge across the braking area of the disc and see if if it is flat. Do this in two or three places by rotating the wheel. Also look at the disc and see if it appears to bend over at all. You are only looking for a slight warp. Also if the forks were removed they may be twisted in the yolks so when your handlebars are straight ahead the wheel is pointing slightly to the left or right. I'm very suspicious of dealers especially if they view you as a soft touch. I come over to Norwich once or twice a week and I can make a trip to Flixton if you want me to meet you and see what I think. I'll even bring a few spanners if you like. Mail me on quarry112@ntlworld.com if you want a bit of support.

[hammers19]

would they need to removee the folks to do the head bearing?? sorry mate i aint got a clue. do u have msn has i can pass my hotmail addy over to u and chat to u on there has it alot quicker.

[hammers19]

and yes u r rite its gone to lings harleston

[twistgrip]

Sorry no msm. Yes they would need to remove the forks. Basically, remove the handlebars complete with levers and switches and lay them on a soft sheet on the tank. undo the big nut in the middle of the top yoke slacken the bolts that clamp the fork legs and tap the top yoke off (upwards). Undo the two castle type nuts that sit under the yoke and allow the forks to lower through the frame head stock. Sometimes it is easier to remove the front wheel and mudguard and get the fork legs out of the bottom yoke. Anyway once it's all apart there is a bearing at the top and bottom of the steering stem. The steering stem is actually the bottom yolk and stem assembley that passes through the head stock in the frame. There is no stigma to not knowing how this all works, we all had to learn. So as you will see there is a good chance that damage could have occurred to the disc and that the fork legs could be a little twisted in the yokes. Regarding the tightness of the head bearings, if you can jack the bike up a little to lift the front wheel off the ground the front wheel should move easily from side to side without deliberate pushing. And if you grasp a fork leg in each hand and push back and forth there should be no movement. Another poster mentioned the routing of the various cables which could affect movement a little. As a point of interest how old is the bike and how many miles. Offer of help is still there.

[hammers19]

the bike is just over a year old and has just done over 7500 miles. hoda have put the my problem down to the break being warped. how it has warped is beyond me has it woz fine before it went into the garage. and it only went into the garage because i was told i had a notch in the head bearing.

[twistgrip]

Ok, at such a low mileage the head race bearings should still have been ok. Have you been doing wheelies? that is sudden death for head race bearings. Secondly regards the disc warping it is possible that the brake caliper has become a little siezed and the brake has been partially rubbing the disc as you went along. this would lead to a build up of heat thus warping the disc. Whilst the dealer may be a bit suspect have you had the bike serviced at all? Regular maintenence is essential to pick things up before they screw things up expensively. What about Wheatley's or Sea star at Newton. they may help. Alternativly go back to Lings, ask to see the manager, stay calm and explain your grievence and see what he has to say. If you don't like what he says tell him that trading standards are very strict about vehicle repairs and that you will ask them to pursue your grievence. Lings, as far as I know, do have a pretty good reputation and I'm sure that if you keep your cool when complaining you would get a result. If need be print this lot off and take it with you. Good luck. I'm off to bed now!

[africajim]

Personally if I had a problem that I was unsure about the diagnosis I'd go elsewhere and ask for a 2nd opinion.
Everyone voicing their opinion on an open forum, of what might be wrong with no actual knowledge of the bike isn't going to help really. The headrace may be damaged from a couple of different causes, sitting on a sidestand for a lengthy period unused, water ingress, a LOT of wheelies done badly, just pure defective bearings, but without feeling the steering of the bike then checking the actual bearings I cannot comment. My Tiger needed new ones at 30,000 miles and 3yrs old. The cause? Water running in to the headstock
Brakes need to be checked out, not using them can, in turn, cause them to warp the disc. How? Simple, the caliper pistons can start to seize up and the resulting binding brake can heat the disc and warp it. It is possible the garage said the resulting binding brake "may warp the disc". I'm not trying to be the bad guy here but as an engineer I'm used to people complaining to my employer regarding statements I've made which are the result of simple misunderstanding.
Here's what I think any how, the disc may or may not be warped, I cannot say without checking it personally but a mate of mine ran an @T with a sticky caliper until it split the disc, dangerous? Damned right it was! Get it checked by aomeone with mechanical knowledge.
Pulling to one side? I'd say an alignment issue. If this occurred after a visit to the garage I'd say possibly something not quite straight, fork legs twisted in the yolks when tightened up? Options are either give them the chance to make good or go elsewhere and get the job assessed professionally.
Best of luck mate.

[hammers19]

cheers for that bit of advise mate. but no one has answered my question can a warked front disk break make the bike feel like it wants to lead to one side and make the steering heavy has honda say this is the cause and are putting a new disk break on the solve the problem. or are they just bringing in it so thag they can fix what they broke regarding tnhe head bearing and say they solved the issue with the break. will let u all no how i get on today as bike is in garage. please still pose reply of any avise thanks