Sloppy neck bearing... Manual for my 02 California??

[s1120]

I got this bike last winter, and have been slowly sorting it out over the year. Well I just got the front end up in the air because I am replacing the tire, and fork oil, and notice a good amount of "chuck" in the steering head bearings. The bike has only 10K on it, and had 8 when I got it, so Im guessing its one of the ones with no grease in there. I dont have a workshop manual for this bike, so any good walk through on greasing and adjusting the bearing on line??  Also what are good manuals to have for this 02 California stone? Thanks for any help! 

[TOMB]

Try Greg Benders site' on this old tractor .

Yes its  read site.

Others will chime in..

Lots of manuals, more than you will ever need.

TOMB

[pehayes]

notice a good amount of "chuck" in the steering head bearings.

Is this clunk when the handlebars are dead center or elsewhere in the swing range?
If there is some race damage, you won't solve it by greasing.  You'll have to hammer out the old bearings and press in new ones.  Not too difficult except for disconnecting so many things.  You'll have to pull the forks out and remove the steering stem from the frame to properly replace the bearings.

Patrick  Hayes
Fremont CA

[s1120]

I dont think they are worn. They seem to pivot nice and smooth, just have the loose chuck to them..  Ill check to be sure when I disassemble the tripple trees.

[moto-uno]

  Should you decide to take the forks and trees off to inspect the bearings ( probably more than necessary ) it might be an idea to put a grease fitting in the
steering neck . First application takes a fair amount of grease , but pretty well is one of the last times you'll ever have to go in there :) . Peter

[PeteS]

I don't if they changed the design of the 02's but my '98 EV would let water into the steering head. Rusted bearings were common. After replacing the bearings I drilled the steering head for a zerk fitting and filled the tube with grease. Water proof trailer grease is best. There is no real seal at the bottom so some will oooze out but its not a big deal. Wipe it off occaisonally and add a bit more. The bearings will last forever.

Pete

[Tom]

Pretty basic motorcycle technology.  Nothing special.  Replacement bearings can also be found through bearing suppliers.

[Wayne Orwig]

Have you just tried to tighten it. Does it move smoothly?

[s1120]

Have you just tried to tighten it. Does it move smoothly?

It does seem smooth... Just loose. I guess so much reading about Guzzi's fear of using grease on the bikes, kinda scares me. :)   

[s1120]

Starting to tear into this..  So Im replacing the fork oil also while its all part, and I have normally loosened the fork caps before removing the fork. These caps on this are fighting me big time!!  I dont want to round/strip the caps, so I figure a step back and think was the better plan.  Are these normaly REAL tight? [its a cali stone, so no adjustment...just caps] Is there a trick im missing??  Its a low mile bike, so Im assuming they have never been off before, but all other bikes Ive had they came right off.

[Wayne Orwig]

No trick that I am aware of.

They top clamp isn't clamped down on the cap is it?

[Tom H]

I seem to remember something about loosening the top clamps to get the top nut loose. Might be worth a try.

Tom

[s1120]

I seem to remember something about loosening the top clamps to get the top nut loose. Might be worth a try.

Tom

Ill give that a shot thanks!  Ive not had the issue with other bikes in the past..  But with age comes wisdom, and now I like to step back and think before blindly heading forth!!! 

[s1120]

I seem to remember something about loosening the top clamps to get the top nut loose. Might be worth a try.

Tom

Worked!!  Thanks.  Now to move on to removing parts!!!

[Tom H]

Cool!

Tom

[s1120]

OK, something else....  The bike never came with a tool kit...  The front axle. I need to get a Allen key for it, but not sure of the size. I THINK its a 14mm...  thats what it looks like when I eyeball it with a wrench, but figure I would check you all..  I was looking for a bolt and some nuts to make into a tool... But all my stash is SAE and nothing was close.

[Noguzznoglory]

OK, something else....  The bike never came with a tool kit...  The front axle. I need to get a Allen key for it, but not sure of the size. I THINK its a 14mm...  thats what it looks like when I eyeball it with a wrench, but figure I would check you all..  I was looking for a bolt and some nuts to make into a tool... But all my stash is SAE and nothing was close.

You can use a torx bit on inverted Allen head if you happen to have some larger sizes of those. First time I changed a tire  on the front of my Breva I didn’t have the correct Allen but I managed to find a 60mm torx at the parts store

[s1120]

You can use a torx bit on inverted Allen head if you happen to have some larger sizes of those. First time I changed a tire  on the front of my Breva I didn’t have the correct Allen but I managed to find a 60mm torx at the parts store

I have used torx bits on allens before. They are a good tool to get out a rounded allen I have found.. But I dont have one of them either.

[BrotherJim]

14mm on my '02 CalStone front axle.

[s1120]

14mm on my '02 CalStone front axle.

It is, and I ended up finding one local  thanks all!!   


I also got the head adjusted. It was about a half turn off. I ended up not pulling the neck out. It seems well greased, and once tightened it turns nice and smooth and easy.  Ill attack that another day.