Here's what I have: my 1980 750 LTD rode great 2 summers ago. Fork oil needed changed last summer so I swapped it out before doing any riding. When I started riding it the front end was 'head-shaking' whenever I hit a bump and was really bad in a corner. I put thicker oil in the forks when I changed the fluid with the hopes of increasing the rebound damping. I assumed this was causing my problem so I parked the bike until I could get to it.
This spring I finally had some time to deal with it. I pulled the forks, changed the fluid and began reassembling. While I was putting the forks back in I noticed that my handlebars 'snapped' into position when the wheel was pointed straight ahead. AHA! dented bearing race right?
Pulled the stem apart and found that the grease that has been in my bike for 30 years has been collecting dust and solidifying on the races. Spent some time cleaning as much of the old grease off as I could. Some of it was really on there!
Put the bike back together and test rode it last night. All head shake is gone in a straight line but it is still present (not nearly as bad though) in a corner.
I have a spare set of races laying around, and the balls all looked to be good should I decide to tackle this again. But, I know some guys have put tapered roller bearings into their bikes (other brands) instead of the old races/balls setup. Has anyone done this to their bike yet? If so, what did you use for bearings?
I suppose if no one else has done it I will have to go out and measure some things and try to track down a bearing.
