teebrunz Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 I installed a GPR steering stabilizer yesterday. When I took the bike for spin afterwards I noticed a shake in the bars. At fast speeds, even hitting bumps in these horrible NJ roads it doesnt happen. But bumps at slow speeds and coming to a stop I can visibly see and feel my display and bars move forward a touch. When i have the bike on my rear stand and push up and down on the bars it doesn't happen. But if i just slowly roll forward with my feet and hit the front brake it moves. Monday I'm going to have someone closely look while i make it happen, cause i cant see whats actually moving when im on the bike. I know I tightened everything back up. Anyone else have this problem? I remember people talking about some bar wiggle, so they put washers under their bar mounts to firm it up. But this is a new problem for me. Maybe the bar mounts that came with the GPR have some give to them where they sit on the triple tree? Cause I know they're tightened down good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djfz07 Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 The GPR mount replaces the rubber OEM mount so the bars are solid to the upper triple. It sounds to me like the steering stem nut is loose. Would be hard to see on a stand but with the weight of the bike moving at speed, it will show hitting bumps and coming to a stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossrider Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 8 hours ago, djfz07 said: The GPR mount replaces the rubber OEM mount so the bars are solid to the upper triple. It sounds to me like the steering stem nut is loose. Would be hard to see on a stand but with the weight of the bike moving at speed, it will show hitting bumps and coming to a stop. Put the front up on a head stand. Sit in front of the bike and grab the lower fork tubes near the axle. Pull forward and backwards while carefully watching the steering stem, top and bottom. You'll also feel some wiggle/clunk if it's loose. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Check their mounting for sure but if they flex and go back I wouldn't be too alarmed, mine do that. I've noticed that the bars on this bike flex easily, they seem to be a soft metal. I've had other bikes with similar soft bars which can be a good thing if you drop a bike and bend the bars, they bend back easily. Hopefully, that's all it is with yours. Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 (edited) Okay guys, thanks. I was afraid its the steering stem. I didnt have the right size wrench for that. My friend who I trust working on my bike more than me was able to break that nut loose with a smaller spanner wrench and a rag to not scratch it up. He tightened it back to how he thought it felt. Can you over tighten that nut? Anyone have a link to the correct wrench i should get for that? Also, i have a set of renthal ultra low's that i put on a few months ago. So its not the bars thats the problem. This movement happened just after the install of the GPR Edited June 16, 2019 by teebrunz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator mjh937 Posted June 16, 2019 Global Moderator Share Posted June 16, 2019 I would suspect the nut is not torqued correctly. I would not replace that without torquing it properly as it is a very important component. Here is the correct value from the service manual. I am also curious what the bike was doing that made you install the damper in the first place. I have had no problems with my steering at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 1 hour ago, mjh937 said: I am also curious what the bike was doing that made you install the damper in the first place. I have had no problems with my steering at all. I ride a lot of highways with horrible surfaces (pot holes, bad patchwork) and traffic doing 80mph. So i invested in the GPR to help keep the bike more stable in these conditions. I had the bars go back and forth on me about 3 times when i hit a rut in the road doing about 55. The thought of that happening again doing 70 with cars on both sides of me influenced me to spend the $500 and see if it will help. Thanks for that diagram. In the back of my head i was certain that nut needed to be torqued down to spec. I came across a thread from 2015 where someone linked a wrench that fit this nut with a square peg for a torque wrench to fit. Otherwise how do you get it right? The directions that came with the GPR were horrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 I did take the bike for a ride around town. Is it possible I damaged the bearing while doing so with that nut not correctly torqued down? My bike has 5,000 miles on it, should i re-grease the bearing when remove everything to retorque the nut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator mjh937 Posted June 17, 2019 Global Moderator Share Posted June 17, 2019 2 hours ago, teebrunz said: I did take the bike for a ride around town. Is it possible I damaged the bearing while doing so with that nut not correctly torqued down? My bike has 5,000 miles on it, should i re-grease the bearing when remove everything to retorque the nut? I think you would need to ride for quite a while to hurt anything. If you did not grease the bearings before then definitely do it, otherwise your are just replacing almost new grease, which is not necessary. I would check a local auto parts store to see if they have the socket you need in their loaner to program (I have borrowed specialty tools for my car before, take the nut down and see if there is a tool that will work. It may save you having to buy/make/improvise one.) Good luck and keep us posted with your progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylerhsm Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 If you've damage the bearing, you'll need to replace it. You definitely can overtighten the Part 5 nut, but not the nut that sits above the top triple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) I bought this tool for the nut. Yamaha Steering Head Ring Nut Wrench, Yamaha Stryker Yamaha Steering Head Ring Nut Wrench. I saw it referenced on another thread here. But will i get an accurate torque with this? Since the torque wrench sits back on the tool and not right above like it would with a socket. I work on a golf course, and my mechanic would have various types of bearing grease for all our equipment. Would i be good using some of that if i wiped the current grease clean off the bearing? or should i look into what is recommended? Also can someone explain to me why I would need to regrease the bearing? Does opening it up and exposing it do somthing to the grease? Or are you just saying its an opportune time to grease it since im right there? Cause obviously if I hadnt added the stabilizer I never would have thought to regrease it for another xxxx miles. Edited June 17, 2019 by teebrunz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djfz07 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) That tool looks just like the tool Yamaha specifies for removing and installing that nut so I'm sure they took that into account when they came up with the torque values. I have a similar tool but mine is adjustable and has a full handle in addition to the 3/8 hole for a torque wrench. I set mine according to the manual and it's been good. When I installed my GPR, there was actually very little factory grease on that bearing so I added more. Think I used Belray grease. My bike only had about 2000 miles on it too. FYI, my GPR was pretty stiff brand new, even on the lowest setting, but has since loosened up and I keep mine right around the middle of the range. So check that the steering moves back and forth smoothly before you mount the stabilizer. Edited June 17, 2019 by djfz07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbo10 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I believe Yamaha are very sparing with the grease on this bike. Just do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 3 hours ago, djfz07 said: That tool looks just like the tool Yamaha specifies for removing and installing that nut so I'm sure they took that into account when they came up with the torque values. I have a similar tool but mine is adjustable and has a full handle in addition to the 3/8 hole for a torque wrench. I set mine according to the manual and it's been good. When I installed my GPR, there was actually very little factory grease on that bearing so I added more. Think I used Belray grease. My bike only had about 2000 miles on it too. FYI, my GPR was pretty stiff brand new, even on the lowest setting, but has since loosened up and I keep mine right around the middle of the range. So check that the steering moves back and forth smoothly before you mount the stabilizer. Glad you said this cause even on 0 it felt stiff, especially maneuvering at very slow speeds. But that may also be cause I have that steering head nut torqued down too much. Patiently awaiting the wrench.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 22, 2019 Author Share Posted June 22, 2019 UPDATE I got the specific wrench in today for the steering head nut. Torqued it down to 38lbs, backed it off, torqued it back to 13. Got everything back together. The whobbling I had was gone....however now the steering is way too stiff. Like unrideable stiff. Not sure what to do. I guess I will remove the stabilizer and see if it’s still stiff to make sure it’s not a problem with that. And then I guess back off the nut a little. I imagine I just need to find the sweet spot where I don’t get a wiggle and the steering isn’t too tight. I don’t get it. The nut was loose but the steering felt a little stiff, even with the stabilizer on setting 0 (I’m not sure if it’s supposed to feel stiffer on 0 than without it on at all). Now the nut is torqued to spec but the steering is way too tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 22, 2019 Author Share Posted June 22, 2019 I noticed my dust cap moves with the steering nut when I turn my bars (not sure if that’s supposed to happen or not). The stabilizer bracket wraps around the dust cap and there was no torque setting for that in the directions. I am wondering if that bracket/collar is too tight around the dust cap and causing too much friction when that is trying to move. But I’m not sure how much I can loosen that and have the stabilizer function properly. Really just bad installation directions from GPR for a $500 part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djfz07 Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 That dust cap turns with the bars and it's normal. Yeah remove the stabilizer and check that the steering stem itself isn't too tight (I did the same thing). There seems to be a little break-in period for these stabilizers. Brand new, my GPR had resistance to it even on the 0 setting. It'll loosen up over the next thousand miles or so. If I set mine to zero now, there is no resistance at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 ANOTHER UPDATE Before I took everything off again I decided to just take off the stabilizer. The bike now feels fine. The stem nut is not too tight after all (which makes sense because I torqued it to spec). However with the stabilizer off I noticed that when I turn the peg that sits in the bracket with my hand that the setting dial moves as well. I don't think this should be happening as then when you have the bars turned you dont know what setting your on. I'm led to believe that this thing is stuck on a stiff or stiffest setting. Like i said the bars were so hard to move back and forth I couldnt even leave my parking lot. I called Revzilla who I purchased the part from and they quickly referred me directly to GPR and said they don't deal with GPR warranty issues. I called GPR and no one picks up the phone, mailbox is full. Sent them an email stating that the resistance on the stabilizer is too much and a video showing that the setting dial is moving back and forth. I have yet to hear anything back. Hoping they resolve this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longrider1951 Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Stop fixing things that aren't broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator mjh937 Posted June 26, 2019 Global Moderator Share Posted June 26, 2019 4 hours ago, longrider1951 said: Stop fixing things that aren't broken. It sounds like he has a pretty good reason for "fixing" it. Definitely better than the usual "that is what the races have" reason. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 26, 2019 Author Share Posted June 26, 2019 (edited) 13 hours ago, longrider1951 said: Stop fixing things that aren't broken. 8 hours ago, mjh937 said: It sounds like he has a pretty good reason for "fixing" it. Definitely better than the usual "that is what the races have" reason. Yea, I didn't buy this thing because I thought it looked cool or because I race on the street. If you ride in north Jersey you would know why I purchased it. But now it makes my bike unridable, so I have it off. Still have their supplied bar mounts installed which raise my bars maybe 3/4", which I wasnt crazy about but certainly am not with no stabilizer underneath. And I get no response from the company and no assistance from the retailer I bought the product from who apparently doesn't stand by anything they sell. Edited June 26, 2019 by teebrunz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longrider1951 Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 What retailer did you buy it from and what distributor did they order it from? If the retailer won't help I may be able to give you the distributors phone number so you can complain directly to them. They are usually pretty responsive. I live in the NYC area and our roads are no better, I've never experienced handlebar shaking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teebrunz Posted June 27, 2019 Author Share Posted June 27, 2019 1 hour ago, longrider1951 said: What retailer did you buy it from and what distributor did they order it from? If the retailer won't help I may be able to give you the distributors phone number so you can complain directly to them. They are usually pretty responsive. I live in the NYC area and our roads are no better, I've never experienced handlebar shaking. I bought the part from revzilla and they told me they do not deal with GPR warranty issues. I’m not so sure this is a warranty issue as it seems the thing has been faulty out of the box. They gave me the number to GPR but no one picks up the phone and the mailbox is full. So I sent GPR a detailed email with a video of what the stabilizer is doing. I sent the email on Saturday and they have yet to get back to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longrider1951 Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 That's the problem with buying online. I work at a dealership and if there's a problem we return it to the distributor we order it from and order you another. You are our customer and we are the distributors customer and both sides want to satisfy their customer. Sometimes brick and mortar is your friend. Where you're at now you might as well complain to the mailman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djfz07 Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 The dial turns with the stem on mine and it adjusts fine. Again, mine had resistance when new on the zero setting but has settled just right. Zero setting has no resistance now. I'm in South Jersey if you'd like to meet up and check it out. Feel free to pm me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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