You Need To Do This To Your Bike

TRAIN WITH ME ONLINE!👇🏼
club.themotoac...
SIGN UP FOR A CLASS NEAR YOU!👇🏼
tour.themotoac...
BUY MOTO ACADEMY MERCH!👇🏼
tour.themotoac...
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY!👇🏼
open.spotify.c...
LISTEN ON APPLE!👇🏼
podcasts.apple...
Instagram : @themotoacademy
#motoacademy

[@yukonjon5964]

hey guys. i been doing this on all my bikes for 35 years both MX and woods and i have some tips... if it's so tight that it feels notchy like he said, the bearings wont last long at all. yet if you don't get the stem bearings tight enough, you wont get the desired effect. its a very fine line. i went back and forth between liking the snug feel, but having the top stem bearing fail every season (was never notchy at set up)... to having it a touch looser than i liked, but then getting 3 seasons out of the bearing. i finally settled on the looser option to last longer, but by then it was all trail work not racing. rule of thumb to set it up is this... with the bike on a stand and bars to one side, give them a fairly firm flick with one finger and it should swing most the way to the other steering stop with out hitting it. if it hits the other stop it's too loose. its hard to quantify that force, but again, if you go just a bit tighter it will feel notchy, so that can be your guideline for overdoing it. absolutely do not tighten a stock bike that has never been apart to be greased, or the bearings will fail soon after. pull it apart and use marine grade grease or one that is stringy and resists water. use a ton of grease or they will fail sooner. won't hurt to have too much. pack the roller bearing till its full. the upper fork pinch bolts need to be loose during this set up. have fun.

[@MrBpritch100]

EVERY single stock bike on the planet that has not been apart and greased....needs to be torn down and greased. While your in there might aswell crank down that stem nut bcz boy oh boy, 25 years of racing with a tightened down bearing and NOT ONE has ever worn out pre maturely. Grease must be redone regularly or your stock loose floppy stem bearing will need done sooner than my cranked down ones! Cheers, happy to help!

[@silasandrews2352]

Honda damper and 90w oil don’t ruin your bearings

[@chrisban6007]

I recommend checking the torque specs for your bike and go up in small increments. I've seen the same recommendations about torquing the engine mounts too. It can give the frame different flex characteristics. Never tired that one though.

[@MrBpritch100]

Ive been on and off motos and hard on dh mtb for over 2 decades now. Have done this to EVERY last thing on two wheels way back to 1997 when i had 50cc. This is a goat move and will help anything on 2 wheel preform better

[@Thepianobird]

probably better to just get a damper. good vid none the less

[@MikeKGullion]

There can be variety in steering stem torque specs. For example, a supercross track with large jumps will be looser than a whooped-out sand track like Southwick with hardly any airtime.

[@yashar283]

never heard about this, but it makes sense id rather have stability in the bars, rather than super quick responsiveness

[@human1513]

Thanx. Will try it a little snugger as I am not a racer.

[@user-kn6tp4dr6b]

What handlebars do you guys recommend on the crf250 2022? m

[@Arcblood]

So 100% factory mechanics do this?

[@goinhot9133]

The bearings need a preload, it’s tapered. You shouldn’t ever over tighten it. Engineers wouldn’t approve

[@MrBennieL]

What’s the difference with KTM?

[@klaus5686]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. My 250sx is torqued to the max and it's still loose.

[@redball4093]

?

[@klaus5686]

Figured it out. You have to loosen the top triple clamp bolts to get it to tighten up. It makes sense because you are pulling the bottom part of the forks up, so if you have the top and bottom part of the triple clamps tight, then you will only get a little bit of movement. Somebody mentioned it to me, and as soo as I loosened mine, they clamped down almost exactly as tight as I needed them. Hope this helps.

[@yukonjon5964]

@@klaus5686 great point but that's true on all bikes not just KTM

[@goinhot9133]

Bad advice, they’re tapered bearings. They need a preload. Go by the manufacturers torque specs and manual. Don’t over tighten them like a tard, unless you don’t mind replacing them frequently. They should last a really long time, unless you do dumb dumb stuff

[@late828]

I´ve been told to set the torque that way, that when the bike is on a stand and you turn your bars straight, it stays there. But if you tap the bar end with your finger, the bar will start to tilt on it`s own. Now that i watched this, i`m definetly going to try to put it much tighter! Yeah, bearing isn`t supposed to be stabilizer, but who cares if it works! Great advice!👍👍👍👍👍

[@MrSuperflydude]

That's always the rule of thumb that I've heard from trainers and other riders

[@thedirtdigger5990]

It works, I've always gone with u should be able to move the bars with 1 finger but they stop when u stop, no matter where ir when u stop

[@goinhot9133]

Remember this when you’re replacing the bearings in no time. This is what ignorance looks like, giving bad advice about something they don’t understand.

[@thedirtdigger5990]

@@goinhot9133 😆 🤣 🤡

[@goinhot9133]

@@thedirtdigger5990 tapered bearings are engineered to have a preload range. Exceed it, or don’t tighten them enough, causes issues. It’s not complicated. Don’t over tighten them just because you want the bars harder to turn… Go by the manual & use the torque spec intended.

[@gouchmcdougal7831]

AJ , I’ve got my original barbed wire fox jersey. I’ll send you a picture. Luke 9:62

[@maxrpm2215]

Bearing is a bearing and not a stabiliser. Bearing needs to freely move if you find yourself tightening to aid your suspension you're on the wrong path.

[@thedirtdigger5990]

Lol tight doesnt mean it wont move freely but the bars shouldnt move on their own

[@nathanjackson5310]

I read a peice on GNCC Mike Witkowskis bike a couple years ago and this is exactly what that factory Yamaha team did. They just over-tightened the bearing

[@maxrpm2215]

If your a factory team then bearings are just a consumable and gets replaced anyone else its an extra spend that doesn't need to happen. Ive been working with bearings for 40yrs and i can tell you there should be next to no play and handle bars need to rotate to the stop with no freeze at all if it does its putting pressure on the bearing when there shouldn't be. The problem is compounded as they are taper bearings the same as in the front wheel of cars over tightening will produce heat and melt out the grease. When riding theres a large force on the head stem and with tight bearings it worse will lead to bearing failure regardless of the amount of grease applied heat isn't the issue in this case just bearing shock.

[@thedirtdigger5990]

@maxrpm2215 lol your way over thinking it and are actually wrong. They dont wear out that fast at all

[@TheLoopy989]

Nope. Every major mechanic and team does this. Suspension tuners etc. bearings are cheap.

[@gouchmcdougal7831]

And the one you are wearing is “sick”. I’m a Vet rider trying to sound like a cool kid. Luke 9:62

[@aaron337]

I learned nothing...