how to tighten up steering?

so the steering on my 550 is pretty loose, if i have the bike on the side stand the slightest nudge will send the handlebars flying to full lock. not good. this makes the slightest movement from me make the bike move while riding which makes the steering squirrely.

how can i tighten up the steering? from what i can tell the head bearings are fine, there's no binding or anything from full lock to full lock, its just really loose. i read the haynes but it wasn't much help. what do i do?

 

Are you sure the steering is OK?

Elevate the front of the bike, and kneel in front of it. Grab both front forks and try to move them fore/aft. You should have NO play.

With the front still elevated, hold the forks centered, and let go. Give the bars a gentle push in either direction (test both) they should fall smoothly to each side. Gently move the bars through full steering lock, and "feel" for a "detent" at the straight-ahead position.

The bars WILL seek full lock when the bike is on the sidestand, that's just geometry and physics at work.

The steering head IS adjustable, but you might want to use a 550 book; the Haynes is for the 650/750s.

 

ive done all that. the forks aren't loose, there is no binding from lock to lock. i just sometimes get the mini tank slapper handlebar shake when coming to a stop like when you're trying to keep a bicycle steady going at slow speeds

 

Front tire cupped? Replace front tire

 

front tire is maybe 3 months old

 

you don't have some of those ape hanger bars that puts the grips at shoulder height do you ?
how slow are you trying to go ?

 

Have you checked th swing arm bearings for tension/wear, they can be th cause of what you describe as 'mini tank slap' as well. I had similar to that and re-tensioning th swing arm stopped it.
Maybe the disk has a warp in it, when checking th front end off th ground ..give th wheel a spin .. and eyeball th disk from straight on at th front, th wheel rim as well and from th side watch for seating of th tyre bead on th rim.