minor low speed sway

i just got done doing my fork seals and had to get a stop nub built back up on my triple tree. the rubber seal was not damaged so i doubt it got enough heat to it to ruin the triple tree bearing. front and rear wheel both had new bearings installed and i put it all back together and took it for a ride. once with the triple tree nut being tightened pretty tight and still a minor sway. then i went ahead and torqued it to the manual spec of 9lbs. still a slight sway. only noticeable when not on the throttle. the triple tree bearings were done a year or 2 ago and were fine up to the point of having to tear the front end down. any ideas on what it can be?

 

put bike on center stand turn forks full left and right see if you feel a bump.

are you sure you forks are in alinement when you reinstalled them.

swing arm bearings
proper tire inflation?

 

yep i've felt for bumps when the forks were super tight and i couldnt feel anything. the forks are what seem to be even going by the spacing on both compared to the top clamp. i dont see how it'd be the swing arm when it was fine when i put it up for winter. and as for tire inflation they did it at the shop i had the tires balanced at now im hoping they set it to the right psi i suppose i might as well check(i'd hope they know how to do a gauge considering they drag race bikes lol). and maybe loosen the fork pinch bolts and bounce it a little to see if they change at all then re tighten. im literally baffled. i've looked over everything on the front end. only thing i can think of is fork alignment and or tire inflation.

 

you should check your own air and set to the weight the bike is carrying from manual
does this help from xj900f 83 to 84 is this the correct bike

 

last step

 

Not to discount the headstock bearings as a cause, but have you ever done anything to the swingarm bearings? Just because they were fine before does not mean that they are fine now.

When you did the headstock did you use ball bearings, or did you switch to rollers?
If you used balls, did you replace the races?

 

check tires when cold

 

yup i did everything specified what you linked in the manual pictures. i have a manual myself for my bike. and i did not feel any play at all with it. as for bumps imma do a more thorough test tomorrow along with realigning the forks with bouncing it. yea i have my psi's on the neck of the bike that i asked them to set them at. 32 front and 42 rear which ill be going over again tomorrow.

the headstock bearings are roller bearings and yes new races were installed with them when i did them 1-2 years ago. as for the swingarm i have not touched them or tested them for play.

honestly having high suspicion on the alignment. they look even but could as well be uneven.

now correct me if my thinking is wrong but wouldn't the sway still be there if the swingarm bearings were bad while under accel? because i only really feel it when the front end gets weight on it from decel or at a crusing speed.

 

i figured it out. was just about 3-4 turns too tight on the headstock (i was never good with going by torque settings). can probably go a little more loose on them and they'll be perfect. thanks for the input though guys

 

That's a lot of turns.
Were you going by the torque values in the manual? Roller bearings have a different preload requirement.

Here is how I set mine.
Place the bike on the centerstand and weigh down the back so the front tire is free to spin.
Tighten the lower headstock jam nut until the bars are able to remain pointed straight ahead, but will tip to one side with light finger pressure at the end of the bars (check in both directions).
Lock the upper jam nut to the lower jam nut.
Ride to confirm. You may find that another 1/4 to 1/2 turn is needed.
Recheck after 100 miles, then again after 500.

 

Yea I was going by manual torque setting.I went ahead and loosened till I could move the head stock up and down and tightened from there where it would not move up and down. I went maybe a turn tight from there but when I tightened my handle bar nut it would tighten it too much. I have been going by the handle bar drop. It still isn't quite falling as wanted which is where I come up with just a hair looser will do it