need a tool

[rebelron]

Is there a source for steering stem sockets? Not just for the XS but any street bike. Every bike made has basically the same type of steering stem setup but I can't find a socket, not even a factory OEM tool for sale. There has to be a source somewhere, I have exhausted all my leads.

[pablosixfivezero]

um sears?

[dogbunny]

There is usually one for sale on eBay, for example:
www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-XS650-XS-650-STEERING-BEARING-TOOL-HEADSTOCK-TRIPLE-TREE-FORKS-YC-/300779224998?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item4607d6bfa6

[Burns]

40 bucks plus shipping. golly.

I just tap them with a punch/chisle/drift/flat blade screwdriver/socket extension/allen wrench socket/ nail / etc etc. and a ball-peen hammer ("tap" not "smack")

I never saw a "special tool" that I didn't like though so maybe I'll get one when I win the lottery.

[5twins]

There's not really a torque value given for these, you set them by "feel". Setting the tension on steering head bearings if a "wrench and ride" proposition. You set them, road test, adjust some more if need be, road test, etc. until you get them adjusted properly. That socket is basically useless. What you really want is a pair of hook spanners, one to hold the lower nut at your adjusted position and one to tighten the upper nut against it. You must hold the lower nut from turning or you'll change the adjustment you just made. This is where the "hammer and punch" method falls short. Eventually, tapping the top nut turns the bottom one with it.

[Burns]

I tap the bottom bolt to the place where the folks pass the tightness test. Then I snug the top bolt down. Its only funtion is that of a "jam" nut, i.e. to secure the lower nut.

When the bottom nut starts turning with the top nut, IMHO, the nuts are jammed tight enough to perform that locking function. Stop tapping.

But, not marring the nuts with an impact tool is a benefit of using spanners.

[xsleo]

I get the lower nut set where I want it then use a mid sized pair of Channel locks with one jaw in a notch of the lower nut, one in a notch of the upper. I then squeeze the handles to lock the two nuts together.
Doing it this way minimizes any chance of damage too the nuts and is an easier tool to find locally. And can be used for more than steering head nuts and shocks.
Leo

[rebelron]

A real lack of new ideas here. Have been using a punch and modified chain wrench for years, will keep tapping away.

[primus]

Here ya go, you'll need two. wrench.automotiveonsale.com/CheapPrice/Ohlins/Shock/Spanner/Wrench-B00415XAH0/

[kopcicle]

When I had a couple of steering stem nuts in my hand years ago I had the need for a tool and no money . I did however have an abundance of time and a torch , rotary file/die grinder , saws, files ...
It ended up looking a lot like the mono-shock preload adjusting tools you see all the time . Remember I started this when tapered needle rotor bearings were found on automotive spindles and loose ball bearings were used in bicycles , and motorcycles.
I would assemble the steering head and use a "fish scale" as an preload indicator. The usual experience for a "correct" preload was no resistance , add a few degrees of preload , get a little resistance for several degrees , go just a few degrees more and find the spot where the resistance increased rapidly . I ran my head bearings at or near where that greater resistance to turning the head began and had little or no problems. The one exception was the several times I didn't get the races seated in the neck . I just don't feel comfortable using a punch to get to that spot .

You will feel a noticeable click or shake under braking if too loose and a tendency to weave if too tight . Any head bearing that has been ran loose for a period of time has peened the race and deformed the bearing resulting in scrap .

~kop

[Burns]

I certainly respect the more precise and craftsmanlike approach and readily admit that by Kop's standards I'm pretty "loosey-goosey."

I would add that a low-speed hands-off shimmy is often the tell-tale symptom of an inadequately tightend steering stem.

[pursang]

I'm cheap I'd probably make a socket if I thought it was necessary and it may be easier to use if you happen to have the top trippleclamp removed, but it's impractical, when adjusting steering head bearings the nuts only need to be "snugged" up tight but not so tight you have to beat the crap out of them to break them loose again, when the nuts are properly tightened you should still be able to move them slightly in the locked position without ruining the threads, as mentioned a pair of channel locks or small sharpnose visegrips is enough to lock them, I make the finer adjusments with the nuts locked in place, to tighten the bearings turn the bars all the way to the right and tap/turn the top nut, to loosen turn the bars all the way to the left and tap/turn the lower nut.
You'll know you have the adjustment right when you can do this, raise the front wheel off the ground and grab hold of the lower forks, you shouldn't feel any movement or clunking when pulling back and forth on the forks, if you do the bearings are too loose, if no movement is felt you can check for overtightening.
With the bars centered as you slightly turn the bars left or right the weight of the wheel should allow the bars to fall to the left or the right, if you need to push the bars all the way from lock to lock, the bearings are too tight.
After the bearings are set the top trippleclamp center bolt and pinch bolts can be tightened.

[jetmechmarty]

$13 at Mike's XS. Buy two!

[5twins]

I have a Hozan C-205 (just like Goran uses) and another single hook spanner I got from McMaster Carr .....





My dealer had the Hozan hanging on the peg board behind his counter for ages, so long in fact that it left a dark spot on the board when he took it down, lol. He told me he sold them for use on the old Honda ignition switches back in the '70s. The price tag on it was something silly like $2.98 and he just gave it to me. Apparently he doesn't know they sell for $30 to $40 today, lol.