Steering Stem Re-Torque Question

[strawbobrob]

Hey y'all smart guys,

I replaced the steering stem bearings and races, and as you know, that requires taking the whole front of the bike apart and reassembling .  I've put 1500 miles on the new setup and per what I've read here, it's time to re-torque the steering stem adjustment nut.  The question is, what is the best procedure.  Do I put it on the lift and pull it all apart again so everything's exactly the same as when I torqued it the first time, or can I just leave the bike off the lift, remove the handlebars, the Steering Stem Nut, washer, top bridge, locknut, and lock washer, and re-torque?  Since I remove the top bridge, do I have to realign the forks (I assume not, but checking).  Also, should I "re-seat" the bearings by going to 30# first as I did before, or do I just torque to the final spec of 12#?  It's so smooth and great now that I do NOT want to screw it up!!
Also, philosophical question for the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance types-- why do I have to re-torque anyway?  I didn't see it in the manual, and nobody bothered re-torquing the steering stem adjustment nut after it came out of the factory brand new, right?  Why would it be different?  This question brought to you by my engineer brother in law.

[Ricky-D]

If the front end feels good and has no obvious slop, I would suggest leaving it alone and doing nothing.

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[hubcapsc]

If the front end feels good and has no obvious slop, I would suggest leaving it alone and doing nothing.

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I want to believe what Ricky-D says, 'cause the manual doesn't say anything about re-torquing, and
it seems like you would have to take most of that stuff off again to do it right.

The manual sez to torque it way down to I-forget-a-whole-bunch to get everything seated good,
then loosen and torque down to the-right-amount, then put that fancy lock washer on there... seems
like after all that it wouldn't get any slop in it until it wears out again... I'm also trying to decide whether
to dig back down into there to re-tighten next time I put on a new front tire, but my bike "feels" great as
it is...



-Mike

[ValkFlyer]

If the front end feels good and has no obvious slop, I would suggest leaving it alone and doing nothing.

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I also agree, I replaced mine about 7K back, I've put it on stands twice since then to check for play and there is none, I'm not messing with it until I notice different.

[Patrick]

If it ain't broke, keep fixing it till it is.. Why re-torque them ?? Who said that ?? If they were set properly to begin with, they should be fine for a nice long time.. If you're concerned about it, just hook a spring scale to them.. 1 3/4- 2 1/4 # to start the forks turning is good.. You only need a small load on those bearings..

[Trynt]

During a how to session at Inzane X, Daniel Meyer said the steering head should be re-torked at 10K.  If you have exceed that interval significantly and are not having problems, leave it alone or you risk creating "hunting" problems.  He said if properly re-torked at 10k, the bearings should last the life of the bike.

[strawbobrob]

Ok, so that's pretty good consensus and I thank you.  I will leave it alone for now because it does feel great--like it used to feel.