happy thanksgiving to one and all - idea and a question

[bill v e]

my wife is doing the garage sale thing and as i was backing out the interstate i saw my tires rolling in a  mirror we are (apparently) selling.  got me thinking - i may place a mirror behind and back from where i park so that i can do a quick visual check on my tires every time i back out.  since i ride almost every day all year long, i'm not so worried about it, but it seemed like a good idea for when i forget to check. 

question is - without a torque wrench, how tight would you describe the main stem bolt to be tightened?  i noticed just a little bit of "wavering" when high speed cornering and thought it was because of front tire needing replaced - with new front tire i still noticed it, so i checked the main stem bolt and was able to tighten it up a bit.  i still notice just a tiny bit of 'waver' and i know it would tighten just a bit more but i don't want to risk over tightening.

[9Ball]

maybe a hint to your Wife and "Santa" will bring you a new torque wrench....then you don't have to guess or risk screwing up your bearings...

good luck.

[John U.]

If you are tightening the chrome nut that sits on the top, you are not really tightening the steering stem. The chrome nut must be removed and a special socket (and torque wrench) is needed to tighten the castlelated nut. Check out this write-up: http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycle/text/shucking.html

[bill v e]

thanks - i should have figured it would not be that easy - will have it done right next time i have the bike with a mechanic i trust - i printed out the procedure from the link - thanks again

[Daniel Meyer]

And note that the Valk is VERY picky about condition and correct torque on the stem head bearings.

If they are loose, and the bike has more than about 20,000 miles, replace them. Follow the torque procedure in the VALK manual exactly, and retorque at 10,000 miles.