Steering bearing adjustment?

[JohnB1953]

Hello all This weekend I hope to get back on my '81 Trike project. I was told that to help the trike steer better back in the day they would torque the steering bearings to 25 Ftlbs to help get rid of head shake. My question is how far down does one have to go to tighten the nut? And can it be done without taking the top of the trees off? (the part that the handle bars bolt to). Thanks

 

[slabghost]

Sounds like a really bad idea to me. Over tightening the bearing to make them stiff to turn will cause uneven bearing wear and handling issues. For trike builds added rake or steering stabilizers are the recommended modifications.

 

[dan filipi]

Besides I think after putting the resistance in the steering it may make it harder to control and get out of the way.

 

[joedrum]

i think there is a sweet spot here ..being a trike ...theres a certain amounnt of torque cause by the trike and the specs torque of a bike mean nothing ....truth is the forks are a strait line no beef set up ...leading link forks like a lot of trike s use introduce beef or A frame stoutness to forks ...there the best period weather its a bike or a trike ....

but if it was me id find a sweet spot for the bearing torque and dont over do it ..and theres no doubt the bearing wont last in a trike like they would in a bike ....