Rook, I have looked in the how to section and elsewhere but cannot see ref to greasing or changing steering head bearings. If ive missed it you can curse me but if its not there please put this useless so and so right before work commences!

Sorry, Taffs. Steering head bearings is one I have yet to do. Maybe this winter, though. It's way overdue at 50k miles, I'm sure. No worse than last year though. I put less than 50 miles on the 14 this season. Still had a full tank of gas before I drained it to remove the tank for wire routing. There it sits...and just might stay until next spring. but it will be AWESOME and AMAZING at the start of next season!!!!

can't wait. OHH the stuff I will have to play with!!!

1. When the bearings are removed, check the race for divots. Shadow divots are one thing, indents are another. This is where the front end will drop into the divot and aim the front wheel straight ahead. It has to swing from lock to lock effortlessly.
2. The grease is high-temp type so it does not leak out under [the sun's] heat. Drop the bearing in the corner of a plastic sandwich bag. The grease already in the same corner; twist and press the grease into the cage. Finger grease the races with the excess remainder in the bag. Obviously you already cleaned the old grease from these parts and areas.
3. With the lower reassembled, walk the lower crown fore and aft to remove the knock. Once the play is out of the crown, you have to remember the threads are going to take a load [being pulled up] and take up more clearance. This is the most critical point of the assembly. Therefore you compensate for this and make sure the balls do not drag on the races. Once you have the front wheel off for disassembly, note how smooth this is so you remember how loose it should be. That's the trick.
4. Install both forks. Pinch one fork at the lower crown, pinch the other fork at the upper crown. This is another trick: where the 'thread-take-up' will float both upper and lower crowns so you don't bow the top crown>>> if you happened to tightened all the fork's pinchers. Loose as a goose when torqued is the swing lock to lock. Then pull the forks fore and aft to listen to any knock for looseness.
5. The third trick is to torque all the fork's pinch bolts down on the one fork. Next, take the front axle and install it into both forks. Loosen the one pinch bolt of the other fork. Next, float the one fork up or down so you can hand spin the axle thru the other fork. There's a sweet spot where the axle will spin almost literally with ease. Tighten that fork's pinch bolts and retest for axle float.... Done.

* Last updated by: Hub on 10/9/2017 @ 8:04 PM *

Rook, 50miles wow. Lets hope you get the chance to make up the difference in 2018.
Hub, is it necessary to release the fork tubes from the lower triple clamp or can both forks be lowered away as a unit once the bars, top triple plate etc are removed? Thanks for the tip on grease penetration.

Yes, no problem. I'd first make sure the axle enters smoothly into the other fork. Yes, there is a top fork measurement you should write down before removing any fork out of the crowns. Meaning, how much extends out of the upper crown. Since the fork has a narrower taper [for weight reduction] below the lower crown, you can't go past that to say, lower the bike down if you mount the bike and your tiptoes land on the ground; where if you lowered the bike more; you'd have flat feet now stabilizing the bike.

Make sure the front is elevated high enough to pull the tube out. 12" from bottom of fork to floor measured along the same axis as the the tube. I used a Pit Bull steering stem stand with a Hindle swing arm pivot stand. The front axle was about an inch higher than the rear with this setup which gave me more fork removal clearance.

I would measure how far the forks stick up out of the handle bar clipon. This is a bit "iffy" because the clipon is not flat all the way round but you will get a good idea and that is what you have to go on after you reinstall. Remove the clipon and then measure how far the tube protrudes from the top clamp. That is flat all the way around.

DO NOT CLEAN YOUR FORKS OFF. There will be dirt lines where the clamps and clipons contacted the tube and this makes very good reference for an almost perfect lineup when you reinstall.

After the top clamp and lower clamp are opened, twist as you pull down on the tube. You will be amazed at how smoothly it comes out because of those tiny ribs etched on the outside of the tube. I also used a wide blade screwdriver to twist ever so slightly so the lower clamp loosend up on the tube just a tad but I really do not know that that is necessary. DON'T twist very much on the lower clamp or it could get bent open. Flex if you must, don't bend.

As Hub mentioned, for final test of fork alignment after install, be certain the axle slides right through when everything is lined up. The fork bottoms do turn and that is always a problem gliding the axle through but pay extra close attention to this so you know your axle holes are lined up perfectly on both forks.

I have a tutorial on this but as most of them are, this one is without pics right now.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=75F9A379-9D70-6D92-0880F33EBC75D700

* Last updated by: Rook on 10/10/2017 @ 4:54 PM *

HUB/ROOK, your real names (utterly brilliant and outstanding on K) remain as true as ever guys. The 12inch tip saved a disaster. pleased to say bearings and races are ok, freshly lubed as HUB says and all back together. I guess you heard me talking to you as I was getting her back together!

Yep. So that was who that little voice in the back of my head was.