Removing handlebars to adjust steering head bearings

[Snakeoil]

Gee, not much activity here is there. I just noticed no posts since the last reply to my swapping shifter question.

Oh well, guess the world is not crawling with Indian Four owners. Probably a good thing, huh?

With spring here I'm anxious to dig into the 439. It really just needs a few things to be ready for the first ride.

I noticed when I was moving the bike that there appeared to be play in the steering head bearings. I'm very familiar with setting up steering heads and am anal enough to have a digital strain gauge from when I set up the new head bearinging on my track bike. My question is what precautions I need to take to pull the bars off to get to the spanner nut that adjusts the bearing tension. I pulled the giant acorn nut off the stem and removed the decorative cover (homemade and I need to make a better one) and see that the bars also support the top ends of the girder. Can the bars be removed without putting undue strain on the bottom attachment point of the stem/tree to the girder? I can see the spanner nut with the bars in place and might be able to make a spanner wrench to get in there and tighten the nut, but would rather have the bars out of my way so no paint gets damaged.

I also am curious about jacking the bike to get the front fork off the ground and will post a separate inquiry for ideas on jacking jigs that grab the frame rails. No sense reinventing the wheel if it's already been done.

Thanks,
Rob

[Snakeoil]

Turns out the looseness in the forks is not the bearing adjustment. It is clearance between the clamp in the handlebar and the neck. I have about 1/8" clearance. I can remove the play by tightening down on the top nut, but that seems a rather poor method to prevent movement. I don't like this issue because it means bending stresses where the bottom tree is welded to the forks and a low cycle fatigue failure seems a risk.

Checked Greer's drawings for bars and forks and no bushing shown. Could be my bars are just beat in that area and the gent who built it did not realize the issue it presented. I think I'll machine a bushing or split bushing to take up the slack. Probably will make it from alum or brass to avoid damage to the neck should it start to move again.

I see in Greer's drawings that there should be a lock tab washer on that top nut Could have contributed to the looseness since the nut was barely tight. Guess I'll be ordering one of those.

Is this a common issue with this fork/handlebar arrangement?

regards,
Rob

[c.o.]

Rob, I'm no authority on leaf spring front ends but I tend to use a hammer and a block of wood to remove handlebars if they are being ornery. Do you think the bars are down as far as they will go? As far as steering head adjustment goes, it's quite simple. Pop off that "acorn" nut, get the bars lifted up and crank the cone nut down. After it's tight, back it off one tenth of a turn and put it all back together. You'll definitely want to get the aforementioned lock washer. This post may not have been much use to you but damn those "Indian" experts are laying low!

[Snakeoil]

Thanks Cory. I don't think I need that procedure now, but is good to know just the same. Bars are down all the way as the clamp area is resting on top of the cone nut.

I suspect all the experts are out riding instead of surfing the web. Spring has finally arrived!

regards,
Rob