Neck Bearing Adjustment 08 Fat Boy

aqua754 · #1 10-01-2009, 09:04 PM

Can someone please shed some knowledge and experience on this. I find the service manual is somewhat confusing on this. Where are the lower pinch bolts? I plan to do this in the next week or so for my 10,000 mi service. Thanks!

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jed1069 · #2 10-02-2009, 09:17 AM

I'm curious of this too. Let's give this a little bump.

Theo · #3 10-02-2009, 10:00 AM

Here is a video I found on youtube. It's for sportsters so it will be a little different but it still shows you how to check the adjustment. The bearing adjustment starts a 1:08 in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhKxRlxK-uQ

jed1069 · #4 10-02-2009, 11:10 AM

Theo

Thanks for the post. It answered my question I had no idea how to check fallaway.

Willie D · #5 10-02-2009, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jed1069

Theo

Thanks for the post. It answered my question I had no idea how to check fallaway.

I had to take the 2010 Lo-boy back to the dealer after only 400 miles of riding to have them adjust mine. It developed a 'Clunk' and so they fixed it right away. The Tech. said it was very loose. What does that tell ya about the MoCo assembly process ? I have been checking it over pretty good since.

WD

Hodgewater · #6 10-02-2009, 02:08 PM

I have a 2007 Fatboy and I'm waiting on a service manual. I would like to check and adjust mine. I can only see 3 pinch bolts. 2 lower and 1 on the neck Do you need to loosen all 3 to do the adjustment?

SafetyMan · #7 10-02-2009, 03:18 PM

If your bike "hunts" at high speed, or you find yourself having to make steering adjustments at higher speed, your neck bearings are too tight.

If at around 30mph on decel, your bars waggle a bit, they're too loose.

I get the front end off the ground, loosen the pinch bolt, and tighten to 10-11ft-lbs. This requires a small tq wrench.

Never had an issue past there.

albertgiancarli · #8 10-02-2009, 03:34 PM

I have an 04 Fat Boy. I did the Fall away adjustment per the manual. At the proper fall away adjustment, my steering head bolt is just a little more than hand tight. I used a wrench to tweak it just a bit more....I wasn't comfortable leaving it too loose.

I saw an earlier post that the MOCO issued a service bulletin in 05-06(?) that indicated a higher torque value than that previously published for the stearing head bolt. I was a bit confused as I didn't think this adjustment was about applying specific torque to this bolt but rather having the correct Fall away.

I gotta admit I think the Fall away adjustment technique is low tech. Does HD now recommend a torque value instead of doing the Fall away?? I hope so...there's too much subjectivity to the Fall away method.

BTW - my frame/steering neck took almost 1 small grease gun tube to fill it. Grease came out of the key lock first and then the bottom of the neck before I stopped pumping. I think it's filled now. Must have come almost empty from the factory....scary that they can't adequately grease the damn thing for what you pay for these bikes.

aqua754 · #9 10-02-2009, 08:30 PM

Thanks for all the replies. That video was a big help.

oct1949 · #10 10-02-2009, 09:28 PM

Just worked on mine last night after reading couple day ago in the manual about the fall away method.
And just seen this/
Don't really like the fall away test, mine while riding has had no issues. But it don't fall as fast as it says to.. I greased them and only took 130 squeezes on the grease gun, don't know how much of the tube it took but it was more than I thought it would...
Thats at least 3 things I've found this summer that the dealer reg 5k services have overlooked... I'am doing all that I can on my own from now on....local indy will do the rest.