Ive just MOT'd this bike after its been standing for 2 years.  I thought Id pretty much sorted everything out but it failed on over-stiff steering.  Having never ridden a K ( or a BMW....or in fact anything this big), I just assumed it was part of the deal.  The guy who tested it took it for a ride and nearly fell off twice at slow speed.  Hes suggested that, at best, the bearing grease has gone hard and at worst the bearings have gone.  He did admit that he knows too little about the BMs to be 100%  There is no play in the forks at all, and the movement side to side (although stiff) is as smooth as anything, no 'lumpiness' or 'notching'.  I wondered if there was another way to adjust the stiffness??  Cheers in anticipation  

There is.

Look beneath the crash pad on the handlebars and you will see a large knurled thing on top of the steering stem. That's the adjuster.

Remove the crash pad and there's a 19mm nut with a 32mm lock-nut.

Loosen the lock-nut, then slacken the 19mm nut one or two turns.

Raise the front of the bike and turn the adjuster ring until the steering loosens up a little. The steering should just fall to one side or the other (allowing for any resistance from the control cables) when the bars are moved from the straight ahead position.

Tighten the 19mm nut to the specified torque and then the 32mm lock-nut.

Check that the steering still just flops slowly to full lock from the straight ahead position.

TBH, I'd strip the steering stem out and check the bearings for wear and re-grease if it were my bike.

Thanks MikeP.  My thoughts exactly about stripping it down.  I'll adjust it initially, then get it MOT'd.  With the pressure off, I'll take my time and (try) to do a decent job.   

I'd take the fork trees off and repack the bearings.

duck wrote:I'd take the fork trees off and repack the bearings.

+1 ! Mike's advice / tips about loosening the bearings can be done first, but to my opinion the grease has dried out completely (Trickster mentioned earlier that his bike had been standing around for some years.)
Back in 1993, when I bought mine, the issue was the same: stiff steering, no 'pitting'. My bike had not been used for about 2 years also...

Simply cleaning and regreasing the bearings after checking their condition did the job. I remember the old grease had turned into some brownish, chiplike stuff.. It took a while to get most of that rubbish out. Ever since then: the bike runs fine.
Happy MOT'ing...  
Jos.

Thanks Guys.....im on it!  Dismantle and repack of bearing grease it is.  Was going to adjust it loose first but why not do it right first time eh?

And you will need to replace the lower metal seal, as it will be damaged removing the bearing.

You can get the bearing off without damaging the metal seal you put a very thin knife edge under it and hammer it in and the bearing moves up with the seal then use a slightly thicker wedge and then a couple of thin levers and its off.
After I mangled the first one I figured it out.

I can't see why there's any need to disturb the bearings at all.

Just degrease and repack them where they are, the upper attached to the adjuster and the lower attached to the steering stem.

RicK G wrote:You can get the bearing off without damaging the metal seal you put a very thin knife edge under it and hammer it in and the bearing moves up with the seal then use a slightly thicker wedge and then a couple of thin levers and its off.
After I mangled the first one I figured it out.

Thanks Rick, next time I'll keep that in mind. 

Mike, I like to remove the bearings, clean, dry, inspect and then repack them.  Just that I have done them this way over the years.  They had been in for a while, so for peace of mind removed them. 

Dave.

Okay.

I've just never seen the lower bearing removed from the steering stem without destroying it.

Point taken Mike.  Although I did replace them at the time with new ones.

MikeP wrote:I can't see why there's any need to disturb the bearings at all.

Just degrease and repack them where they are, the upper attached to the adjuster and the lower attached to the steering stem.

+1 (unless they're notched)

Thanks for all the inputs guys.  Been working away for a while but just got back and got stuck in a couple of days ago.  Had a few problems removing one of the front dampers...(why dont people/manufacturers use copper anti-sieze!) Once all the nuts came off the top of the steering, the Yoke just fell away no problem.  The grease was more like half-dried Araldite.  Tooth picks, an old tooth brush and plenty of WD40 soon got them spinning again.  Fortunately, no play in the bearings and no wear in the bearing races.  Re-packed with grease and put back together.  Steering is as smooth as silk now.  Passed its MOT and taxed it.  Went for a good long cruise today, lovely machine....Happy days!

 Cheers mate ! Happy days indeed...
Gives you 'goosebumps', this bike, doesn't it ?

Enjoy !
Jos