Steering stem play

[Ride1Rob]

My sons bike is having a big problem with the steering stem play. I used to be able to correct it by titening the allen screw on the stem. Now it's not working anymore. Anyone know where I can find another stem to fit this bike or a way to fix this? Thanx!

[Troy Leuthard]

Check the control arm mounts where they attach to the hub, the play maybe coming from there and not the stem. If that's not then drill the stem and tap a bolt into it. Problem fixed!

Good luck
troy

[markvette]

also at the bottom of the stem there is a bearing. the bearing is thiner than the recess it goes in. the stem will move up and down. i have made spacers out of washers for 4 or 5 typhoons to fix this problem.

Mark

[hanzito]

we welded the seem between the top half and bottom half.

[double d 1]

i had to weld my stem also. then the bolt at the very bottom on that bearing came out. i check that bolt before every ride now.

[Ride1Rob]

I took the stem apart today and everything looked good. Put it back together and tightened everything down and still play in the upper part of the stem. Whoever came up with the design for this didn't do alot of thinking. Trying to contact Xtreme as I type and no one is answering. I tried loosening the bolt on the bottom of the stem and it only loosens and then tightens either way you turn it. I don't want to break it so I tightened it(turned it clockwise) and left it alone. I took off the top half but can't get the bottom half out now :mad: .

[markvette]

take the bottom bolt out then the 4 bolts on top that holds the bearing cup on. you should be able to pull the stem up enough to remove the cup and bearing. turn the cup upside down and put the bearing in it. you will see that there is extra space between the top of the bearing and where it would sit flush with its mounting point on the frame. find you a washer the thickness you need to take up that slack. you may have to grind it to get the right diameter. also the center hole needs to be big enough for the bottom bolt to fit loose in. i have done this to a many typhoon and it fixed the stem slop.

[Ride1Rob]

Originally posted by markvette
take the bottom bolt out then the 4 bolts on top that holds the bearing cup on. you should be able to pull the stem up enough to remove the cup and bearing. turn the cup upside down and put the bearing in it. you will see that there is extra space between the top of the bearing and where it would sit flush with its mounting point on the frame. find you a washer the thickness you need to take up that slack. you may have to grind it to get the right diameter. also the center hole needs to be big enough for the bottom bolt to fit loose in. i have done this to a many typhoon and it fixed the stem slop.

Thanx for the help! One question though, so that bottom bolt turns all the way out of the bottom of the stem? It seems to turn about one turn counterclockwise and it a b!tch to turn after that. I don't want to break it...

[Ride1Rob]

Got rid of the steering stem play after some thought on how to correct the problem. I drilled into the stem and about 1/2 an inch into the steel insert as well and used a 5/16th thread starter bit to thread into each. I Also drilled through the bracket on the lower half of the stem and used the 5/16th thread starter on it as well. I inserted a stainless steel 5/16 screw to secure these as one. I then took the bracket from the top of the stem and moved it down to the bottom where the top half and bottom half of the stem comes together (I really didn't want to weld these together in case I had to remove the stem in the future). I then coated the inside of both bracket halves with gasket maker to help with vibration. I placed these where both the top and bottom halves of the stem connect. Not one ounce of stem play now. After I'm done putting the rest of the bike together I'll take it out and ride it to see how it performs. When Jam gets home I'll let him put some time on it as well.

Drilled and threaded
http://img2.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/1458/14589785896d30a03d16c1f87cbe10cec8c8b9e.jpg (http://www.uploadhouse.com/viewfile.php?id=1458978&showlnk=0)

Stainless steel 5/16th screw in place
http://img2.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/1458/145897972f078e673bcacc4722128db073713b4.jpg (http://www.uploadhouse.com/viewfile.php?id=1458979&showlnk=0)

Top and bottom half of stem secured as one piece.
http://img2.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/1458/1458980f781bcce952f22d07c91fd99bd2d8777.jpg (http://www.uploadhouse.com/viewfile.php?id=1458980&showlnk=0)

[Ride1Rob]

Well, we have some hours of hard riding and not one ounce of play since the modification :D . Moving the upper bracket to the bottom of the stem actually helped with turning. Before it was really hard for him to turn left or right because of the tension from both brackets under and over the frame. It's now alot easier for him to steer the bike and he doesn't get tired as fast as he once did. He says he likes the way the bike handles alot better than before. Now he wants more power :rolleyes: . Does the cam and piston make that much of a difference?

[double d 1]

i'll let you know on the cam and hc piston in a week or so.i just installed them yesterday and started it up and my son said it sounded differant, could of been because it was in the garage. but it sounded deeper. we would of took it down the street but the rear axle bearings sound like they are going out. i got the crower g2 and piston from a guy in AZ. chuck at scootersaz.com. $70.00 he said there are two differant bearings so i have to take it apart and see which bearings they are. after starting i had some oil leaks, i didnt put any gasket sealer in so im going to do that. i have to take all apart again, not to happy about that!!! and you have to pull the engine. its alot of work. took me about 8 hours. the next time should go faster. this was my first time. if you have any questions give me a call. i'm no expert but i did learn a few things. 580-227-5134.