1985 Honda 200x steering

[tcla26]

Hey guys, I have a new to me 1985 atc 200x. I have a question about the steering. The steering locks up in the center, slight lock but moves freely right and left when the steering isn't on its center. Is this normal? Thanks, first post. This is a great web site!

[350for350]

My guess would be that there's something off with the ball bearings. Maybe there's one with a bad spot or a bearing race with a bad spot on it.. If you pull the front end apart to look at the balls and races, the balls will most likely fall out and try to disappear. That's just a warning. If you want to put new balls in, they're 1/4". I just go with a tapered bearing kit from All Balls racing. Part# 22-1029. I put one in my 250SX with a 200X front end and I love it. I plan to use these every time I pull apart the steering on most of my trikes. The best part is that they won't fall out onto the ground. This kit usually runs around $40.

[ATC King]

Yes, look at the steering bearings, like 350 mentioned.


This is from a bicycle website, but it's the same concept. A highly reputed bicycle website.

https://sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

"Indexed Steering" ("Brinelling")


"All of the other ball bearings on a bike spend their lives rotating round and round, but headsets spend most of their time pointing straight ahead. Sometimes you will see that the bearing balls have created a neat row of little dents in the bearing surface of the lower frame cup and/or the crown race. This creates the effect commonly known as "indexed steering" where the balls sort of "snap" into place, and the fork tends to stick in the straight-forward position."



A "Brinelled" crown race (larger than actual size)


"The dents in the races resemble the dents created by the Brinell hardness test procedure, and as a result, this type of damage is sometimes called "Brinelling." This is a bit of a misnomer, because the Brinell hardness test involves basically ing a bearing ball into a metal sample with one good hard whack. Some folks assume that the dents in headset races also result from impact, but actually that is not commonly the case. Instead, it has to do with lubricant breakdown. Jobst Brandt has an article on this site describing the process in detail.

The following doesn't apply, because the ATC balls are already loose
Ideally, a "Brinelled" headset should be replaced, but you can often cure the problem by replacing the retainer with loose balls. You use the same size balls, but can usually fit more of them into the races if you leave the retainer out. As a result, the greater number of balls, closer together, no longer all line up with the dimples in the races.

A headset race can, on the other hand, become indented due to overload in a crash. The dents then will be deeper in the part of the race that took the impact. Usually, in this case, the fork will be bent too. The indented race(s) and the fork need to be replaced. "

[yaegerb]

Hey guys, I have a new to me 1985 atc 200x. I have a question about the steering. The steering locks up in the center, slight lock but moves freely right and left when the steering isn't on its center. Is this normal? Thanks, first post. This is a great web site!

Not normal, replace your steering head bearings/races with a set from all balls.