How many of you ride without your airbox lid or have a carb mount filter? If you run without it, what kind of conditions do you ride in? Also, I noticed the other night that my steering stem moves up and down about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. Do they all do that and I never noticed it? If somebody else has had this happen what did you have to do to fix it? Thanks.

 

I ride with a K&N in the airbox with no lit. I will be switching to a carb mount most likley soon. Most of my riding is done in the dunes so there is no chance of water or mud to get on the filter. As for the steering stem I haven't really noticed it it moves or not. I would check and see if all your bolts are tight that hold the stem the the steering linkage first off.

 

I ride lidless and my wether is around 85 to 100 everyday and is extremely humid.

 

I've been running lidless all year, even last winter, through creeks and woods trails, with plenty of splashing going on, and never so much as a drop of mud on the filter.
I've recently been noticing that the air duct from the airbox to the carb never has anything on it either. This means that if I went carb mount filter, it would most likely stay pretty clean under the same riding conditions. I'm gonna get one and try it out. If it stays clean for the riding I do then I'll stick with it, remove the air box entirely, and mount my battery under the seat.

My stem doesn't move. Maybe the nut under the bearing, down by where the tie rods attach but undereneath, is loose? Maybe a flip took out the bearing??

 

Nope, the nut is tight. Everything is tight, I went over all that last night. I layed it on its side on time but, it had no force behind it at all. Are the bearings that cheap that they would give out so easy? Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I think its all pretty strong, because one time I flipped at the top of a very steep hardpack hill, and the bike landed flat on its back ramming the bars into the tank cover, but no damage to my stem or bearing. Bent the flat top the bars bolt to, but able to striaghten.
Something must've gave somewhere - the only place the stem attaches is that bottom nut you checked.

 

Let me know when its done!!

 

I had the same problem with my stem moving up and down a little. What had happened was. The bearing is kept in place with a washer type retainer with bolt holes in it. Well on mine even though the bolts where tight the stem still moved up and down. I noticed that it was warped looking. So I removed it, layed in flat on the ground. I smacked it a few times to get it flat again. Re-installed and never had a problem since.

 

That washer type retainer with bolt holes in it is the bearing housing. Beating it flat or replacing it with the same part is a temporary fix. Some riders are more aggresive than others and tend to bend the housing sooner.
Bearman