steering stop gone

[geekonabike]

I've been meaning to ask about this for a while.  It looks like I'm missing a metal steering limiter (stop, guard, don't know the right term) that should be there to keep one from turning the bars too far left or right and crunching some cables, like the tach cable on the right and the clutch cable on the left.  Well there's a nice band of rust where such a piece looks like it once was, middle-front of the motorcycle equivalent of a steering column.

I'm wondering first if this is a common problem (just curious), or if someone might have removed it on purpose, or banged his bars hard enough to pop it off.  Then of course I'm wondering what to do about it.  I thought about riding to a couple automotive and metal works places to see if they could fashion something for me.  I might also ask the local mechs (we have all of two in our little town), particularly if it means some dissembly and therefore some motorcycle expertise.  Or maybe there's another fix, like getting longer cables and rerouting.

There's no problem with normal riding but I have to remember not to turn too far when I'm duck walking the bike.

Thanks,
Mike D.

[dgyver]

A stop can be welded on to replace your missing one. If you need a template for one to be fabricated from, let me know. Be careful when welding since there is a bearing there and it has a plastic carrier for the rollers. Probably best to remove the front end so the bearing is not damaged.

[geekonabike]

A stop can be welded on to replace your missing one. If you need a template for one to be fabricated from, let me know. Be careful when welding since there is a bearing there and it has a plastic carrier for the rollers. Probably best to remove the front end so the bearing is not damaged.

Thanks.  Call me a wimp, but it sounds like a job for my bike mechanic and/or a local weld-capable shop.  (Soldering I do, but welding....?)  I would very much appreciate a template to help them out.  I'm not in much hurry because my bike budget got pretty much spent this year (new tires, carb rebuild, fork seals) and so I'll probably wait until early Spring.  I'll definitely include your advice on the bearing and carrier when I do bring it in.

I'll try to email you my address, and can PayPal or otherwise send you payment of what you need for the template and shipping.

Thanks again,
Mike D.

[dgyver]

Just pm or email me your address and I will mail you a template.

[geekonabike]

OK, thanks.  I tried that.  Hopefully you got my email.  --Mike D.

[The Buddha]

Its common ... very common ... I have seen bikes that have super fat ones on there ... and my 95 is missing one and its so cleanly broken off ...
The rarer thing is ... my 89 has 2 worn notches one on the left triple post and one on the stop itself...
Anyway ... take a piece of flat bar OK 2 pieces ... and bend into a sharp L and drill a 1/2 inch hole in it and bolt it to the lower triple pinch bolts ... that will hit the frame where the steering stop will have stopped the steering ...
Cool.
Srinath.