Headstock nut torque value?

[Dabbers]

Hi All,

Would somebody be kind enough to advise please? I have front brake judder although no pulsing in the lever so I'm hoping disc to hub bolts have been incorrectly torqued and/or head bearings need nipping up. On checking the service history both front discs and all pads were replaced less than 2500 miles ago so hoping these are OK. I've removed pretty much every nut and bolt and added copaslip (where appropriate) since having the bike and found nigh on everythinng has been tightened to within an inch of it's life!  God knows what the headstock nut will be at, I'll probably need a decent bar to release it!!

[Gfc]

45nm, 33 lbs ft 👍

[Pickaxe]

Have you tried pushing/pulling the forks to see if there's any play in the headstock bearings/fork legs? Also check the rotational smoothness of the head bearings by turning the bars without any weight on the front wheel.

If you adjust them, be careful of putting any unnecessary preload on the head bearings or you'll very quickly indent the bearing faces and ruin them. More hassle than juddering discs.

[Dabbers]

Tried all the usual tests and cannot find fault in the head bearing. I checked all the disc to hub bolts and all were torqued about right apart from one that was incredibly tight, the shuddering sensation has improved a little since re-torqueing to the correct spec. Thing is there isn't any abnormal vibration if applying the brakes lightly or when using the rear brake  , no pulsing in the lever even. It's from high speed applying the brakes hard and quick, if applied smooth/gradual the front end remains completely stable. Next step is to clean the discs with very fine wet and dry and check the caliper pistons and bobbins.

[Pickaxe]

Could it be the pads themselves, contamination or poor quality, It's not uncommon. Were the discs replaced with OE or premium brand parts?