Fork play???

[Pyrice]

Hello. Simulating ABS brakes I hear and feel some kind of play in the forks. Could it be the steering bearing. And how do I check/tighten it? I'm about to do a fork oil change, could that be the problem? Where can I find information about this? Is there any repair manual available for this bike? It's a -99 Mille with 13000 km on the road...

[Ricky J]

To diagnose that, have a friend lean the bike over on its sidestand so that the front wheel is completely off the deck. Grab the forks firmly at the axle and try to move them fore and aft. Is there noticeable play, do you hear any clunking from the headset? You might also hear a click or clack (hello Tappet Bros!) while under braking. Be careful to not overtighten the bearings because that creates weird handling quirks of its own! If everything appears OK with the headset then warped rotors are your next suspect.

[RVZoo]

There are two possible sources for that fork play. When your front wheel is off the ground, try moving fore and aft the upper (female) part of the fork. That should not move at all. If it does, headset bearings should be checked ASAP.
Then repeat for the lower (male) part of the fork. Some degree of play is acceptable there but I'm not sure about how much is too much. Does anyone know?

Greetings.

[Pyrice]

Thanks for the answers. I've checked it more closely today and found out that it isn't the bearing. It's the fork upper plate that is moving just a little when applying brakes. My left fork has crawled up a few mm compared to the right. I shall try to fix this asap.

[168mphducati916]

there is a guy on ebay right now trying to sell 10 manuels for your bike, i bought one set and they are great just what the doctor ordered, $50 is cheap, the only thing is you will need to get a better binder, mine lasted about 2 weeks before the binding broke.