I would take my bike to a decent Yamaha dealer (and there are some honestly) and get the work done properly. AND contact Yamaha UK to make sure things are done under warranty. Good luck!!!!

Steering bearings are checked every service, but a check is just a play with the steering. They will check for free movement, they don't strip it down.

At 12,000 (20k Km) or 2 years they should strip and lubricate. As you've not got this far yet it will not have been done. There is a thread that shows you how to do it yourself.

So, it's a consumable part that has failed before it's time for an exposed check. It's clearly not of serviceable quality or suitable for the job it was designed for. This is undoubtedly a warranty repair.

You have two options, push the dealer so they get authorisation from Yamaha.

Or, invoke your rights under the sales of Goods Act, and go after the selling dealer. I can almost guarantee that if you take this action, the dealer will suddenly become a lot more persuasive with Yamaha.

Steering bearing, under normal use (excluding racing, being a wheelie king or use in extremely wet weather for instance) should not fail before the first exposed check.

I rang them yesterday to find out what the verdict with Yamaha is, only to be the only guy in the dealership who can do warranty claims is off work for the week, sick. I did say that's not good enough, and the chap said he'll try and ring the sick guy to find out how to do it.
He rang back a few hours later to say he'd put the claim to Yamaha which can only be done online.
It will take a few days to get the verdict, so hopefully they will fix it.

Its not the dealer saying no, they just said Yamaha warranty may see it is wear and tear.

I don't race, tho I don't hang about. No wheelies, except maybe a little light under acceleration. It does get used in the rain, but that shouldn't be an issue.

And to why I didn't do it myself having read loads about it on here, is I don't see why I should. I paid good money this bike.

I've used a Yamaha Thundercat and a Suzuki SV1000S for the same uses for the previous 8 years with no steering problems whatsoever.

Thanks for all the replies, I guess I new it was gonna happen, just letting you all know there's another on the crap build quality list.

Phil

Bike Fixed !
 

Good news, I picked up my bike tonight with its nice, smooth steering.

Apparently, the parts just turned up this morning, and they pretty much got straight onto it.

Still feels a bit weird, but it turns now.

Phil

The weirdness could well be the TKCs? They feel a bit that way to begin with, especially if you're not used to them.

Anyhow, good to see its all sorted and behaving well. Now all you need to do is buy yourself a good stock of grease and keep it that way! ;)