a couple of good suggestions, tatfiend, but negative on both counts. I tried the stem at all different heights, from slammed and at the min. mark and everywhere in between. The fork is definitely not the problem, it is original and this bike is small 53cm, the threading is only maybe 3-3.5cm of the steer tube, and I checked to be sure, and the tube and threads all look like brand new. I think I will just try a new stem