1985 Specialized Sequoia steering question
 

I notice when I put my Sequoia on a stand to service the handlebars will
stay in the straight ahead position when I put them there.There is
a very slight catch that keeps them from turning on their own. Is
this a problem with the headset or is this meant to be? I don't notice
anything while riding only when the bike is on the stand.

I think that's what they call brinelling. But I'm no expert.

The headset is probably worn, with damage on the crown race bearing surface. Cleaning and re-greasing may help, which is a simple enough job. Some will rotate the crown race 90 degrees on the fork to get more mileage from a worn headset.

Best case, it's the dried up grease in the headset that has produced the "catch" and this can be elbow-greased away when you clean it.

But it's also possible that the headset races (the tracks where the bearings roll) have worn in low spots or slight dents, which aren't good.

See https://www.sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html and the related Jobst Brandt article for more info.

The short of it is that its probably not something you would notice while riding, but it's obvious when you bike is on the stand.

One could swap the caged bearings for loose ball or loose for caged and that may eliminate the feeling and bring some better performance.

Too bad that indexed steering never took off . . .

If it's not too bad, overhaul and ride it.

This.
The headset is "indexed" (dimples worn in one of the races). It always happens in the straight-ahead position, because that's where the fork is pointed most of the time.
It sounds like a mild case, so you can likely solve the issue by doing as Mr. 66 suggests. This allows more balls to be used, which then no longer line up with the dimples.

yes it's brinneled. that means the bearing race has dimples to match the balls (usually the fork crown race) can happen to any
headset but more often when adjusted slightly tight. b4 Rockwell hardness testing there was a Dr. Brinnel who shot ball bearings
into a test piece at differing speeds and measured the indentions. vintage hardness testing!

My advice would be to remove and install a new headset at this point. What you describe is the classic symptom of a headset that has reached the end of its life. Yes, you may be able to prolong the usability of this headset by the methods previously suggested, but it only staves of the inevitable. The damage is done.

It's very likely brinneling, though it could be the headset being too tight. Light 'indexing' can be a grease and adjustment away from alleviating the condition, but heavy 'indexing' has tended to indicate a much too tight headset.

When you take the front wheel off, how hard is it to turn/how heavy is the 'indexing'? Heavy wheels (and/or bars + whatever's hung on them) mask headset issues considerably, in my experience.

One can also change the bearing size to move the bearing track out of the brinnel zone. ;)

:popcorn

...and into the danger zone! :lol: