Not sure how best to describe this. I have an old Japanese Lotus with Cinelli parts, pictured below. I can certainly steer freely, but when the steering nears its center point, the bars seem to lock into a straight position as if maybe the headset components have some sort of groove somewhere that lock the steering in. I am a bike noob, so this may be common, or have a common term, but I was wondering if someone could shed some light on what the hell is going on. I actually quite like the feel.

read this : "Indexed Steering" ("Brinelling") https://www.sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

Thank you sir