The correct way to set steering bearing adjustment is to perform the front end  “fall away” or “swing away” , depending on the type of motorcycle you have . The first thing you need to do is...

lift the bike so it is level off the ground . If  the bike is not level your adjustment will be wrong . You want the front end to be assembled but void of any additional accessories that may throw off the front end swing . Take off any bags , windshields , clutch cable , radio or any thing that will bind during the procedure .

Once the bike is set up a floor mounted pointer is used to measure the “fall away” . This is easy enough to make with a piece of wood and a wire coat hanger or flex rod , it needs to be long enough to point at the front fender tip with the bike elevated . Now place a piece of masking tape on the fender tip or tire . Position the pointer at the center of the fender , the trick to doing this adjustment properly is to always start from the steering stop . This means when checking  your  “fall away” you want the bearings rolling from the steering stop to center and stop at the natural balance point then lightly tap through the complete travel .

Where the front end begins to fall on its own is your “fall away” point . Mark this position on the masking tape . Repeat this process for the other side . Measure the distance between the two “fall away” marks on the tape . This distance should be between one and two inches for proper bearing adjustment . If the distance is less than one inch the front end is too loose and the fork stem nut needs to be tightened . If the distance is more than two inches the front end is too tight  and the fork stem nut needs to be loosened . Once correctly adjusted , be sure to tighten all front end components and check “fall away” again .
     
The Springer and FLT models have a different procedure than the basic narrow or wide glide front ends . The Springer is a “fall away” only you use a plumb bob off of the rear hole on the front fender with a ruler on the floor from left to right you need  “fall away between” 4.0-6.0 in. On FLT models the front end is self centering , turn the steering to full left and let go . The wheel should swing right , left , right and then stop . The wheel doesn’t have to stop at center, but it must move to the right making a partial third swing .

Once the bike is on the ground a grab of the front brake and a couple of what I like to call “damper spring bottoming exercises” will tell you that there is no clunking in the front end , take it for a ride and check for smoothness of  steering without any binding . Ride safe .