Owners manual says to repack both steering and swing arm bearings at 16K does this really need to be done?

It probably should be done but I've got over 31,000 miles on mine and have had no problems and they are still tight. I will probably look to doing it this winter. I'm sure someone else here can tell you more than I can.

20,000 and haven't done mine yet but my wheel bearing are sealed so I don't have to worry about them.

My SV650 has 49000 on it, and the swingarm bearings have not been done. That being said, when I put on the GSXR 750 shock this winter, I plan to drop the swingarm to make the mod easier. I'll hit them then. I'll do the Roadie when my belt takes a dump.

I have 25k on my 05 RStar Silverado. I have had to repack my steering bearing twice. 12k and I just did it at 22k. It's not hard but have an extra set of hands if you can. I used to drive in rush hour so cal traffic so the front end got beat up pretty bad. The first time I went by the manual but unless you can notice (when you have it on a jack) that the handle bars are loose from side to side or you can tell the forks are loose when you push it from front to back at the wheel then you should be fine. It takes a lot to shake these roadies loose so make sure that you don't have any problems and don't make extra work for yourself. I have checked the swing arm bolts every oil change to just make sure it nice and tight and I am with JD on only do it when you have to it's not a biggie until around 50k or 5yrs. The known fact of the owners manual is there are alot of wallet cashing tips that the stealer will do or not do for you and charge you for it anyway.

There is an article here about a guy that had some warranty issues with his steering so make sure that doesn't apply. Hope this helps!