Steering Neck Bearings/Races...REUSE?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there fellow Xsives,

Okay, thanks to RichV I now have a spare 81SH frame that I can perform my transplant of Godzilla into/onto! BUT..the steering races are rusted on the new donor. I KNOW that the ones on Godzilla are okay, I cleaned and repacked them in 2000 when I did my rebuild....so they are actually OEM. No notchiness or sticking....just smooth transitions all the way....so I was hoping to be able to use and transplant them to the donor frame.

BUT from what I've heard/read on here, getting the races out WIHOUT destroying them is next to impossible??? SO...is it possible to get them out without damaging them?? IF not, then I know to just get a new bearing set to install. Any tips/tricks for getting the old GOOD ones out without damaging/warping them?? Is it a pipe dream??

T.C.

[bikerphil]

I would put on a new All Balls set and be done with it, about $30.

[TADracer]

Yeah, I would do some new bearings too. Getting the old races out will probably take heat and a bunch of hammering with wood and soft brass drifts unless you have some sort of secret race puller.

Now, having said that......You have to remove the rusted races anyway so give it a try taking the bad races out first and see how you do.

[dbeardslee]

I tried to keep my old races when I redid the bearings on Betsy. What a mistake that was. That high speed death wobble wasn't fun. I finally did what I should have done to begin with and replaced both bearings and races. What a difference that made. The steering became so much smoother and quicker, and the death wobble went away. I figure the cost of bearings and races is nothing compared to the time and effort involved, not to mention the safety aspects.

[BA80]

Any tips/tricks for getting the old GOOD ones out without damaging/warping them?? Is it a pipe dream??

T.C.

As stated TC, just get a new set. They're pretty cheap.

The easiest way I've found to get those lower races out is to cut them as deep as you can with a dremel cutting wheel and then crack them along the cut line with a punch or chisel. They practically fall out then. Try not to get into the neck itself but little nicks aren't anything to get upset about.

[xs11bobber]

It's been a super long time since I've been in the forums (about 2 years and getting the bug back to continue the rebuilds) and just so happens you've helped me quiet a bit T.C. Back when I replaced my races, I tried a few methods of removal before doing the high angle hack it apart trick. Nothing seemed to work for me. There's just not enough room to allow for any reasonable means of removal. I'd junk 'em and replace.

[TopCatGr58]

Well,

It was kinda late last night when I posted this thread. I've had a little more time to think about it since then. Getting the bad ones out aren't going to be a problem, I have both Dremmels, angle grinders, and a welding machine.

What I didn't state clearly was that Godzilla's current frame will be essentially JUNKED. SO...I'm not worried about saving that frame, so I can play with CUTTING the steering neck away from the bearings, no need to be careful with the frame itself, just the bearings. SO...I figure I should be able to cut up the steering neck, enough to be able to release the bearings without deforming them or putting any stress on them, then they'll be easy to tap into the DONOR frame, and I'll have the Donor frame's old races to use to tap them into position with.

SO...it'll be in interesting project, and if I don't succeed, then I'll get a new set, just hate to waste a perfectly good working part if I can salvage it relatively easily. ALTHOUGH I'll definitely inspect them closely when I take the front end off to ensure that there aren't any dimples/grooves or other imperfections in the bearing race surface that would be a detriment to it's functionality.

T.C.

[motoman]

Hey there fellow Xsives,

Okay, thanks to RichV I now have a spare 81SH frame that I can perform my transplant of Godzilla into/onto! BUT..the steering races are rusted on the new donor. I KNOW that the ones on Godzilla are okay, I cleaned and repacked them in 2000 when I did my rebuild....so they are actually OEM. No notchiness or sticking....just smooth transitions all the way....so I was hoping to be able to use and transplant them to the donor frame.

BUT from what I've heard/read on here, getting the races out WIHOUT destroying them is next to impossible??? SO...is it possible to get them out without damaging them?? IF not, then I know to just get a new bearing set to install. Any tips/tricks for getting the old GOOD ones out without damaging/warping them?? Is it a pipe dream??

T.C.

Hi T.C. No interruption intended, but even the most mminor distortion, even unseen WILL unfortunately cause eventual damage to bearing race needle roller assembly. I know that is NOT good news, but I have seen it happen many times before in other heavy equipment applications while at work. Least has been seen by me on numourous occassions. Those particular bearings/races are now available at bearing supply houses, as the patenant from Mother Yamaha had runout some time ago. Hope that is of some help for your dielema.

[motoman]

I would definitely mic the outside race after removal. Any distortion whatsoever, replace with new bearing race assembly.

[BA80]

Well,

It was kinda late last night when I posted this thread. I've had a little more time to think about it since then. Getting the bad ones out aren't going to be a problem, I have both Dremmels, angle grinders, and a welding machine.

What I didn't state clearly was that Godzilla's current frame will be essentially JUNKED. SO...I'm not worried about saving that frame, so I can play with CUTTING the steering neck away from the bearings, no need to be careful with the frame itself, just the bearings. SO...I figure I should be able to cut up the steering neck, enough to be able to release the bearings without deforming them or putting any stress on them, then they'll be easy to tap into the DONOR frame, and I'll have the Donor frame's old races to use to tap them into position with.

SO...it'll be in interesting project, and if I don't succeed, then I'll get a new set, just hate to waste a perfectly good working part if I can salvage it relatively easily. ALTHOUGH I'll definitely inspect them closely when I take the front end off to ensure that there aren't any dimples/grooves or other imperfections in the bearing race surface that would be a detriment to it's functionality.

T.C.

The bearings in my steering neck actually came out of another frame I had that had good ones. You know I'm a cheap a$$.

I heated the neck and that lower race came right out. I didn't think that frame would ever be used again but it's been powder coated and is back in service good as new.

went to a lot of trouble to get that race out in tact so I could reuse it. Shoulda just got new bearings. Still working good though. The bearings and the frame I heated to get that race out of.

[BA80]

Hi T.C. No interruption intended, but even the most mminor distortion, even unseen WILL unfortunately cause eventual damage to bearing race needle roller assembly. I know that is NOT good news, but I have seen it happen many times before in other heavy equipment applications while at work. Least has been seen by me on numourous occassions. Those particular bearings/races are now available at bearing supply houses, as the patenant from Mother Yamaha had runout some time ago. Hope that is of some help for your dielema.

I would definitely mic the outside race after removal. Any distortion whatsoever, replace with new bearing race assembly.

The thing to keep in mind in this application, Brant, is this is not a heavy load bearing nor a high speed, high heat bearing. As long as it is smooth, the seat in the steering head will preserve the races shape.

I had forgotten I had done that until I thought about it a while. Those bearings have been in my SG for several years now.

[dbeardslee]

Shoulda just got new bearings.

That's pretty much what I think about this. I always ask myself the question "what's my time worth?" If you have a problem with the races, or the bearing to race fit, and you have to take the whole thing apart again what have you saved? And again, when trying to salvage a couple races that only cost a few bucks to start with I managed to induce a very nasty high speed wobble. It's just not worth it for what you wind up saving. Bite the bullet, install new parts, and you won't have to worry about it again. My $.02

[DeanR]

Just get new ones TC .... http://www.cbrbearing.com/ 1 800 769 5388

[RichV]

If I was doing the rebuild, I would replace all bearings I encounter including these. It's just not worth it dealing with older races and bearings. Half the time I end up going back in and replacing them.

[mack]

Bearing races

I had no difficulty getting the bottom one out at all. The lip is broad enough to get a good piece of it with a long drift pin. I slipped the pin around the race tapping as I went and it came right out in good shape. The top is a bit harder as the lip isn't as pronounced but after I flipped the frame over and could see what I was doing better. It also came out. No distortions I could see and I laid them down on my jointer table and they were flat.
However having said that, I'm with the rest of the guys TC. Put new ones back in it. Tank slappers aren't fun.