| Author | Message | ||
     Teeps |
My '06 Ulysses needs steering head bearings. For those that have installed Tapered Roller bearings (alls balls?), are they a "drop in" replacement for the stock bearings? Or, are additional spacers, etc. required? | ||
| Dtaylor |
They are a direct replacement -- no spacers needed, in my experience. Everything you need should come with the bearing kit -- seals, races, etc. You'll have to seat the outer races in the steering neck first. I considered freezing the races and heating the neck to see if I could drop them in, but in the end I carefully tapped them with a hammer and a block of hardwood til they were flush, and finished them off going round and round in little taps with a hammer and punch. You'll be tapping on the narrow part of the race, but with care and a good punch, you'll do no harm. Work lots of grease into those tapered bearings and smear some on the shaft where you cleaned the corrosion off.  (Message edited by dtaylor on August 26, 2013) | ||
| Teeps |
Thanks Dtaylor, My experience installing tapered steering bearings mirror what you have stated. I was concerned because the Buell bearing inner race appears to be extended beyond the surface of the outer race. I guess the stack height of the tapered bearings meets the OEM spec. So all is good. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
The inner race has to be higher than the outer so that the inner can be loaded without contacting the outer. | ||
| Dtaylor |
Ah, I follow you better now, Teeps. I've got over 10,000km on the tapered bearings, including a bit of hooliganism. No issues so far! | ||
| Teeps |
Panhead_dan Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 The inner race has to be higher than the outer so that the inner can be loaded without contacting the outer. Moving element bearing design moots the statement. The 2 parts never touch. But I get what you are saying. The OEM bearing just looks so much different than plain taper roller bearings. I didn't want to get caught out and need more parts. |
