So, after putting up with a knocking in front end (this, despite tightening having "new" tapered roller bearings in and tightening them up no less than 5 times!), I dropped the bike off at a local dealership (am not set up to do it myself) to have the issue fixed (asked for new bearings). When I picked the bike up yesterday, I was told the bearings were pristine, that the knocking came from the lower bearing's outer race moving around inside the steering stem cavity. WTF????? The mechanic laughingly told me to cut down on the wheelies (told him I never wheelie the bike, don't want to risk bending the magnesium rim). Very, very odd (though it must be said our roads here are essentially paved over cowtrails). Anyhow, the tech used a punch to pinch the race in place and green Loctite (sleeve retainer) to hold it there. Hopefully that will fix it for good, otherwise, I guess I'll be looking at a new frame (should it come to that, I will be it braced up nicely before swapping)......

anyhow...... weird stuff....... hope it's the end of it.....

 

Micky, I have a difficult time wraping my brain arround this. My reason for doubting this is, the stem would become oval in shape. If it is this, I hope he used a dial guage to check the roundness of the stem before coming to this conclusion.
Time will tell. But, before shopping for another frame, your bike will spend a fews days in my garage to check it thoroughly !

 

If we had decent f***in' road to ride on perhaps this would all be an academic argument.......

All was good with the inner race, which sits on the actual stem. If there was no movement here, there is no reason for the actual stem to go oval. The stem cavity, however, being aluminum, is another story...... Again, I talked to the tech only briefly and am going on what he said. The chap was older and seems to have been around the block a few times; seems trustworthy in what he said.

Anyhow, during the short ride home yesterday, the knock was gone....

 

So you're saying the frame was not perfect where it seats the lower outer race? Just a thought, but instead of a new frame, you could have someone weld a small amount of aluminum in there and have the hole retrued.
Hope your issue is gone for good and you don't need to go that route.

 

hopefully it won't come to that, but options would be looked at at that point (perhaps get a steel sleeve pressed in too.....). I am just somewhat pi**ed that this has even happened; I NEVER wheelie the bike, so the only explanation is the abysmal condition of our roads (cumulative effect after 130,000+ miles of riding on same bike/frame).... we are the most taxed jurisdiction in North America and our roads are f***ed...... go figure......

 

I would say at some time in the bikes life the head bearings have worn and come lose. That movement can cause the same thing.

I have a feeling what has been done wont be wont last forever. But a bit of basic engineering will sort it.

 

"The mechanic laughingly told me to cut down on the wheelies"


I was told the same thing by the Regional Honda Service Rep after the second set of steering stem bearings replaced under warranty on my GL1800.


It's a 6 hour job to tear apart a GoldWing and replace the bearings...


I slipped the Honda mechanic (a good friend) a set of tapered bearings, a case of Dr. Pepper and I have not had a problem since!


OEM Honda steering bearing are junk IMO and they know it!


SIRR1

 

starting to look ahead here as I am not convinced the "fix" used on the lower bearing race (inside steering tube) will hold so I am trying to figure out what will come next. So, to all resident machinists, a couple questions for you:

- can the neck be rebored with the engine,... still in the frame or would everything have to be stripped off the frame? (If everything needs to be stripped, may as well just replace the frame.... get a newer one with bracing welded in place)

- assuming it (re-bore) can be done with bike still assembled, would a steel sleeve (pressed in and held in place with sleeve retaining compound) be a good option?

I still can't believe I am even having to think about this crap........

thanks in advance

 

That lower race seat must not have been too bad or your mechanic would have prompted further action. A less labor intensive attempt might have been to place a small amount of brass feeler gauge material where there was any free play.
Is there the possibility of getting a bearing with a very slightly larger outer race instead of pressing a sleeve in there?

 

I did a search last night and the next largest size OD (tapered roller) bearing is 7mm larger (stock is 55mm)..... so I think that's out......

I was also wondering about perhaps using some industrial acrylic glue to hold the lower race in place (know of it as Polaris uses it, structural bonding, on the frames of its new snowmobiles, allows them to mate dissimilar materials together, tests show it to be stronger than welding). As most of the perimeter is good, it would have a good hold on the race.... need a bit of heat when time comes to break the bond and replace......

 

If and when it becomes an issue I would think more along the lines of knurling the bearing seat area of the frame. It will only be a small bit out so what your mechanic has tried to do is the same idea. I would say what he has done will work for a good while, that green retaining fluid works a treat.

I have done a lot of this as Im a bicycle mechanic by trade. Bicycles use excatly the same system.

 

While dimpling the aluminum might make for a good temp fix,, if you're hitting the front end hard enough or expand the frame head tube around the bearing race.. those small raised dimples are not going to last.

Knurling is a thought, along with a sleeve and bearing retainer .. but knurling the ID of that frame head tube is a specialized operation, not many are going to be tooled for.

Adding material (welding) and then boring it back to size is the way I would approach it.
And yes.. the set up would be very tough with the motor still installed... I would be asking the owner to strip the frame or authorize me to do the same.

 

thanks... seems I will likely eventually have to resort to a new frame.... anyhow, will wait and see......