Boxerworks.com

vanzen@rockerboxer.com wrote:There will be no getting around the essential fact that
regular hands-on involvement is not to be eschewed
and will, after all, always keep you advised of "condition"
and one or two steps ahead of "sudden catastrophic failure".
.

I wholeheartedly agree.
Disassemble, inspect, clean, lubricate, reassemble, adjust. It's amazing how many problems don't happen.
And of course it has a certain "Zen" to it.

George Ryals wrote:What if we just do away with the rollers and machine a solid cone to turn against the outer race.

Now that sounds like a workable solution, what with new metals available. Adjustment would be eased, I would think. There are newer sport bikes that have returned to balls for the sake of steering ease.

dougie wrote:

vanzen@rockerboxer.com wrote:There will be no getting around the essential fact that
regular hands-on involvement is not to be eschewed
and will, after all, always keep you advised of "condition"
and one or two steps ahead of "sudden catastrophic failure".
.

I wholeheartedly agree.
Disassemble, inspect, clean, lubricate, reassemble, adjust. It's amazing how many problems don't happen.
And of course it has a certain "Zen" to it.

Zen......Shem after 40 bikes I've done my share of driving out races. I'm not getting any younger. I'll make my Zen on the road, riding is my process. Time is short! So many women....so little time!

Churchill once said that democracy was the worst form of government, apart from the alternatives . . . IMO, rolling element bearings are not ideal for a steering head environment at all. Rolling element bearings are best in applications where they rotate through 360 degrees at a constant speed with a constant load with a good supply of lubrication and in a sealed cavity, not in an application where they only swing through a 40 degree arc and are constantly subjected to shock, mostly in one position, and with only a tin shroud for protection.

However, I also think that a sealed "deep groove" ball bearing would be likely to fail in a much shorter period of time due to it's greater susceptibility to brinelling than a taper roller bearing. In other words, the notchiness would occur much quicker with a ball bearing than with a taper. The other drawback with a deep groove ball bearing is that because the ball is smaller than the race it runs in, it's ability to maintain accurate alignment wouldn't be as effective as a taper bearing and it would be trickier to set up correctly IMHO. It's only advantages would be less contamination from dirt or moisture, and ease of replacement compared to a taper bearing outer race.

Having said all that and to reference Churchill once again, the only thing worse than a taper roller bearing for steering heads would be any other option IMHO. Problems such as stiction, durability, and accuracy of alignment immediately spring to mind, with stiction the biggest hurdle in all probability.

Chuey wrote: In my experience, the stock bearings do a pretty nice job for us. Don't other brands have upgrades to bearings like ours?
Chuey

Yes. They are available on eBay for my '74 CB200.

I also installed a set in my /2 frame when I built my conversion rig back in the '80s.