thanks Flip.
I am in the process now and have had a little bit of a problem with the lower bearing race not going back on.
have been given a few ideas but ..... http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=9631.new#new its all there so far.
Happy to help out.
Your new lower bearing not going back into place properly ?
Before starting on the bearings, drop the forks and front wheel out - - made things a lot easier to work on.
After taking the triple tree out and getting the old ball races off and out of the way, started on fitting the lower inner race - - -
Put mine in the oven for about 1/4 hour to heat it up, not too hot for the metal, just a bit too hot to hold in your un-gloved hand. About 140 - 150 C (???)
While doing that, make sure the stem and lower plate of the triple tree is completely clean and ready for the new bearing.
Scrubbed mine with a file cleaning wire bush, then wiped it down with acetone - came out nice and clean very quickly.
Have a thick pair of leather gloves handy - the type used for gardening worked OK - and a length of pipe just the right internal diameter and length to slide down over the stem all the way.
Leather gloves on, grab the now somewhat warmed inner bearing and drop it down onto the stem - take the length of pipe and keeping it nice and square - tap the top of the pipe to drive the bearing into place, nice and flat onto the bottom of the triple tree.
I used a hammer on the top of the pipe with a piece of 1/2 thick pine wood between the hammer and the pipe to absorb the sharpness of each tap of the hammer.
Once you've done that, just let everything cool down for a while (until the bearing inner is cold to touch) and that's it.
Packed both top and lower tapered roller races with grease, push it in the top and bottom of both races and squeeze as much as you can in over the rollers themselves while slowly rotating the race. That should get enough of the gears inside to do the job.
( Had a tube of CASTROL LMX grease from working on my previous bikes - seemed to work very well. )
Put everything together, replaced the front forks and wheel and slowly tightened the top nuts up until the triple tree moved smoothly without any slop.
Lowered the beast onto it's front wheel, then bounced it 3 or 4 times to make sure everything was seated in properly.
Lift the front wheel back up off the ground and lean the bike from side to side - the weight of the forks, wheel, etc. should be enough to cause it to swing in the direction you lean the bike.
Re-checked the whole thing could still move freely, then locked the top nut down with the C-spanner and bent the washer's fingers into place.
Job done. EASY.
Started riding bikes back in the early '60's - if you didn't have truck loads of money or couldn't fix it yourself back then - you didn't ride. (Pommies bikes, BSA - TRIUMPH - NORTON - ETC.
)
Flip.
