Wayne wrote:
On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 10:05:53 -0600, Pete Snell wrote:

Is this an Aluminum frame or steel? If it's Al, put the races in
the freezer for an hour or so, and heat the steering head with a
heat gun for a few minutes. The bearings will drop right in no
pressing required. Depending on the fit it might work with a steel
frame as well. Depends on which end of the tolerance the steering
head bore is at, it's been a 50/50 experience for me.

Steel frame.
No luck last time doing the heat / cold thing. Those suckers are in
there really tight.

Making a driver or puller is a pretty easy exercise if you have a
lathe. A top hat shape with a minor diameter that fits nicely to the
small diameter of the bearing and a major diameter a few thou smaller
than the OD of the bearing will do the job. As was mentioned by
someone else, don't make one that bears on the bearing surface.

Got it.


With an eye to the future, take the time when the bearings are
out to file a couple of notches in the bottom of the bearing seat
(in the frame) so that removal next time will just take a long punch
and a few taps with a hammer to pop the race out.

Pete


Thanks to all for the suggestions.
After I started writing the post I felt kinda silly. But I learned a
lot of tricks I never thought of.

So did some of the rest of us ...I like the notch suggestion . Sometimes
on bike necks there is no way to get a puller behind the race until it's
moved out a tad .
Don't recall if you said you weld or not . If you do (no matter how nasty
the bead looks) run a bead around the ID of the outer race . When it cools ,
the race will almost fall out . Stuck lower inside races respond well to
slotting with a dremel type tool and a smart whack on a chisel in the cut .
--

Snag aka OSG #1
'90 Ultra , "Strider"
The road goes on forever ...
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