Steering Head Bearings

[HockleyBoy]

My steering head bearings appear to be shot at 21k miles (the bike steers a hexagon shape around roundabouts!) which dosent seem much to me.
Is this normal for a Tiger?

[Stretch]

Mine are getting kind of notchy at 24,000.  You'd think a low-speed bearing like headstock bearings would last longer, but apparently the balls in the upper bearing work dents into the races, making for a notchy feel.

Some folks here have reported success in using tapered roller bearings as a replacement for the ball bearings in the upper bearing.  The rollers put more surface area on the races (compared to balls), resulting in less stress on the race's surface.

http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,4611

http://tigertriple.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=20

[Mustang]

Mine are getting kind of notchy at 24,000.  You'd think a low-speed bearing like headstock bearings would last longer, but apparently the balls in the upper bearing work dents into the races, making for a notchy feel.

Some folks here have reported success in using tapered roller bearings as a replacement for the ball bearings in the upper bearing.  The rollers put more surface area on the races (compared to balls), resulting in less stress on the race's surface.

http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,4611

http://tigertriple.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=20

Actually it is the bottom taper bearing that takes the load and the beating , the top bearings job is mainly to center the stem .

[Stretch]

Okay.  The upper is the one with balls instead of rollers though, yes?

[Mustang]

yep  and I have never seen a taper race with a snap ring groove to locate it , not sayin their isn't a replacement taper bearing for the top but the ball bearing doesn't usually get damaged

[Stretch]

I wish I could find the post where somebody used a commercially-available bearing to replace the top bearing with the snap-ring groove.

Or I remembered it wrong.

[Mustang]

On a steamer at least and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Girly too if you don't have a bearing with a snap ring there is nothing to keep the top bearing from just going deeper and deeper into the neck as you adjust the tension on the two nuts .
The snap ring is very important !

[Stretch]

Understood.

[HockleyBoy]

Its not unusual then, time to get it booked into the dealer so that I can get the bearings replaced and the heavy weight removed from my wallet (which the dealer always does to help with the handling  :D ).

[John Stenhouse]

My local dealer did mine for £110 which I thought wasn't too bad

[TigerTrax]

So..
Are you saying the top bearing is another 'Triumph' fabrication that is not
readily available on the market?

[HockleyBoy]

My local dealer did mine for £110 which I thought wasn't too bad

Pretty good considering Triumph quote the parts at £70 and labour at a Triumph dealer is aroung £70 per hour. I have phoned four different dealers/workshops and have been quoted as much as £300!. The best I found (where they can also do the work next week and not in a month or two) was £230.

[Stretch]

Mustang...

I haven't had my head stock apart, so I'm in the dark here.  I'm assuming that the top bearing has the snap-ring groove because the Tiger head tube does not have a lip or flange machined into it to to keep the bearing from migrating too far down into the head tube.

Since you've had yours in pieces... would you think it's possible to insert a machined sleeve down into the head tube to give the top bearing a shoulder to stop its downward travel, negating the need for the special bearing?

I have a lathe and I'm not afraid to use it.  :mrgreen:

[Mustang]

Mustang...

I haven't had my head stock apart, so I'm in the dark here.  I'm assuming that the top bearing has the snap-ring groove because the Tiger head tube does not have a lip or flange machined into it to to keep the bearing from migrating too far down into the head tube.

Since you've had yours in pieces... would you think it's possible to insert a machined sleeve down into the head tube to give the top bearing a shoulder to stop its downward travel, negating the need for the special bearing?

I have a lathe and I'm not afraid to use it.  :mrgreen:

Ding Ding Ding

wehave a winner . That is exactly what the snap ring is for
The bearing is cheap $45  at Bike bandit or the dealer , why reinvent the wheel



If you look at the drawing for the steamers you will see that serial # 4xxxx and below actually did use a insert cup in the top of the neck and then a taper bearing and race , The wifes steamer is like this .
Serial # 4xxxx and higher used the bearing with the snap ring , all subsequent models Girly bikes included used the snap ring bearing .

It is nothing special and any good bearing house should be able to source the bearing with the snap ring . Christ I made my own with a standard ball bearing and a lathe to cut the snap ring groove .

does this help ?

[Stretch]

Yeah.  I just like to be able to cross-reference and circumvent as many parts as possible in the event that the Triumph™ part becomes unavailable.