My home-brewed install tools for the lower bearing. Once the forks were removed from Project 22, it became apparent that the steering head bearings were toast. Not only were they notchy, but were adjusted much too loosely, which was most likely the cause of their demise.
These bikes were originally equipped with ball (roller) bearings, and there's nothing wrong with that approach in this application, but tapered bearings are a definite upgrade and should outlast the OEM bearings.
But how to remove and install the pressed-on lower bearing without the nice factory tools? Well, the old bearing inner race won't drive off, so I use a Dremel with a cut-off blade and very carefully slice the race with a diagonal cut, stopping just shy of cutting into the shaft itself. Right at that magical point the bearing race gives a little bing as it loosens its grip on the shaft — it can then be pried off with a screwdriver blade. In the photo above are (left to right) the new lower seal, the new bearing, the old inner race and the old outer race. I will use the old parts as adaptors to drive the new bearing in place.
These bikes were originally equipped with ball (roller) bearings, and there's nothing wrong with that approach in this application, but tapered bearings are a definite upgrade and should outlast the OEM bearings.
But how to remove and install the pressed-on lower bearing without the nice factory tools? Well, the old bearing inner race won't drive off, so I use a Dremel with a cut-off blade and very carefully slice the race with a diagonal cut, stopping just shy of cutting into the shaft itself. Right at that magical point the bearing race gives a little bing as it loosens its grip on the shaft — it can then be pried off with a screwdriver blade. In the photo above are (left to right) the new lower seal, the new bearing, the old inner race and the old outer race. I will use the old parts as adaptors to drive the new bearing in place.
Here I have the parts stacked along with the driver tool — a length of black gas pipe or heavy conduit (with a cap installed to pound on). You can see the diagonal cut I made when removing the old inner bearing race; that cut is not quite all the way through the race. The old and new (inner) races are the same size so the old one makes a perfect driver adaptor to pound the new race onto the shaft.
To prepare for driving the bearing onto the shaft, I first put the lower triple tree/shaft assembly into Patti's freezer for a few hours to shrink the metal — frost is visible on the metal in this photo. I then quickly drive the freshly greased bearing into place. I drive the bearing till it just bottoms onto the seal but still turns freely. With the cooled shaft, the bearing slides on pretty smoothly but still requires several hard hits with a hefty hammer.
Job done. Reassemble onto the frame, install the forks, etc., and this project will be back on its own two feet — with a nice, smooth steering action.
Job done. Reassemble onto the frame, install the forks, etc., and this project will be back on its own two feet — with a nice, smooth steering action.
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