Yes that would be nice, But life is not like that, Nothing is Easy !! Cheers Bill.
Taper roller bearings in steering head
- Thread starter alscomet
- Start date
If you think about the form of a cup and cone and then of a taper roller bearing you will see what the problem is.
Yes I agree with you time traveller,the Cup and Cone looks nothing like the taper roller set up but basically does the same job until the balls or races go out of tolerance Then no amount of tightening or applying grease makes it any better. Alan
Alan,
I would be interested if you can find bearings that work. I looked pretty hard when I cast up a new steering head. I settled on Ducati Paso taper rollers, but they use a much smaller steering stem and the dimensions fit the new casting but not the stock casting. I have made new FF2s before and it is straight forward. I wanted a new steering stem because the stock steering stem is rather crude as it is not designed to locate a bearing, which it must do in the taper roller set up. I do not think you would have members making conversions if you could order the bearings from your local supplier. The 1-1/8 diameter steering stem is rather large for the outside diameter of the bearing.
David
I suspect this is a lost cause. The old cup and cone bearings probably weren't designed to the same standard sizings that ball and roller bearings are still manufactured to, even if you forget (as mentioned above) that the taper rollers were built for different duties, and therefore have different ratios of o/d, i/d and thickness.
There is an option that I've never heard of being used in this application, and that's the angular contact ball bearing, it's built for similar loads (radial and axial) to the taper roller (not as strong) and is a more square section than the taper, so it might fit - I don't have any details of the standard setup, so I don't know what dimensions are needed. This is thinking out loud during my coffe break, so don't wade in feet first,
Bill, like a lot of mods, if taper and cup and cone works I can't argue against it, but I would always use tapers back to back. I haven't calculated anything, but I suspect in some conditions the radial load on the top bearing could be 4 times as big as on the bottom one.
H
There is an option that I've never heard of being used in this application, and that's the angular contact ball bearing, it's built for similar loads (radial and axial) to the taper roller (not as strong) and is a more square section than the taper, so it might fit - I don't have any details of the standard setup, so I don't know what dimensions are needed. This is thinking out loud during my coffe break, so don't wade in feet first,
Bill, like a lot of mods, if taper and cup and cone works I can't argue against it, but I would always use tapers back to back. I haven't calculated anything, but I suspect in some conditions the radial load on the top bearing could be 4 times as big as on the bottom one.
H
Hello Howard, The way it was told to me, The weight of the bike is on the bottom bearing most of the time, So that is good enough ? Cheers Bill.
Hi Bill, It's not just about the weight, or we'd get away with thrust bearings. Since both bearings are angular contact it's not the worst application, but I'm not sure there's a lot of advantage over the original.
H
ps I didn't explain myself too well on last post - by bottom bearing I meant wheel bearing - should have had a longer coffee break.
Hello Howard, I think there is more contact area with taper rollers in the bottom, And to me it makes it a bit less free, Like a damper !! Cheers Bill.
My son's Aprillia had a taper bearing at the bottom of the steering head and a standard ball bearing in the top.
Problem was that they used an open(unsealed?) ball bearing which let in the water and one day it wouldn't go round a rapidly approaching corner
..John
Problem was that they used an open(unsealed?) ball bearing which let in the water and one day it wouldn't go round a rapidly approaching corner
..John