Author Topic: Losing my Bearings....  (Read 598 times)

Offline SumpMagnet

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Losing my Bearings....
« on: April 19, 2019, 05:33:55 PM »
Bought a set of bearings ready to fit to the CB ..... and all was good.

Had been noticing a bit of deterioration on the Hornet's handling over the last few months, and had put it down to cold tyres, greasy roads, and general winteryness....but
it had started to get to the point where the thing was following every line in the road like a crazed coke-addict....and that wasn;t good. Now...London roads have some evil ripples in them, especially where buses have rolled over fresh tarmac and formed massive waves...but this was on little ripples.

Looking at shiny bearings made me wonder about the state of the head bearings in the Hornet.

So today, I decided I could put it off no longer. I had to have a look and see.

With a centre stand, it's not as bad a job as it could be. It was easy to pop the top yoke off and drop the steering stem out enough to inspect the bearings. The bottom ones were well greased, and when I wiped it back, the bearings were shiny and smooth and slick. No trouble there.

Gertting the top yoke right off to lift off the castle nuts took a bit more wiggling....but with a few brake pipes loosened and a bit of fiddling...that came off. There is an array of dust seals and bits, but they all lifted off too.

hmmnnn...

Well...I know why the handling was going odd now. No sign of grease. Absolutely bone dry. You can guess what the bearings looked like too. Rusty, gritty, and not at all happy. Replacements are on order, but this is my daily commuter ride and I need to get to work on Tuesday. So I have cleaned them up as best I can, packed them with grease, and popped them back in for now. Only got to last until next weekend.... but I hate doing things like that. Needs must and all....so gentle riding will be the order of the next few days.

But a new set of bearings are ordered and will get fitted next weekend. Will change over top and bottom bearings as a precaution, even though there is nothing wrong with the bottom ones. The bike passed it's MOT about 6 weeks back, and the steering was fine with no slop or play and moved as it should. I know...I checked it all over before the test... but it just goes to show.

Grease is the word......
CB750F2 - in pieces
CB900F Hornet - the daily transport

Offline Spitfire

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Re: Losing my Bearings....
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2019, 07:58:22 PM »
Know how you feel I hate doing jobs twice, I've just replaced the steering head bearings on my Deauville, they were bone dry and not happy but luckily being a retired sort of person I could take my time doing it.

Cheers

Dennis
1976 CB750F

1977 CB750F2 In bits

1964 BSA A65R In bits

Offline Green1

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Re: Losing my Bearings....
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2019, 09:18:23 PM »
Could be worse I thought I would check my Guzzi last year . Rear shock seized almost solid, Linkage bolts corroded and scrap, Swingarm a right mere to remove as the swingarm pivot was stuck fast and the bearing were solid.
Unfortanutly its the norm in all modern bikes
Current bikes
Honda CB750k1 Valley Green Metallic
Honda CB750k1 Candy Gold
Honda CB550k Candy Jade Green
Honda CG125
Aprilia Pegaso 650
Moto guzzi 1200 sport
Kawasaki EX650R (Mine until dave pays for it)
Kawasaki ZXR400 J

Offline SumpMagnet

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Re: Losing my Bearings....
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2019, 03:10:33 PM »
well...the deed is done.

Sourced a new set of bearings ( proper KOYO ones... ) and fitted them today. I had forgotten how horrid the lower bearing job can be to get the old one off....especially when it's not a taper roller race and you have nothing to get a drift on to bang it off. So, it was outr with the Dremel, and cut most of the way through, then get in with a blunt object to ping it loose.

Oh...and the lower bearing seat in the headstock was flush so you can't drift it out...had to use a puller to get it in....same way I got the fork seals out of the F2.

But tis done, and the new bearings are in. When it stops raining....I will take it for a test ride and check all is well.

Much grease was applied before and after, so it should keep the rust at bay. When I took out hte upper bearing, several of the balls fell out of the 'cage', and a couple did not want to rotate properly as well. FUBAR is the term I believe.....

edit...oh yeah....and I found the next 2 jobs to do as well. The cooling fan bearings are noisy, and I am going to need a new front tyre.
CB750F2 - in pieces
CB900F Hornet - the daily transport

 

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