SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB500/550

Pyramid Parts Tapered head bearings.

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AshimotoK0:
Any advice on the thickness of the bottom washer on Pyramid Parts tapered head bearings when used on the 500K0

I remember on my 750K0 fitting these and the supplied washer was way too thick,  so I had to get it ground a lot thinner and even then the fork ear gaps were still slightly too big.

Someone suggested just using the seal that comes with them plus one or two of the normal washer that is  fitted with the standard ball bearing setup.

Murf:
I gave up fitting the Pyramid taper bearings to my 550K1 and went with the standard Honda cup and cones. I didn’t like that the top bearing was 15mm in depth and the recess in the head less which leaves about 3mm of bearing sticking out.  I never got to try the bottom pyramid tapper bearings but the advice seems to be to not fit the thick washer that comes with the set.

The reason I gave up was because I just felt the distance between top and bottom yokes would end up wrong for the ears to fit well, plus the top bearing would not be protected from water ingress if riding in the rain. I just didn’t want any hassle down the line and the original set up should work fine.

Johnny4428:
 Just went with the original set up on mine too,  the races were in reasonable condition so just cleaned and repacked with grease. Sorry Ash not much help!

Oddjob:
Iirc Ash you need a spacer approx 2mm under the bottom race. If you use the seal that now comes with the kit these days you may need a slightly thinner washer.

Personally I think tapers are much better than the old ball bearing solution, they stiffen up the front due to the bigger contact area of the rollers versus the ball bearing. They also last far longer and require less maintenance.

The issue with the top race protruding isn’t really an issue imo, the top race fits inside it and the profile when it’s assembled isn’t that much different than ball bearings. The top locking nut is also dished so it should protect it from crud etc from getting in.

Most headstock bearings these days are tapered, if they weren’t better Honda wouldn’t fit them, which is something to consider.

McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
With my limited experience I have noticed that the Pyramid kits seem to have improved since I used one on my 400 back in 2000/1.

The actual bearing height of the two tapered races added together in my kits have been less than original ball bearing fitting so top thread hight has been good on my 500 & my 400NA SD.

I have found that the supplied bottom spacer is too thick. I bought a selection of spacers for the bottom of the column. I found them on eBay sold as JCB bucket spacers.

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