My buddies and I make videos about motorcycle DIY. The latest one is
about overhauling the suspension on my Cagiva Elefant - starting with
making a new linkage spacer using a Dremel mounted on a lathe.

http://www.garagenight.tv/ep-14-drem...erhaul-part-1/

There are other videos at the site about wheel bearings, steering head
bearings, chain and sprockets etc, plus a couple of on-the-road
episodes.

All the best,
Waz
http://www.garagenight.tv

On Feb 11, 9:14*pm, Beryl <fo...@road.net> wrote:
> What do you think about tapered roller bearings vs. ball bearings for
> the steering?
> The tapered rollers I've seen pics of all look like the cone angle is
> overly sharp, which would wedge the rollers tightly into the races. I
> think they should be flatter.
> Balls look more relaxed, like they'd accept loads equally well from all
> reasonable angles.

Nope, it's the kind of job that tapered rollers are for - seems to me
that the load is being spread over a lot more bearing surface, ie the
full height of each cylindrical roller. With ball bearings you
wouldn't have that.

Waz wrote:
> My buddies and I make videos about motorcycle DIY. The latest one is
> about overhauling the suspension on my Cagiva Elefant - starting with
> making a new linkage spacer using a Dremel mounted on a lathe.
>
> http://www.garagenight.tv/ep-14-drem...erhaul-part-1/
>
> There are other videos at the site about wheel bearings, steering head
> bearings, chain and sprockets etc, plus a couple of on-the-road
> episodes.
>
> All the best,
> Waz
> http://www.garagenight.tv

Thanks for posting. Very enjoyable videos, good luck on the rallies.

(In the bead breaking episode I couldn't quite make out what the wheel
was laying on but I liked the trick with the old garden hose.)

On Feb 12, 1:07*am, Beryl <fo...@road.net> wrote:
> I know the tapered rollers have more contact area, but neither radial
> nor thrust loads are applied normal (perpendicular) to the roller
> surfaces. I suppose the cone angle isn't extreme enough that it makes
> any difference.
> Ball races have concave channels around the balls. Loads from any
> direction will meet the races and balls normal to the contact surfaces.

I'm not an engineer but it seems to me that the much of the force
going through the steering shaft are going to be trying to rock it,
rather than pushing it up and down, so when the shaft is putting force
is on one side of the bottom bearing, it's going to be on the 180
degree opposite side of the top bearing. So the forces will be roughly
perpendicular to the bearing surfaces, and the surface of the bearing
race that's pressed into the steering head, and that's why a tapered
bearing is used.

In summary I think the loads _are_ roughly perpendicular to the roller
surfaces. But I'm not an expert.

On Feb 12, 1:03*pm, paul c <toledobythe...@oohay.ac> wrote:
> Thanks for posting. *Very enjoyable videos, good luck on the rallies.
>
> (In the bead breaking episode I couldn't quite make out what the wheel
> was laying on but I liked the trick with the old garden hose.)

The wheel was lying on a piece of old rag.

My top tip with tyre changing/tube changing/puncture repair is when
levering the tyre back onto the rim, put something under the hub to
raise it off the ground about four inches. When you're trying to lever
the last bit of tyre back over the rim you can push the lever right
down, deforming the tyre so it drags the last few inches of bead over
the rim.

Waz wrote:
> On Feb 12, 1:03 pm, paul c <toledobythe...@oohay.ac> wrote:
>> Thanks for posting. Very enjoyable videos, good luck on the rallies.
>>
>> (In the bead breaking episode I couldn't quite make out what the wheel
>> was laying on but I liked the trick with the old garden hose.)
>
> The wheel was lying on a piece of old rag.
>
> My top tip with tyre changing/tube changing/puncture repair is when
> levering the tyre back onto the rim, put something under the hub to
> raise it off the ground about four inches. When you're trying to lever
> the last bit of tyre back over the rim you can push the lever right
> down, deforming the tyre so it drags the last few inches of bead over
> the rim.

Thanks. My 'top tip' is to make sure the opposite bead is in the centre
of the rim, away from the sides of the rim, much less muscle needed that
way. Some people don't do that and conclude they need a machine to mount
a tire. Second one is what some m/c dealers around here forget, listen
for two pops when setting beads. Suspect these points apply to tyres as
well!

On Feb 12, 10:32*am, Futility Man <n...@futile.org> wrote:
> I have a bead breaker that I carry on road trips. *It folds to about a foot long
> and maybe 2.5 inches in diameter and will break any motorcycle tire bead I've
> ever encountered. *That and three levers is all I need to change most tires.
> Getting a tire off under most circumstances is about 3 minutes from the time I
> lay the wheel on the work surface until the tire is off. *Putting a tire back on
> is about a minute. *Balancing is another couple of minutes. *Anythingelse is
> wasted effort or reinventing the wheel.
>
> Wide, low profile tires are considerably more difficult but nowhere near
> impossible. *It almost always takes longer to remove and replace the wheel than
> it does to change the tire.
>
> Using a vise like they did in that video is perfectly fine, but it takes up a
> lot of room in the saddlebag. *I don't ever lay a wheel down and stomp around on
> the tire. *That's a great way to warp brake disks.
>
> --
> Futility Man

I you remember how to get ahold of me, I'd like the make and item
number of that bead breaker. 8^) It could come in handy...

On Feb 13, 3:17*am, "Mitch" <x> wrote:
> > All the best,
> > Waz
> >http://www.garagenight.tv
>
> Really good videos, specially the building wheel one. Just right balance of
> brevity and detail.

<thinks, tap, tap, tap>

Yep I agree with you...

On Feb 13, 3:53*pm, "S'mee" <stevenkei...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Feb 13, 3:17*am, "Mitch" <x> wrote:
>
> > > All the best,
> > > Waz
> > >http://www.garagenight.tv
>
> > Really good videos, specially the building wheel one. Just right balance of
> > brevity and detail.
>
> <thinks, tap, tap, tap>
>
> Yep I agree with you...

Awww shucks, thanks. We try to make something we'd want to watch
ourselves to get the practical info required - rather than trying to
mimic TV.

Waz
http://www.garagenight.tv

On Feb 13, 6:38*am, Beryl <fo...@road.net> wrote:
> > The correct tapered rollers for my little Honda...
> Oops, can't link to the enlarged view that way.http://i.ebayimg.com/03/!BlzG3G!BWk~$(KGrHqMOKjMEtkGM0pMSBLdFzU1hpw~~...
> > They do look right for Capt. America's chopper. I'll bet they're all
> > like that.

Assuming they interchange fine, I guess cost is the only thing
stopping you.

Waz
http://www.garagenight.tv