Garage Night video: Suspension overhaul starts with Dremel on a lathe

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-dremel-on-a-lathe-rear-suspension-overhaul-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

 

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.

 

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.)

 

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.

 

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!

 

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...

 

<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

 

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

Waz
http://www.garagenight.tv

 

Too chicken for rebuilding spoked wheels...for now. I've a set of old
Suzuki T-500 rims that don't need a thing done except polish up the
spokes and rims...I'll leave the patina on the hubs. 8^)

 

Bolt croppers are not a bad idea - as long as you don't point the
nipple end at yourself, anyone you love or things you don't want to
smash.

As Richard mentioned in one of our episodes, when you cut the spokes
the nipple ends can come out 'like bullets' depending on the spoke
tension.

We are on the lookout for a new calendar - do you reckon the Pirelli
people would send us one?

Waz
http://www.garagenight.tv

 

That would be interesting. I make no promises...I'm already commited
to a trip to seattle in july to watch the Red Sox beat the Mariners.
8^)

and thus driving archeologist batty trying to figure out what was
going on. 8^)

 

Why don't you just dig a hole in your garage floor and bury that
carcass?

Be careful you don't disturb the remains of your former goatse lovers,
though...

 

gee now krusty kritter/gael is stalking me here...**** off you old
fake. You couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were
printed on the bottom...you are NOTHING more than a cut and paste
thief masqarading <sic> as a knowledgable person...only thing you know
is how to start trouble you aren't man enough to finish.

 

When you turn *every* thread into a tale about your own situation,
people are naturally going to wonder about what's wrong with you.

If you're looking for a pat on the head (or a pat on the ass), you're
talking to the wrong dude. See Four-eyed Juicy Fruit for the polyamory
you so desperately desire.

 

Likely the only indications of oil they'd find would be fossilized
bacteria that fed on oil. 8^) If you really want to see them squirm
let'em find a Dirt Squirt in a Indian badged frame with a rear
sprocket just an inch or two smaller than the rim.

8^) BTST one.

 

aww, poor baby. he's upset I told the truth about him.

 

Yes.

First, OE ball bearing races are more expensive (or they were when I
last bought a set) although you could source the balls for pennies from
a bearing supplier, and secondly, taper rollers (again, in my
experience) last longer.