Oh, cheers for that. Sorry I misread who's bike it was pictured.
my Panhead may be a little different to yours, but i just knocked out the old cups out with a drift and hammer. you can use a long screwdriver.
bought new cups, races and bearings.
put the races in the freezer for 2 hours, heated up the cups with a heat gun and the races slipped straight in. drove them in gently with a wood block.
tapped the cups and races into the steering head, packed the bearings with a shit load of grease.
used a pipe to knock the bottom bearing onto the lower fork stem. the top one just drops in.
bolted the whole thing together and set the head play by the book.
result- like riding a new bike.
hope this helps. no special tools for me.
Finally got the bike back on the road. Does feel better, even a bit 'twitchy' now that there's no 'slot' for the steering to fall into!! Ended up adjusting the rockers on the springer too, so it's all good! For those interested, I'd make the following points. Getting the old bearing cups out was a pain without the special tool, as I didn't have access to an arc welder to weld in something to hit against, and cutting the cup out was scaring me, so I stopped that. With the special tool, took about 30 seconds and half a dozen taps on each. That same tool also helps with the installation of the new cups. Getting the bottom bearing off the shaft was easy with a bit of heat from a heat gun, just masked everything except the bearing to stop them heating up too, then a gentle prise with a couple of screwdrivers did the job. Tried to prise them off without heating initially.....wasn't gonna work!! Putting the new bearing on the shaft was easy, just need a bit of pipe the right size. Putting the new cups in the steering stem was also fairly straightforward, I ended tapping in the new ones, which worked OK but I found it hard to keep them straight going in and it was a bit difficult to tell when they were fully in. Oh, and I didn't wipe them with oil first....need to properly read the manual next time, hope that doesn't come back to bite me! Next time I'll use a threaded rod and pull them in. Getting the right tension on the bearing retainer was pretty much guesswork. I found the manual a bit hard to understand, and it described what to do with the springer front end mostly put together, more like adjustment than what to do after replacing the bearings. In the end I followed the instructions pertaining to a hydraulic front end. Anyway, has some 'fall away' to it, no slop, obviously, and I'll check it regularly. Worst case it has a shorter life and I'll know better next time. Been there, done that, and I have the tools now!! For those with Springers, adjusting the rockers was similarly awkward, same deal really. Mind you, they needed it. One had a fair bit of play in it. I shall check them regularly from now on, as I know I can't rely on it being checked if I take it to a dealer for service cos' they would have found it on my last one!! With both those things it would be nice to be able to do it with an expert alongside just so you know what it's like to do it 'properly'. All in all, I'd say it's a little bit scary first time, but not difficult. Adjustment was the tricky part but I think common sense plays a big part here. I'll be a bit wary that the front end doesn't fall off/seize up/break apart for a while, but that's normal for me. I really think it was successful, but time will tell, and as long as I live to tell about it, if the front end stuffs up, I'll post an appropriate follow up warning!! Any questions, just ask, but remember I'm an amateur!!
Great info, I'm going to pull down my springer front end and rebuild and powder coat, just waiting for a brake caliper for my wide glide as to keep bike on the road. All info and tool numbers etc would be a great help, shame you didn't video or document. I may do a YouTube with mine. Again a novice but if I don't try I don't know. Well done doing it..is what it's all about, having a go.
For those interested, here's a bit more detail about how I did my bearings and rockers.
You'll need to refer to the manual for most of it, I'm only explaining the bits I did that aren't in the manual, or are different to the manual. Paulie, the only special tools I bought off the shelf were the bearing race removal tool and the wedge spacer, the parts numbers are obvious on the Georges Garage website (where I purchased them), as noted elsewhere here. I think you'd easily do the job in a morning if you had everything ready to go (the steering stem bearings), and didn't wander off course (cleaning obscure parts) or come across bits that need some sort of attention.
As far as pulling the front end to bits, the only thing I disconnected was the clutch cable, the rest, including the front caliper, I just unbolted and laid or tied the bits out of the way, cables or wires connected. So I didn't disconnect the brake lines, no bleeding and so on.
The following pictures say it all I think. The first and second images show what I used to remove the bearings. I didn't get the race and bearing driver handle, I used a bit of pipe to drive out the bearing with the race removal tool and wedge spacer. The second image shows the relationship of these parts. The nut and bolt are only loosely fixed in the tool, they are there just to keep all the parts centred in the right position. Hard to explain, but once you see them together, it's obvious.
The race removal tool and wedge spacer can be used to hold and drive the new race in as well, you just need a spacer of some sort (I used a large socket) to go over the top of the nut. I tapped mine on, but when I do it again I'll pull them in with a bit of that threaded rod. DON"T FORGET the bottom dust cover when you put the other bearing back on the fork stem!! And a headsup - I stuffed up the old one getting the old bearing off. New one cost $2.50!! Cheapest Harley part I've ever bought!
If you've never used the tool below, it might look like it's the wrong way round, but I can assure you, it's not. Wont try to explain here, but once you got a look at it in your hands, you'd see.
The next images relate to the springer fork, to get it off to adjust the rockers. I fabricated the gadget that compresses the springs. All you need here is a way to bend the brackets. I got these, (and the rod and the nuts) from Mitre ten, off the shelf, I think they were used to join up sections of fence panelling. They were drilled already, just had to bend them. The manual says you can use 5/16" threaded rod, and that would then go up through the 3/8" bolt hole that the headlight fixes to. If you do that, the process will be different, but the principal is the same, your call. I use 3/8" rod 'cos I was worried about the force the springs would excert as I compressed them. Because I used a larger diameter rod, I had to re-think how to do it. Probably worried about nothing, but that's what I did.
I think the pictures otherwise say it all. Adjusting the rockers was straightforward, done according to the manual. I followed as exactly as I could, so I assume it's all OK. As you loosen the jam nut, the rocker will push back against the spring fork. My chrome got just a little dented from the pressure even though I packed the joint with nylon best I could. It takes a bit of force, not sure how to avoid that.
The allen key (half inch) and socket (one and a half inch with a half inch drive) are harder to source, you'll probably need to find a tools specialist, rather than a hardware store. The socket is an impact type, bit cheaper than chrome (about $20.00) and the allen key was about $14.00.
I think the rockers were well worth doing, one was definitely loose with noticeable play. Once adjusted the front end just feels a bit 'tighter' or 'silkier', if that makes sense. Not to mention what a great opportunity to get out the polish and rags and get stuck into those springs and bits while they were all off the bike!!
Well done Colstah . See ya on the road .
& don't forget to check tyre presures as well every 2-3 weeks , the bike will love you for it & you will love the bike for it
