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steering race removal

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The good book states: "the races are a push fit in the frame and my readily be knocked out". Yeah right!  Mine appear to be a very interference fit. I've removed the grease nipples and tried to drift them out with a small bolt through the hole. No joy. I've also used the heat gun.

Any clues?

George

 

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I think I used a blowtorch, but then I wasn’t worried about the paint!

The other thing I’ve done in the past to other bikes is weld a blob to the race to get a better purchase for a drift and then whack it while it’s hot! I’d have to go out into the cold shed to see if that is practical on the Norton!

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Thanks for your input, Dan, but welding is not a skill I have.

I may have to resort to a tubular spanner (or similar) insert from the opposite end and belted with a hammer, as suggested by a NOC friend.

G

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George

I think the guy who wrote the good book must have had a press. Unfortunately this is a job for a big hammer and a solid drift. I recently used a long socket extension to get them out of my 77's frame. Hit the race out a bit at a time on all sides. You can tell from the sound when it's moving. The problem wasn't so much getting them out, rather it was putting new ones in, especially the bottom one. It refused to go in straight until I mde a puller to give it an initial straight squeeze. I then used a rather large socket and a lump hammer to whack it home. I winced every time I hit it, but after a careful check for damage, all seems well. The steering is vastly improved. I ruined the chrome on the socket.

To put the races in you realy need the frame on a bench. Whacking the bottom one in just tends to lift the bike off the supports you've stood it on.

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Hi George, attached is a photo of the only tool I have that will do that job for me; it's a type of cold chisel with an angled tip. It is a sharp enough angle to engage with the very narrow lip that is visible of the outer race. Make sure the frame is solidly supported then hit it, alternating from 12, 3 6 then 9 o'clock as it were. The shaft is narrow enough to get the angle down the head stock, tip to tip it's 10" long. Never failed me yet on any bike and the chisel was cheap from my local hardware/tool shop. Print the picture and take it as a sample whydontcha?

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Thanks guys. Good stuff. Adam - silly question but did you buy the chisel in that shape are grind down a square edge chisel?

George

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hi george,the chisel in the pic is a plugging chisel,used to clean out mortar in brickwork,walls etc.,a handy tool

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I tried that, Dan, to no avail.

In the end I left the original races in the frame and renewed only the bearings and the outer races.

All back together now and a test run has proven that the steering is fine.

George

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How about using the likes of a slide-hammer to remove these race cups. You could make one out of a length of threaded bar with  large, thick washers and nuts at each end. The hammer could be made up of anything heavy with a hole in its centre like a lump hammer head or dumbell weight.

An alternative, for somebody with the available gear would be to fabricate the driven end into a horse stirrup shape which could then be thumped with anything heavy.

When I dismantled my ES2 front end I used a socket extension bar and loads of heat to get one cup finally moving. Both had rusted to the head stock and successive layers of paint had almost sealed them permanently in place.

 


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