tapered roller steering head bearings

Sorry, just cleaning up.
Got them from Mike's, 5 or 6 years ago.
No grease fittings.
Grease is what I use on all my car wheel bearings.
I'll bring a lube to school tomorrow and check out the scuffing more closely.
Ordered All Balls bearings and shud be here tomorrow.

Till tomorrow, gents!
 
Last edited:
Ok. I'm not sure if I used a full synthetic or a standard grease with Molybdium. They came from Mikes, here are the picts with #'s.
Lower 1st then upper.
20210513_092403.jpg
20210513_092616.jpg


I had to cut the upper to remove it. Then the hammer/chisel wack!
Has anyone ever looked at these bearings after several thousand miles?
 
HD is notorious for using insufficient grease on steering head bearings and they typically rust and start to fail around 10k miles. Yours don't appear rusty but as others have noted there is apparent Brinneling. That can be from as you mentioned constant position or repeated impacts, like road bumps though over tightening can be a factor. Likely a low quality item to fail so quickly.
 
i GREASED THESE BEARINGS LIKE i WAS GOING ON A 100k MILE RIDE. Damn caplocks! I assumed they would last the life of the bike. And I thought I adjusted them properly. Maybe these just need to be replaced at 25K or so. Hey, my original ball bearings were shot at 40K.

Maybe it was due to the poor front shocks. I don't jump too many railroad crossings anymore! Two, maybe 3 times a week, tops!
 
Actually, it was 1977 or 78, I was 26 or 7 and not getting any smarter. It was Hackensack, New Jersey on a beautifull sunny afternoon when I decided to jump that one railroad crossing that I've been riding over day after day. I left the ground..... then came down like a ton of bricks. Kinda like Evil Kneivel in Las Vegas, except I didn't fall. Never again! It's one of those things that you never forget!
 
You don't need to install the top grease seal but do install the bottom one. The top one does nothing really.
 
Yes, the MikesXS bearing kit doesn't come with seals. There is a rubber ring seal stock on the bottom so probably nothing got in. But, it doesn't seal the grease in really well. I have a grease nipple on my steering neck and the steering head is pumped full of grease. All that grease is constantly oozing out the bottom on my '78 with the MikesXS bearings (and no extra seal). On my '83, I have the All Balls kit with the added grease seal. Only a very small amount of grease has come out of that one so far so the added grease seal seems to help keep it in better. It's a gravity thing, all the grease inside the steering head just naturally works it's way down. That's why there's no need for the seal on the top, the grease doesn't migrate up. Just that large tin cover from the factory for the top bearing is enough to protect it.
 
5twins said:
Yes, the MikesXS bearing kit doesn't come with seals. There is a rubber ring seal stock on the bottom so probably nothing got in. But, it doesn't seal the grease in really well. I have a grease nipple on my steering neck and the steering head is pumped full of grease. All that grease is constantly oozing out the bottom on my '78 with the MikesXS bearings (and no extra seal). On my '83, I have the All Balls kit with the added grease seal. Only a very small amount of grease has come out of that one so far so the added grease seal seems to help keep it in better. It's a gravity thing, all the grease inside the steering head just naturally works it's way down. That's why there's no need for the seal on the top, the grease doesn't migrate up. Just that large tin cover from the factory for the top bearing is enough to protect it.
Click to expand...
The 72 or maybe just my bike, doesn't have a rubber seal at the bottom. I have s 73 and 75 tree they both have it. I thought it was a rubber cushion to reduce vibration. I ain't got one.
 

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