Taper roller bearings for headraces

[Roderick.Bradley]

Has anyone fitted these to late Ariel swingarm models? If so, what did you use and how did you fit them?

Rod

[keith.mettam]

Hi Rod, yes I have fitted these to a late swinging arm NH. They are supplied by DraganFlys and are part no. 4820-36TR. Rather expensive at £49 a set (plus P&P and 20% VAT of course !) but an excellent mod. that dispenses with those loose ball bearings and races which are more prone to wear if not kept greased and correctly adjusted. You need to remove forks and headstock, remove the old races and replace with the new taper ones having greased the taper roller assemblies prior to reassembly. Not a five minute job but well worth the change if you are replacing the headstock bearings anyway. Basically they are just a straight swap-over.

[keith.mettam]

Further to my earlier reply, others may be pleased to note that from Drags website these taper bearings replace headstock part nos. 4815-31, 4818-31, 4820-36 (2) and S9-2 (40) which (if I read the Drags information correctly) seems to indicate that they are suitable for all models from 1936-1958 except the HT but, of course, please check with them first before buying for your particular model !

[pete.collings]

I have previously email Rod with info about the taper roller bearings I fitted to a S/A Ariel frame, but forgot to mention something that may be relevent to the above info.

The normal cups when fitted have a small lip that protrudes inside the headstock, and with a suitable tool (seen elsewhere in the forum), a new/good cup can be removed by carefully tapping it around the lip to move it a bit at a time. The taper roller outer races I used had been ground down, and were thin at the top, so I wanted to ensure I could remove them once fitted, in case further modification was needed. As the outer was not so wide at the base as the cups, and did not have any protruding lip, I carefully filed two half rounds in the seat of the headstock into which the outer would abut, so that there was space to get a drift on the base of the outer should it need to be removed. As only as small amount of metal was removed, there would have been no problem in reusing the cups should a problem develop with the taper races.

As it happened, the taper races worked well and improved the steering, and were still in the bike when I sold it.

[steve.dampier]

Guys

I am a newbie to this forum and I have been looking to remove the existing headraces in my 1952 VH plunger frame. As Pete says there is a lip but the way the headstock is cast I don't seem to be able to get a drift on them.

I see Pete mentions a suitable tool (seen elswhere on the forum) but I can't seem to reference to it. Any help would be very much appreciated.

[steve.dampier]

Apologies,

Found the Post:

http://forum.arielownersmcc.com/viewt ... f=21&t=256

Off to get a piece of 1/2" bar, hammer and a grinder then.

[nevhunter]

Tapered roller bearings are far more suitable for this application than the original type. Steering head bearings are of this type in most modern bikes. (Larger ones). Sometimes there is a thin metal dust shield available that takes up hardly any room at all that will keep the water out and the grease in. Always adjust the steering head to eliminate any play, in fact a small amount of preload is OK for tapered rollers. I prefer to use marine type grease as it doesn't get looked at very often, and stops rust really well... Nev

[admin]

Is there a standard skf/timken/FAG part for the tapered bearings ? Cannot find ariel stuff listed ....all previous posts don't mention an off the shelf size.

I can buy a set for any number of my old bikes, for between £7 and £13 each.
Yet Drags want £49 ..... Is there a reason for this ? Odd size ? Some lathe worth required to reduce their size ..

As the bike is in bits and the cones are AWOL, from the crates of parts, then I have to get something.
I'm not adverse to roller bearings: just found that tapered bearings feel a bit better and last a bit longer.

[david.anderson]

John
I don’t believe they are a standard bearing, but are probably altered/reground from one. The price is similar to a new set of cups and cones anyhow and would be more than reasonable considering the work involved. I doubt you would be able to have specials made at that price. When I went to replace the tapered rollers on the rear wheel of my 49VH I went to my local bearing supplies with a sample. The part no could be identified but no price. They phoned the bearing manufacturer for me and they said they were no longer a standard bearing but they had the specs and could make 2 for me. The price, $3,000. I promptly looked up my Drags catalogue, saw they were listed and ordered a set. I also checked Drags prices on other bearings, (particularly lipped rollers), and realised they were considerably cheaper than I can buy from bearing suppliers in oz. As such I now buy all my bearings from Drags rather than locally.
David

[pete.collings]

The taper bearings I used were for a BSA swingarm frame, with the outers ground down to fit the Ariel headstock (not practical to turn the outers in a lathe). I could not find any taper bearings off the shelf that fitted without modification. I don't know what the BSA bearings cost, but new/remanufactured cup and cone bearings must cost a similar amount to the bearings from Drags.
I seem to remember that our late vice chairman Bob Brassington had some taper rollers for sale at an Annual rally many years ago that were thinner than the ones I used, but needed the headstock modified to fit, if any other forum contributers remember/used these perhaps they could post some details.