Hi,

I've found my bearings are shot, rollers and cups both pitted.

I found modern replacements for the rears on simply bearings website, only around £6 each, but the fronts are £125!!

Is there a equivalent modern replacement for the front too?

I see draganfly do them for about £30 each, but this still seems pretty pricey.

Can anyone help?

Thanks.

Andy

email (option): Adh325@hotmail.com

Drop me an email with the numbers, I will do my best
Darren

email (option): dwrudd@lineone.net

Andy.

Now let me get this right.
You need to replace the bearings in your front wheel of your 70 year old motorcycle.
Probably the first time it has been done.
So it is going to cost you £ 60 to do both ends of the axel.
This represents a running cost of about £ 1 / year.
Or to look at it the other way if you ride it for another 10 years that is a whopping £ 6 /year. ( 2 beers ? )
If you ride it once a month that will cost you 50p per ride.
How can you call that expensive ?

email (option): wariron@tpg.com.au

There is no modern equivalent for this bearing series which is based around various seperately numbered inners and outers to alter the specs for different applications...Options are to modify the set up for ball bearings (which I did on the rear of my rigid B33)..but you will need to have access to machining facilities to do this and in the case of a Triumph, for example, the original bearings are too small to allow such a change.
Alternatively it's a case of gritting your teeth and paying the money..though I agree with Trevor, at £60 they aren't very dear when compared to many other parts and if set up and lubricated properly they do last for years.
On that subject when my M20 is in regular use I remove, clean, readjust and repack the bearings with grease once a year as part of a 12 monthly service...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I'd check with Draganfly on their bearings, I think they might be Chinese. Russell Motors have British made front bearings for £50 each. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

When they were new these parts would have been made on an auto capstain lathe.
So the machine setter adjusted all of the tools and the machine automatically popped out part till the feed stock ran out.
Now days even the cost of making the cams for the machine would not be recovered so they are made on a manual lathe.
A good machinist could pop out about 10 to 20 a hour.
These then have to be heat treated , polished & packed.
The factory has to make a profit as does the retailer or neither will bother with them and we will be spending £ 100 per wheel to get them converted to take a standard bearing and another £ 50 to get a new axel turned up plus £ 20 for the pair of bearings .

Makes then sound really cheap to me.

email (option): wariron@tpg.com.au

Hey Ron, the fronts we sell are converted metric taper bearings.
The rears are still Timkens. Seems odd that they can make rears at a reasonable plice but not the fronts!
Cheers, Mick.

email (option): mick@motorbikemike.org.uk

I deal directly with Timken on a regular basis and this situation comes up with many of their range of older bearings.
Its all about supply and demand.
If there were plenty of other applications which would utilise the particular size of bearing, then it becomes a cost effective product to produce in quantity. Without the volume, very few of these bearing sizes are taken up again by timken, but sometimes other manufacturers ( Koyo, NTN, Nachi, etc etc ) can make them under the same numbers or a special reference.

I am not too sure of the number of the bearing, because I have not taken mine out yet, but if someone wants to put up the number, I will get a definitive answer. I don't mind,

Regards
Darren wrudd. MD.
John Fenwick (Rossendale) Ltd
Bearings and Power Transmission Specialist

email (option): dwrudd at lineone.net

Hi Darren,
The number is K1178X/K1130NI. See what you can find.
Cheers, Mick.

email (option): mick@motorbikemike.org.uk

hi darren,i thought you had closed the place down.we used to get bits and pieces
from you when you were in bury.good to see you are still at it
cheers rick,V. E. P.

email (option): richardholt@rocketmail.com

The bury lot sold out long ago. Yes I am still at it. If I can ever help shout.
Tanks for the number mick. I will get onto it when I get in tomorrow.

email (option): dwrudd@lineone.net

Thanks for the replies.

I wasn't being tight - just didn't want to go ahead and spend 30 quid a bearing if I could get for a similar price for the rears.

Got from draganfly in the end - they said they were a good quality make. I'll see what turns up. Got my replacement spokes here too, 35 quid a wheel + vat of course.

Next fun bit is re-lacing the wheels!

I have finally had an answer from Timken (Torrington USA ).

They inform me that they have no planned future production of this bearing size and no stock remaining. There are still bearings around, but they tend to be the SKF type and the cheapest I have been quoted for them is £65 plus vat.

Having trawled the catalogues, the nearest that we can get to an equivalent is a bearing which we would need to reduce the outside diameter to suit and pack with a 2mm washer. Not the end of the world by any means, but still probably cheaper to speak to dragonfly if their solution is better.

Shame really as all of the other bearings and seals seem to be standard items.

Would be interested to see what is written on the bearing when it arrives Andy, just out of interest.

Regards
Darren.

email (option): dwrudd at lineone.net

Darren,

Many thanks for you time and help on this.

I'll definitely post a picture of the fronts when they arrive.

In the meantime attached is a picture of the rear ones from Simply Bearings if anyone is interested. This is their budget bearing at £5.50 + vat each. Probably not as great as the SKF equivalent but I'm willing to trail them and see how they go. They are around .8mm wider than the originals, so the packing washer will need reduced a little.

KG bearings are of Indian manufacture which in itself doesn't mean they are bad. Let us know how you get on with them.(though I guess that it might take some time to do a 'road test' on them).....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I bought some SKF front bearings from Russells this year at £50 each inclusive of VAT.

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Hi,
does anybody know if the front wheel bearings of a m20 are the same as a BSA 500 cc model front hub from 1934 (the hubs look the same from the outside, but i'm not sure about the bearings)

Job for Superleon!

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I will look it up in the parts book this evening.

Regards,
Leon

email (option): leonhop3@planet.nl

i think you will find that the tapered wheel bearings were only on M20s and later BSA models went to ball bearings

Michael,

The front wheel bearings for all medium and heavy weight motorcycles of 1934 are the same as those from an M20.

Regards,
Leon

email (option): leonhop3@planet.nl

The front bearings arrived from draganfly today.

It's basically a modified 30204 bearing - modern equiv for the rear.

Not a bad idea really that one Andy. Take a metric bearing, grind the I'd down to size, then sleeve the bore with a flanged insert to leave the correct T dimension of working length.

Good solution if they have used a decent quality bearing.

Darren.

email (option): dwrudd@lineone.net

Sorry for re-starting an old thread, but looking at the photograph that Andy has taken of the bearings fron Draganfly, how can these be fitted without damage when there is so little material at the the front of the bearing cone to press against? Has anyone come up against this problem?

email (option): glenn_mullan@postmaster.co.uk

Last time I ordered some from Les at Russells he told me they are now £57, although he let me have them for the £50 he charged me last time. They are British made and his new batch has gone up in price. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Hi Glenn.
The outers can be pressed in if you are careful when locating the press. I would not 'tap' them in for fear of damaging the outer edge although a tapered hardwood drift can be used if you are careful also.

Over such a small diameter any heating cooling effect would be negligible so I would not go there. Just be careful.

email (option): dwrudd@lineone.net

I would make a tapered aluminium piece that is slightly narrower than the bearing so it doesn't contact that thin edge...Then either press them in or carefully drift them in...

An alternative method might be to make up a tool to pull them in from the opposite side...though I haven't looked at the detailed practicalities of that method....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I need to replace my front wheel bearings and was wondering how Andy got on fitting them.

I spoke with Les a couple of weeks ago and he was expecting a delivery of a batch soon.

Regards

Pat

email (option): sacombsashtrees@hotmail.com