TLS and Swing Arm question ?.

Comnoz,

Excuse my ignorance, are you talking about the headset bearings ?, the 6205's that I pulled out "or" the 7205's I plan on using ( and not fitting the piece of pipe between the bearings ).

You can do it either way. 6205s with a spacer or 7205s without a spacer. The 7205s are correctly rated for the application but much more expensive. The 6205s with a spacer are what was installed in 99 percent of the Commandos and did not give problems.

I am not in favor of the tapered roller bearing conversions. They are not sealed so moisture can get in and I don't like the way they make the bike feel heavier. I could also never get rid of a slight weave in my bike until I went back to the ball bearings.

By the way most racebike builders use a spacer with any type of bearing. They use shims to adjust the preload. That way you can torque the steering stem nut down tight against the spacer and bearings and it helps make the assembly more rigid. Jim

Getting back to the swingarm bushings...are you sure that they are worn on the outside from rotating? The photo looks to me like there is some corrosion discoloration on the machining marks left by the lathe. Have you checked dimmensions with a good caliper? The sideplay in the swingarm might be from the spindle to cradle interface. There is a common mod performed to cure it. There is lots of info here about it but here is one thread that covers a lot of territory:

mk2-mk3-swingarm-spindle-t3344.html?hilit=spindle repair

Headset: have found 7205 bearings locally, sealed not possible apparently.

sealed are available
http://www.mcmaster.com/#ball-and-rolle ... gs/=9dhrql

Wow! $176 each for the double sealed. I saw some 7205 probably unsealed on ebay the other day for $20 each.

Dave
69S

I recall buying sealed bearings for my racebike 20 years ago and paying 70.00 each and thinking that was outrageous. No doubt why Norton made spacers and used regular ball bearings.