8* trees problem?

[Jag30]

Make sure you use a waterproof grease.

[460brevill]

take that stupid lock off and weld it closed.

[Señor Gar]

Originally Posted by 460brevill

take that stupid lock off and weld it closed.

Never gave it much thought Bill, don't know where the key is, never tried it anyway, but I do ride in the rain . Have you seen much damage to lower head pipe bearings from water creeping in . Thinking I should take your advice and shut the door .

[EvoMotors]

Originally Posted by Señor Gar

Never gave it much thought Bill, don't know where the key is, never tried it anyway, but I do ride in the rain . Have you seen much damage to lower head pipe bearings from water creeping in . Thinking I should take your advice and shut the door .

Maybe you should, the bearing I removed is so rusty that I could not turn it by hand.

[joefury]

seems strange? how would the grease the bearing were packed in come off? we had a pretty cool couple of weeks here in South florida so hummidity was that bad either?

interesting how they got that rusty if they were good quality?

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by EvoMotors

You are not going to believe what I found after disasembling the trees. Water damage to the lower bearing! The only place where water could get in inside the neck is the stupid lock. Otherwise both seals, bearings and races shows no indication of any mechanical damage.

Originally Posted by EvoMotors

Maybe you should, the bearing I removed is so rusty that I could not turn it by hand.

Originally Posted by joefury

seems strange? how would the grease the bearing were packed in come off? we had a pretty cool couple of weeks here in South florida so hummidity was that bad either?

interesting how they got that rusty if they were good quality?

IMO if you followed the video that I saw, the bearings were not properly greased/installed in the first place . Plus, with the stock stem, the bearing has to be driven on or pressed on, (tighter seal and grease on it also) the aftermarket (video again) just presses in by hand (finger) to the lower tree and then the bolt is inserted, so the seal probably isn't sealing anything. The video I saw (I just watched it again tonight) the lower bearing was installed ungreased, and the narrator said "a light coating of grease" when he put in the upper, I wasn't sure if he meant both or not.
When I install bearings, I do a dozen or so a year, I pack the bearings like I do wheel bearings, I know many people say not to, but I have seen the bearings Honda installs, others have done, and the ones I have done after 40-50 K miles. I will keep doing them like this. I also make sure there is grease on the stem at and on the seals.
Again just my opinion, you all can install them however you want, but if I were in EvoMotors position, there would be ALOT more grease in there than there is now, I would also Google "install neck bearings" and check out some other videos.

[EvoMotors]

Originally Posted by Clueless

IMO if you followed the video that I saw, the bearings were not properly greased/installed in the first place . Plus, with the stock stem, the bearing has to be driven on or pressed on, (tighter seal and grease on it also) the aftermarket (video again) just presses in by hand (finger) to the lower tree and then the bolt is inserted, so the seal probably isn't sealing anything. The video I saw (I just watched it again tonight) the lower bearing was installed ungreased, and the narrator said "a light coating of grease" when he put in the upper, I wasn't sure if he meant both or not.
When I install bearings, I do a dozen or so a year, I pack the bearings like I do wheel bearings, I know many people say not to, but I have seen the bearings Honda installs, others have done, and the ones I have done after 40-50 K miles. I will keep doing them like this. I also make sure there is grease on the stem at and on the seals.
Again just my opinion, you all can install them however you want, but if I were in EvoMotors position, there would be ALOT more grease in there than there is now, I would also Google "install neck bearings" and check out some other videos.

I never had the video of of the bearings. And I have the 8* trees with the provided stem bolt.

[Dave Maher]

Originally Posted by Clueless

IMO if you followed the video that I saw, the bearings were not properly greased/installed in the first place . Plus, with the stock stem, the bearing has to be driven on or pressed on, (tighter seal and grease on it also) the aftermarket (video again) just presses in by hand (finger) to the lower tree and then the bolt is inserted, so the seal probably isn't sealing anything. The video I saw (I just watched it again tonight) the lower bearing was installed ungreased, and the narrator said "a light coating of grease" when he put in the upper, I wasn't sure if he meant both or not.
When I install bearings, I do a dozen or so a year, I pack the bearings like I do wheel bearings, I know many people say not to, but I have seen the bearings Honda installs, others have done, and the ones I have done after 40-50 K miles. I will keep doing them like this. I also make sure there is grease on the stem at and on the seals.
Again just my opinion, you all can install them however you want, but if I were in EvoMotors position, there would be ALOT more grease in there than there is now, I would also Google "install neck bearings" and check out some other videos.

It's been a while since I installed my tree's but I do remember questioning the instructions given greasing the bearings on install. Being an ex car mechanic I don't ever remember not greasing any bearing by hand packing them with grease before install so I just packed them with grease as I would any other bearing. If I remember correctly I also had a slight issue getting the race to seat properly.

[Señor Gar]

[RedspawnSilver]

Word to the wise... yes, grease is good... don't over tighten though... did this with mine and it sucked balls... quick fix though.