Episode 4. A Reasonable Run-Around I Suppose.........

[NOTRIGHTNIT]

I got the wheel and chassis back from the Powder Coaters, although the wheel had only been sandblasted for now. I intend to re-spoke anyway, but the hub was another matter.... I knocked the bearings out, cleaned them up a lot, cleaned the numbers etc up so as to be read, and I found that, although they are rare, they are still available, sort of, but they are hellish expensive.

I sourced just one of the two wheel bearings from Europe. Now I am not one to complain here, but profiteering on this level is impossible to believe. For just one of these bearings, just for the sum of money asked, I can buy a complete, new, powder coated wheel rim, all tricked out with Stainless Steel spokes, a brand new rim tape, a tube, plus brand new tyre that is suitable for a sidecar, new Metric bearings, plus seal..... (I did not buy one because they are rough but..) To say I am a little annoyed is an understatement of the highest magnitude. The situation goes on.... I sourced a well made, brand new hub assy, thinking that a new custom axle could be made after the wheel was rebuilt.... The E.U. company refused to deal with myself, but chose a more local company to trade..... The British company have more than doubled the cost than originally asked, then the E.U. company put the price up as well, so it then became impossible to trade.....

I then went with Speedway bike hubs, they are too smaller bearing dimension, the Harley Sportster type hub, maybe is still and option, or the Dyna Wideglide front hub maybe. The better part of £150 + postage etc might just pay for one...... so now I am back with the original hub, and a possible machining job to modify to Metric sized bearings instead. I want to be able to replace them whenever, without all this sourcing dilemma... we shall see..... it is annoying though, all this holdup.

Then we have the weather, snow over a few days, but then the rain.... everything is a mud bath now, also the Covid plague regime bites so much, purchasing stuff is near on impossible, so I sit here banging out emails on a crazy research commitment......

I did source another hub assy in Australia, then another in New Zealand, but on further research, I found that the New Zealand one was actually being bought from the Australian one, then with their near on 80% price increase, plus postage etc, I was about £400 out of pocket had I done the deal.... back to the drawing board again, but I remain undaunted, it is certainly a challenge of monumental proportions thus far.... still summer is on its way...!!!!

[trikeman]

Everything is relevant

[David357]

Keep at it, Reg.

[NOTRIGHTNIT]

Well I bit the bullet today, the wheel was dismantled i.e. spokes cut away, the hub cleared of things like grease nipples. I am now striving to source smaller diameter bearings than original, but with something like a 25mm axle bore. I realise that is a contradiction, but I can see a way here by doing it like this, although the original axle is now wasted, or will be eventually when the new one is made....!!!!.....

The difficult c.1959 hub assy......

[Rmitchell55]

Reg

What size bearing do you need?? My Harley Triglide front wheel bearings are 52mm x 25mm x 15mm.

[NOTRIGHTNIT]

Reg

What size bearing do you need?? My Harley Triglide front wheel bearings are 52mm x 25mm x 15mm.

I too have a Harley, the 52mm bearings are fairly easy to get, even over here. The problem I have is that the Canterbury chassis bearings were no doubt made in a bulk order, by Timken, but with an eye to making sales of any replacement bearings peculiar to Canterbury alone, therefore, they are of a size incompatible with anything else.. One original bearing is 49 mm across, the other bearing is 44 mm across. No, I am going with metric sizes now of 47mm and maybe 42mm. Both have 25mm bores, and are roughly 15mm deep I think ??? . The intensity of doing all this makes me ask if it is worth it still, but after spending hours on just the bearings information, I cannot turn back now...... I am way too far into it (yet again)....

A 49mm original bearing can be as much as 600 Euro's (just over $700) plus postage from Europe.... the smaller 47mm equivalent with a 25mm bore is under £10 ($14) each. There is no contest really, just aggravation..... They call it progress...!!!!!

Thank you for the kind offer/help though, it is appreciated greatly...

[irondad01]

Hi Reg, Would it be possible to have a machine shop make a sleeve to press into your hub to match a common bearing? That might be a better option than taking material out of the hub and making it thinner. Maybe you've already thought of this.

[NOTRIGHTNIT]

Hi Reg, Would it be possible to have a machine shop make a sleeve to press into your hub to match a common bearing? That might be a better option than taking material out of the hub and making it thinner. Maybe you've already thought of this.

Indeed I have, the picture of my hub above shows a rather fine internal thread. This holds a rather splendidly elaborate cast wingnut of Aluminium I suspect. This covers the hub adjustment nut etc over the end of the axle, like a hubcap.....

I am loathe to mess with the thread because the 'wing nut' is peculiar to the chassis of old, and just looks right. The bearing that sits just behind that thread is exactly the same diameter as the thread. Therefore, if any increase on the bearing O.D. size is cut away, it would interfere with the thread.

The whole thing is a dilemma, but one supposes that this was how business was transacted back then, keep it all 'in house' and then people have to pay their prices to renew bits etc.... Canterbury, who made the chassis, have long gone the way of all things now though, and I am left with the problem.

I currently think that a smaller O.D. bearing instead of being 49mm, is a 47mm one, then a 2mm shim sleeve might be able to be manufactured to take up the slack on the O.D. the same with the other end bearing, was 44mm, but now it could be a 42mm O.D. with another 2mm sleeve/shim. I am to make a new axle, so the 42mm bearing can then be a 20/22mm shaft.... I have an image in my head that seems to be feasible to me, but we shall see....

It is all a learning curve that is almost 100% vertical...!!!