Well and truly Stuck! Progress report and tales of woe

Littlefield,
I generally do this when I am doing a new restoration. If the hole is oval I will bore and fit an oversized spindle as I don't think the modification is the ultimate solution to worn parts, merely a belt and braces approach to maintaining things as they should be. The Mod. Grandpaul is referring to is by a guy called Heinz Keggler I think and is a good solution if you don't want to strip the whole sub frame assembly, It looks a bit stronger than just welding on nuts (I've not had any problem with my method) as it supports the spindle tube from the rear as well, however it does take up quite a bit more space and I'm not sure how fiddly things become if you have the oil filter mounted on the gearbox cradle.

I have the kit on the bike I am currently working on, I agree if the cradle is badly worn I would also go with a oversize spindle. But if it is just a tad loose the kit sold by Heinz is great, And is much better than welding on bolts as it clamps onto the tube and could hold much better. As far as the oil filter is concerned there is no problem as long as you position it correctly. He makes a really nice kit, Well made.

A bit of a tecchie question here;

Is there any reason, apart from availability, why caged roller bearings couldn't replace the bronze bushes in the swing arm?



H

Is there any reason, apart from availability, why caged roller bearings couldn't replace the bronze bushes in the swing arm?

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I don't think you could find a true caged roller bearing to fit, but here's a good reason NOT to use needle bearings.

Hegel said:

A bit of a tecchie question here;

Is there any reason, apart from availability, why caged roller bearings couldn't replace the bronze bushes in the swing arm?



H

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Size constraints? I think people have tried needle bearings with mixed results.

The swingarm spindle is only designed to run with bronze bushes and is not sufficiently hardened to run with bearings. I suppose a metalurgist could reharden the spindle to a higher level, but this sounds like overkill when there are simple solutions to Commando swingarm problems.