Rehab thread roketa

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Ariel Red Hunter

Megadan would know more about this than I do. I seem to recall the the headstock has to be re-machined deeper in order to accept the tapered roller bearing. Perhaps he would be kind enough to address this question....ARH

I can't speak for his Roketa, but the XR/CRF spec head stock bearings fit the Hawk perfectly. No machining required.

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I can't speak for his Roketa, but the XR/CRF spec head stock bearings fit the Hawk perfectly. No machining required.

Great, thanks for clearing that up for me....ARH

[Angus67]

I took the front apart. The top bearings are ok, the bottom is toast. Anyone got a set of bearings they could throw my direction? Also, the bearing cups aren’t tight in the head tube.

[Angus67]

The head tube looks cracked around were the bearing cup would go

[Megadan]

That is a total bummer. In theory it could be repaired, but I wouldnt bother for cost and safety reasons. Probably cheaper and easier to find another frame to put all of your goodies from this bike on.

[Angus67]

Well being a certified welder, should be easy enuf. Find steel tube with correct inner diamete, cut off the old and weld on a new ring

[Megadan]

Well, that being the case, here is a chance to beef it up with a thicker wall. The real challenge will be ensuring the inner diameter stays true.

[Angus67]

It is tather thin

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by Angus67

Well being a certified welder, should be easy enuf. Find steel tube with correct inner diamete, cut off the old and weld on a new ring

I was semi-involved in a repair job of this nature a few times in my otherwise mis-spent youth. In the BSA-Honda shop where I worked was a middle aged man from central Baja California named Adelbarte Rodriquez. "The Torch" Rodriquez was his shop name, and it was a nickname of respect.
In those days, district 37 of the AMA put on dirt racing events at Corriganville Movie Ranch, owned by the one time stunt man and movie actor from the thirties and forties, Ray "Crash" Corrigan. Lots of "B" westerns were made there. A lot of scenery in a comparativly small area. Like 3 or 4 square miles. One of its features was a truly terrifying way too steep down hill section, the one you've all seen in westerns where the horses have to slide down. Naturally, the race had to be run over this section. Endo city. The most experienced riders could get down the hill without falling off. The really young ones had a lot of trouble. Our hero, or the goat of this particular race did three endos in his first trip down the hill. He did three endos, the bike? Six or seven. It was done for the day. He dragged it in to the shop for an appraisal of steering problems. It was one of the first all welded frames around. Maybe it was a DOT. Or, perhaps a Cotton. Its headstock looked about like the one in your picture. So The Torch was called over to consult. No problemo, he announced. A piece of heavy tube was found in the junk pile, cut, faced off, and a seat cut for the bearing cup, and bronze welded by The Torch to the headstock, after it had been aligned by the triple trees and the OLD bearings. I operated the second torch, as I was the smallest dog in the fight. I did the rough filing on the bronze weld, then The Torch finished the filing until a longer section of a larger tube slid over. Then I got to work two torches, to keep everything warm while he brazed the outer tube in place. Then the new bearings were put in place, the fork tubes straightened, and off he went....ARH

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by Angus67

It is tather thin

Yeah, and I guaranty it is not high tensile strength steel...ARH

[Angus67]

Well a couple years ago i had a couple exhaust flanges for my 72 honda xl250burnrd out with a whitney 3400, and since i have an extra, im going to use it to re-ring the head tube upper cup. I had to grind off alot, and aftr test fitting i see i have to grind off more so the bosses in the upper trees that the risers bolt thru will clear.
So tomorrow, I’ll grind the ring down to about 1/8, and weld it up.

[Angus67]

After looking for days with no luck, I started a new thread asking for direct help in finding those bearings. And of course, i found them an hour later.
I ground down the support ring more, and ground the bosses in the upper tree to fit the ring, and welded it on. In doing so, I noticed the head tube isn’t straight to the frame. Oh well, for $40, its fine. Im also 45 years old, and wild and crazy days are long gone. Plodding along on dirt roads is all im intending to do on it.

[Angus67]

Pics of repair. It isn’t perfect, but will be strong enuf

[Angus67]

The top. If i had tig welder,I’d fuse the top. Perhaps shim with a strip from a b**r can?

[Angus67]

I took a gamble and did my best to measure my beat up steering tube bearings, and $10 and free shipping, and a week later, they measure the same as the old. The only difference is that the cage that holds the bearings in the old bearings is metal, and the new bearings is nylon....maybe🤞
I put it all back together with the cog nut snug. Tomorrow i will cruise my bumpy driveway ve way a few times, and snug it up for good. I also switched out old fork oil for fresh atf. So. If your looking for steering tube bearings, these are them 2006 roketa
Comes with races too