Tripple Tree Dust Shields

[Hauula Pan]

Now that I have a set of stock trees, (I've been running after market billet trees with custom dust caps until now.) With the stock set up I got one large dia. bearing dust shield and one smaller dia. Can someone tell me which goes under the lower bearing and which goes over the top bearing?

[neilw]

I took a photo of my parts book forks page ,maybe you can get anidea from it .I'm not sure if the photo got attatched.
Neil

[neilw]

If you save that photo to "your pictures " you can wenlarge it ..
I dont see an upper and lower dust sheild in the book .My 59 FLH has one on the top only..But my book shows from 79 on they used upper and lower dustsheilds ,they have different part numbers so maybe the diameter is different ..You didnt mention what year yer bike is ,but your profile said 52. Do you know what year parts you are tryng to install?

[panz4ever]

Used two on 49-57. Lower part number is 48365-48. Upper is 48330-48. Caveat here on the upper part number tho. It is different in appearance and was used in conjunction with the steering dampener set up. Sounds like you are not running that. As I recall on a couple of pans I built up that did not use the dampener, I used the larger on on the bottom and the smaller one on top. But please, someone, correct me if I am in error. Don't want to put out bogus info.

[FlatHeadSix]

Panz,
You are correct, the upper, part number 48330-48, is not really a dust cover, its actually part of the steering damper system. It has the integral star wheel which holds the anchor pin attached to the anchor plate. I've never put one together without a steering damper but I imagine that whatever you put in its place would have to be fairly thick because it sits directly under the stem nut and more or less determines how much tension is on the top bearing.

mike

[VT]

The bottom dust cover is that s/s shallow pan. The top dust cover is that cad plated steel bearing cover with the star lugs attached. This is for the non-adjustable forks. Do not use that single star lug without the steel shield attached (it's for '60-up forks).
Make sure you put the lower dust cover on the tree stem first, then drive the bearing race (don't touch the bearings or cage!). If you want a step by step it's in Vol. 2.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The mystery of what and how the star arms work is over in the Repop section > "Eliminating Gap under Head Cups"

[Hauula Pan]

I thought I had it figured out until I saw VT's pic, That has the dust cover on the outside of the bearing cup lip. Mine are chrome after market covers and look much different, so I'm enclosing pictures. I have not put the bottom bearing on the lower tree yet as I want to make sure I get this right first. I DO NOT want to have to undo a mistake and end up buying new bearing etc. From what I get from replies so far the layout is LARGE DIA. Shield first onto lower tree, bottom bearing, top bearing, SMALL DIA. Shield, Stem Nut, top tree, and top nut. Only my SMALL DIA. Shield sits on the bearing & just inside the lip of the bearing cup - not outside the lip like VT's. Take a look at the pics & tell me what you think, other than that I shouldn't use the after market shields.

[Hauula Pan]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I'm not installing a Dampner. I'm putting my 1952 Eng. and Trans. into a V-Twin 49 frame. (They hadn't came out with the 52 wishbone yet when I got it and the 49 was closest to my 52.) Also the 49 was available as a rolling chassis and was the most econonicial way to get all the other parts I needed to replace like my front end etc. Everything I had before was after market and or self made. The 52 frame had been chopped up quite a bit over the years. The neck had been cut down to run an Indian Girder before I got it and I made my own Trees and machined oversize bearing cups 1-1/16" tall to make up for the cut down neck and avoid hacking up the frame more by replacing the head. So basically its always been more of a chopper. 15" rear with after market disc. 21" front with disc. etc. So I've not dealt with a lot of the more closer to stock parts that I am now installing. Even though these are after market too. Hope this & the pics clarify what I'm trying to do here.

[Hauula Pan]

These parts came with the front end kit too, I have no idea what they are for. I figured the washer with the flat side & tang is some kind of lock tab but can't figure how it would work or where it would go. I'm thinking just extra parts.

[62pan]

The tang fits into a hole in the top tree. It is bent down to secure it to the upper tree. The top stem nut is then torqued down and the washer is bent up to mate with a flat on the nut. If I remember correctly it is for a later set of trees with out the dampener. If there is no small hole in the upper tree it really won't do you any good

[VT]

You have the wrong parts for the fork you're tying to put together, unless you going for the '60-up style. Typically the hydra-glide shrink card parts kit has all the wrong parts included for a '49-59 non-adjustable fork. It's a mess, mostly because the manufacturer has the wrong people setting up these kit packs.
"They" need to put 1949-59 fork parts on one side of the building and the '60-up parts on the other side of the building. 50's and 60's fork parts should never meet. Sad they're so screwed up. Makes you wonder why they're even in the parts business to begin with. Maybe they're making money on back and forth UPS shipments.
If you have 19 bearings, it can only be for '60-up cups. 60-up (slightly taller) cups will not allow the s/s fork panel holes to match up with the tree holes. If your not using the s/s panels, then it doesn't matter much if you have '60-up cups. I'd make them '49-59 and get the cups from Mark Blankenship. Races and (16) Timken bearings are readily available at any bearing shop. The star damper comes in handy, but you can just install the damper and not the anchor plate on frames without the anchor pin boss on the frame neck.

living in the, "After Market" World, is while some things are very close to the originals they're not always close enough, and you can't always match up after market part numbers with OEM. I've noticed the little thing in V-Twins book where one part number will say something like fits 37 to 63 and the next one will say 49 to 53 and have learned the one with the least amount of years is usually closer to OEM than the one that is supposed to fit the wider expanse of years. I guess there is a big difference in that, yeah they will both probably fit in some applications but the ones with a wider range of years probably won't, "Really" fit as well.

Yes, now you've learned how to "read" the catalog. Look for parts that have the shortest span of years. Beware of '49-59 kit cards for right now. There are no 1949-1959 Glide fork kits, they all contain '60-up parts like yours. People need to buy the '49-59 non-adjustable fork kits as separate pieces to get what you want without waste. You will pay more, but you will get closer to what you want with the first order.
1949-1959 Glide thinking is still years ahead of the organization itself. No one realized that 1949-1959 (moreover 1949-1957) are the best years of OHV. Now they do, but it was like turning a large ocean liner around in the middle of a small harbor. It takes time and big investment. They really have a chance to make it all right with 3.5 gallon tanks. I'm stoked it will be done right.
We can guide people through the 1949-1959 pitfalls here, but you have to ask before you buy parts. Anything custom away from stock is beyond me though. Other people here know all about custom.
Don't try and go it alone or you'll make big mistakes.

[Hauula Pan]

OK then, that explains A LOT! One step forward two steps backward! I need to go over everything I have, Trees, Cups, Bearings, Dust Covers, Nuts, Etc. See what's what, and what's compatible and what isn't. One of the biggest problems I've encountered living in the, "After Market" World, is while some things are very close to the originals they're not always close enough, and you can't always match up after market part numbers with OEM. I've noticed the little thing in V-Twins book where one part number will say something like fits 37 to 63 and the next one will say 49 to 53 and have learned the one with the least amount of years is usually closer to OEM than the one that is supposed to fit the wider expanse of years. I guess there is a big difference in that, yeah they will both probably fit in some applications but the ones with a wider range of years probably won't, "Really" fit as well. At least I haven't put that lower bearing on yet!!! I am getting out the books, measuring tools, and magnifying glass, (Old Bike - Old Eyes Too). Thanks. P.S. Pictures are a great help, both asking and answering, glad I figured out how to do it.

[Hauula Pan]

OK after measuring and cross checking all the part #'s against Catalog & OEM P/N's I do in fact have all later model parts. Cups & races are 53 & up, bearings and dust shields and cone nut are for 60 & up. And the tins do not quite line up right. Since these and the tins all came together with the front end and are supposed to work together, I will have to get hold of folks at V-Twin and tell them I need the cups & bearings that work with the early tins. That or just bite the cost of getting new ones from Blankenship as VT suggests. At least I never pressed the lower bearing on, so don't have to deal with the headache of pulling it off. I learned long ago measure and ask questions first!! I've enclosed a pic of my old frame & the cups & trees I made to work with the cut down neck. As you can see, way far from stock, I just used what I had available. It worked fine for many years as a chopper. But you can see I did not have the dust shields, or even a cone nut, or damper etc. so all that is new to me. By the way I used Timken 7100, 16 roller bearings in the cups I made. Never even heard of these Peer 19 roller jobs.

[VT]

I will have to get hold of folks at V-Twin and tell them I need the cups & bearings that work with the early tins.

All of V-Twins current cups are '60-up, no matter what the catalog says. You have to get the cups from Blankenship or make them yourself.

[neilw]

I'm not familliar with V-Twin ,but what you guys are saying I guess screw ups are normal..I bought stuff from J&P ,and nosparts.com,I had good service and correct parts shipped to me .But the best was Lonnie at Antique cycle,all he sells is old harley stuff ,and he rides them and deals with restoration guys everyday.I havn't ordered anything for a year ,but when I did he would go into detail as to why this or that would ,or not it . If you googlle antique cycle you can see his on-line catalog ,good price too.