Gear lever bush

[fayeslane]

My R100GSPD has a needle roller bearing in the gear lever pivot. I replaced it but the new one ($$$) came with the same amount of slop in it as the old one Wear in the retaining bolt I suppose. Has anyone used a bush of any description to replace the bearing and can you buy one of the shelf? Thought I would ask before I go to the lathe and reduce a large useful piece of material to a small useless piece of material and a lot of profanity

 

[(RIP) pastyman]

Why would you do that to a nice lathe

 

[poulviking]

i don't think they were a bearing from new, mine wasn't. just a bush.
I did machine up a new one and it had to be very neat on the size to work, just 0.1 mm makes it feel loose

 

[Rob Farmer]

Thought I would ask before I go to the lathe and reduce a large useful piece of material to a small useless piece of material and a lot of profanity

I thought that's why we bought lathes

I have a box full of those under my lathe

 

[fayeslane]

I thought that's why we bought lathes

I have a box full of those under my lathe

I reckon I've said it here before-owning a lathe doesn't make you a machinist

In my case it's an optimist who is blissfully unaware of the limits of his ability

 

[fayeslane]

i don't think they were a bearing from new, mine wasn't. just a bush.
I did machine up a new one and it had to be very neat on the size to work, just 0.1 mm makes it feel loose

That's interesting Rob -I was wondering why you would stick a needle roller on the bottom of a bike right in amongst the dust and shit

Might have a crack at making a bush but 0.1 mm is daunting when I usually work on getting to within a mm, give or take

What material do you reckon I should use -steel, aluminium, nylon, teflon ?

 

[cheap'n'cheerful]

I would be tempted to use oilite if you can get that in Aus but depending on the sizes you might be able to get one of the shelf from a bearing supplier
Cheers C'n'C

 

[Beemerboff]

Could just be availability, and cost.

When I needed a small end bush for my B44 I was quoted $60- probably because it fits a Goldie too. Would have needed reaming after fitting .

It is a standard 3/4 x 1 x 1" long bush so I dropped into my friendly bearing supplier to see what was available in stock bushes.

Cheapest option was a Torrington crowded needle roller for less than $10-, and it didnt need reaming after it was fitted either.

He had bush stock, but only in 450 mm lengths and over $100-

And my G/S hasa sloppy roller too, fitting an O ring both ends helps a bit.

 

[ChasF]

This may be a little crude for some of you engineering experts but I found the spigot on the frame was either 10 or 12 mm (can't remember) and the hole in the gearlever was 2mm larger. French copper plumbing pipe comes in 10/12/14/16/18/20/22 OD all with a 1mm wall thickness so I just cut a suitable length which turned out to be a tap in fit in the gearlever (interference, I believe its called) and a snug sliding fit on the spigot with a bit of grease. Been working fine for a few kmiles but if it start to get sloppy again I'll just make another. Little risk of it wearing the steel parts.

 

[cheap'n'cheerful]

THE BUSH IS A STANDARD SIZE 12MM BORE 18MM Plain Oilite Bushes - Metric ISO2795 IS THE TYPE OF BUSH YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR THESE ARE ABOUT £5.00 IN THE UK SO SHOULD BE CHEAPER IN AUS

 

[fayeslane]

THE BUSH IS A STANDARD SIZE 12MM BORE 18MM Plain Oilite Bushes - Metric ISO2795 IS THE TYPE OF BUSH YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR THESE ARE ABOUT £5.00 IN THE UK SO SHOULD BE CHEAPER IN AUS

Off to the bearing shop this morning armed with this info -thank you for the heads up. It'll be a bloody first if it's cheaper here

 

[fayeslane]

Oillite type bush 12mm x 18mm x 25mm long fits like a thumb in a bum and has reduced the slop in the gear shift by about 90%. Still a little play in the ball joints. Available from my local SKF bearing shop for $12 bucks.

Thanks all for your input, should be able to find most of the gears now