1979 GS750LN Steering Bearing Replacement Leaves Triples Farther Apart

[rustynissan]

I have a 1979 GS750LN. The steering stem bearings felt like they were dented and hold the wheel at nearly 12 o'clock, so I bought some All Balls tapered bearings to replace the stock ball bearings about 8 years ago, finally getting around to replacing them, lol!

The removal/install went like a dream, but upon reassembly I noticed that the triples are now farther apart by about 4mm, maybe 5mm. I saw in another post that the new bearings are 2mm taller, so this checks out.

My question is this: what's the best method of making the tubes that hold the blinkers sit snugly? With the triples further apart, they have play vertically. I was thinking of making 4.5mm shims and placing them under the decorative cover over the lower triple.

 

[rustynissan]

here's a photo for reference. Note the gap between the top of this tube and its previous mating tube. Side note, the design of these tubes is absolute garbage, allowing water to enter. I realize the rubber bushings are there so the headlight doesn't vibrate to death every 200 miles, but an upward facing mate at the bottom just collects water, hence the ring of rust behind it that is not visible in the photo.

 

[rustynissan]

I have come up with a solution: McDonald's milk jugs! They have a part of the neck that is very close to 37mm diameter and if you trim the height right at the line on the plastic they are about 5mm tall!

 

[rustynissan]

You could use an additional set of the rubber bushings. Would be lot less work than making shims.

That's not a bad idea... But I already had these materials, and a couple of minutes with a pocket knife quickly made them into a lightweight and easy solution. I can post more pics if anyone is interested.

Plus, it beats paying ridiculous prices for OEM parts and waiting for them to ship. :cool-new: