FT: Frame (Twin) FF35 Felt Washer - Why????

[Gary Gittleson]

I guess it's been a couple of years (maybe three) since I experienced the same problem. In my case, I plain forgot to put the damned felt in; probably because I hated it so much, its being way too big and a miserable solution to the problem in the first place. So not wanting to tear the front end down again, I made an O-ring using one of those readily-available kits. You need to find the correct thickness of material, stretch it around the stem and cut it cleanly and slightly shorter for tension. The kit should come with a plastic "guillotine" for making a square cut. Then place it around the stem and glue the ends together with Crazy Glue or some such.

I was warned that it wouldn't hold and surely would never work. But after the two or three years and 4,000 miles or so, it's still there doing its thing.

 

[twobyfour]

Good to hear that those o-ring splicing kits works. I'll try oiling the felt first. If this doesn't work, I'll try to split it in half in-situ. If I fail, or it still binds, I'll get one of those splicing kits.
Sellers of FF35's should definitely put a warning on their websites about the utility/suitability of these things. Fit for purpose? The evidence would suggest not.

Allan.

 

[litnman]

While adding a David D steering stem I added tapered bearings from All Balls Bearings. The seal is part of the kit. Not a plug and play modification but solved the felt washer issue.

 

[twobyfour]

While adding a David D steering stem I added tapered bearings from All Balls Bearings. The seal is part of the kit. Not a plug and play modification but solved the felt washer issue.View attachment 59877

Do you notice any difference from using taper rollers in the headstock, compared with the original set-up?

 

[greg brillus]

Modern felt is very soft and tends to roll up into a ball........cut the felt in half with a sharp thin blade like a utility knife........using a length of wooden dowel clamped in the jaws of a vice, this works very well........I don't use the felts anymore, just replace with the correct width "O" ring.

 

[litnman]

Do you notice any difference from using taper rollers in the headstock, compared with the original set-up?

The restoration isn't finished yet.

 

[twobyfour]

Modern felt is very soft and tends to roll up into a ball........cut the felt in half with a sharp thin blade like a utility knife........using a length of wooden dowel clamped in the jaws of a vice, this works very well........I don't use the felts anymore, just replace with the correct width "O" ring.

I tried oiling the felt in-situ. It helped, but the steering was still stiff. I tried cutting the felt and that was unsuccessful, probably not helped by oiling it first, but it's hard to do when the felt is in place on the bike.
I've decided that an o-ring is the answer, but it will have to be made from one of those splicing kits. I'm not pulling it all apart to fit an o-ring!

Allan.

 

[timetraveller]

When you have managed to remove all the bits of the felt, check the adjustment on the bearing tightness before getting the 'o' ring material. It is likely that they will not be tight enough and let us know what the gap is that you have to fill.

 

[Cyborg]

While adding a David D steering stem I added tapered bearings from All Balls Bearings. The seal is part of the kit. Not a plug and play modification but solved the felt washer issue.View attachment 59877

Thanks for posting that… good to know.

It seems odd to me that Vincent used taper rollers everywhere except the steering head… especially given the number of cracked ball races I have seen.

 

[oexing]

I would not know any bike older than from year 1969 to have taper rollers in head lugs. But then, BMW had taper rollers for wheel bearings at least from 1928, don´t know about earlier types.
A bonus with taper roller bearings is the large area of fit on stem and head lug. Standard ball bearings can eat into stem and head lug when minimum press fit has gone.

Vic