Pinion Bearing Cages

[Bill Pedalino]

I am told by reliable sources that the reproduction early pinion bearing and and sprocket shaft bearing cages (Teds/ V-Twin) are substandard and fail. I bought a couple of sets of Sifton cages, knowing the Sifton name and quality - only to learn that Ted purchased Sifton a while back and retained the rights to Sifton packaging. Essentially, he is packaging the V-Twin cages in Sifton packages.

I really don't mean to trash ted - I like him personally and I appreciate the fact that he offers a lot of great stuff and how he has made his fortune helping us regain old iron. Win-Win. However, I am also cognizant (through personal experiemnce over many years) that some of his stuff is not so great. Buyer Beware!

If I'm wrong about the cages, please let me know, as I really need two sets for my '47 knuckle and my '53 panhead. I'm really afraid to use the new cages at this point, unless some of you advise otherwise through your experience with these products.

Finally, if anyone has a couple of sets of these cages and would like to sell, please let me know.

Thanks agaion to the AMCA staff fo this fourm, It alone is well worth the membership price!

[koanes]

You would be better off with oem cages. The aftermarket cages are often machined incorrectly, with the bearing hole centerline being to the inside or outside of the cage. If off to the inside of the cage, the assembly will be tight on the shaft, to the outside, tight in the race. Also I believe the quality of the alloy used to be inferior, if you drop a oem cage, no damage, drop an aftermarket cage and you will likely find it in pieces.

[Erdos]

I second that koanes. Just purchased two sets of cages for my knuckle both were incorrectly machined. Both would not fit on the shafts with standard bearings. The drive side cages are easy to come by since they are the same as the starhub cages but I am in need of the pinion cages. I purchsed some from a local dealer but when I put the bearings in, the cages were too shallow (maybe 45 cages). The box they were in had the correct part number.

Any Ideas?

[Carl N. Olsen]

I build a lot of motors from scratch and have been using a combination of cages that one half is too short and the other half is too long. What i do is surface gring the back side for proper clearance on each half, then flip them over and surface grind the other side for proper bearing fitment. It is a little extra work, but turns out fantastic. Don't ask me what the cages are for because I do not know, but just picked them up through the years at swap meets and junk boxes. All you need to look for is 1 inch ID and 1 1/2 inch OD with 12 rollers.
Carl

[Jack_Hester]

Picked up a couple sets of Sifton cages awhile back, knowing they were not of US manufacture. Both sets were defective. Missing dividers on each set. Just out of curiousity, I tried fitting rollers. In some places, they were a hand press fit. Machining was beyond poor. Absolutely no quality control. I agree that Tedd has provided a source for some hard to get items. But, they are my last resort for any parts.

Jack

[Erdos]

Bill, I just picked up a few sets of cages at Rhinebeck. Are you still looking? I would be willing to let a set or two go.