Glide front end top bearing nut

[Omarttentmaker]

Can somebody shed some light on this one? What keeps the top bearing nut that goes on the lower triple tree stem from turning once it's tightened? The part I'm talking about is 48330-48. This part has a series of scallops in the top of it that look like one of them would accept a pin that goes down through one of the three holes drilled in the top tree located radially just above the center hole in the top tree. I talked with someone who said that those three holes were drilled .201", tap drill for 1/4-20. Once the nut was tightened and the top tree installed, you would have to look to see if one of the scallops lined up with one of the tapped holes, at which point a dog point set screw could be installed after tapping the three holes that would anchor the bearing nut. My other question concerns the holes in the top and bottom friction washers, part #46727-48. Anybody know what purpose these holes serve? They look to be about .125 in diameter, and are heavily countersunk on one side.

[Rubone]

Believe half of what you see, and nothing of what you hear. Whoever told you it was intended to thread those holes just made that crap up. The lower factory friction damper washer had a pin in it that when installed dropped into one of the holes and locked both the top nut and the lower one. In use if the top nut is tightened correctly the lower one cannot move as the upper is a jamb nut for it. The scallops as used for decades on both Springer and Hydra-Glide forks is to allow bearing adjustment. Note that when the steering damper was left off on later nacelle models the top nut just became a nut with a bend tab washer to keep it in place. The top tree and nut are part of the assembly. Be sure that when assembling those parts if the tubes are in the top treethat the pinch bolts are loose so any tension is eliminated in the assembly.There has never been any set screw in that assembly.
Of course you can do what you like and there is no reason to believe me...

[Omarttentmaker]

Well, I got the set screw info from someone who recommended I contact you. I tried but I couldn't contact you through the private message center. Wondering why the hole in the friction washer is so small as compared to the hole in the tree. When you say "tightened correctly", I guess you mean the top nut has to land on the proud surface of the lower one.

[Rubone]

The hole in the washer is small because the pin is riveted to it, the pin has a stem that goes through the hole and is peened flat, hence the conical depression. The two nuts don't need to touch (and shouldn't), the tree acts as a spacer and it is all tight to each other.