Strada Steering Head Bearings

[vincent]

Quick question, How many 1/4" balls should there be in each head race? (1982 strada K)
Thanks

[Steve Brown]

Trick reply-zero! They should be metric balls so how many of those is the right number? Anyone bothered to read a workshop manual or parts list?

[Steve Brown]

And then, when you do look in the parts list it says= 1/4"! How come the Italians went imperial for this? Anyway, I seem to remember 50 being the total top and bottom, or that may just be a convenient bag quantity to buy... ...so I looked again in one of the three fork lists and it says 22 each set.

[EVguru]

Loose balls were more common (and cheaper) in imperial sizes at the time. The clevis pins for the front drum brakes are (should be!) 1/4" too.

For a loose ball set-up, if you think you can get in one more ball, then you have the right number. There should always be a gap.

[vincent]

Thank you all for replies. I counted 20 in each but not sure whether I lost some as they fell out! I was surprised to measure them at 1/4", rather than metric. Don't think I could get 22 in each, and agree with the "1 less than max possible" idea.

[mgelder]

My '82 K took 22 in the top and 22 in the bottom: