The Chopper Compendium

1. I have purchased a 25mm steering stem with threaded ends on both ends, now i need to attach it to my lower tree. Do i try to tap out the tree, which only has a pilot hole at the moment, to fit the threading, or would it be better to have the stem welded in? Also, its a stainless stem, is there any problems welding it to cold rolled steel?

2. What is the best way to press in the neck cups using home garage type tools? Should i press them in now while im building and mocking up, or wait until after paint? I want to press them in now so i can assemble everything as i go

as far as the stem i know it will weld together but im not sure if it would be prone to cracking but as far as putting the cups in i usually use a 3/4 inch threaded rod and a couple nuts to put em in and i always put mine in before i paint so it helps with the mockup process i usually tape em off real well before i paint i have never had a problem

Thanks Curt, that's an awesome idea about the threaded rod, I'll give it a go!
The stem perplexes me a bit. I would think the tapping of the hole would have to be spot on and straight, and then I would be relying on the threads that I cut to keep it all together. They are real fine machine thread (24 per inch, I believe). I'm just curious what others have done. I guess I could tap the hole and see how that goes, and if it doesn't give me all the confidence, then I could weld it, or maybe I should do both, since im drilling right through anyways.

if you tap the hole and use the threads i believe the plans call for a nut on the bottom of the tree to lock the stem i have never used this system but seems like it would be plenty strong and you would be able to change it if needed

Ill have to check the plans again.
I used the threaded rod method to pull the neck cups into the frame and it worked like a charm! I even managed to get the lower one lined up perfectly for the steering stop, so I'm thrilled!
thanks again Curt.

Stainless steel and carbon steel are different enough that generally, special welding procedures need to be followed to
get a quality weld. A steering stem is not the place that I would be willing to take a chance on a failure.

As Curt mentioned, allthread rod and big washers work like a charm. Here's and example of whats sold
for putting in cups and races. The offset hole is to allow use on raked cups

If I used a stainless stem, as in this case, it seems the safest would be thread it to the bottom tree.

Yes, i agree. I will be looking into tapping the lower tree.
Thanks for the advise.

Are you absolutely sure the stem is stainless steel. That's pretty unusual for a thread as fine as the harley neck bolt?

I got the stem from bitter end, and it says its stainless on the website. Unless im on heroin.
http://www.bitterendchoppers.com/SpringerParts.html
Its a nice piece!

i buy stuff from them big al seems like a real helpful guy

Cycle-psycho wrote:I got the stem from bitter end, and it says its stainless on the website. Unless im on heroin.
http://www.bitterendchoppers.com/SpringerParts.html
Its a nice piece!

it does say stainless. but that dont mean your not on drugs

OK, so I got the lower tripple tree tapped for the stem, and it seems to fit into their nicely, but I am seeing an issue. The stem has 1" of threaded area on both ends. My trees are 3/4" thick, so the stem just barely sticks out the lower end of the lower tree, so it is not possible to install a jam nut under the lower tree, is this an issue?
Also, I see that I now only have 1" of threaded area at the top for fastening, I dont think this will leave me enough room to install lock washers and jam nuts under the tree and then have room atop for the acorn nut. So im confused as to how long the threaded area should be, or how to assemble the lock nuts, tabbed washer, jam nut, then tree, then acorn over 1" of threaded area with a 3/4" thick tree?
Am I missing something here?

The locknut and jamnut each will take up an eighth, part of the jam nut extended into the tree by about a quarter inch. The acorn nut extends down into the tree by an quarter of an inch so you should have an extra 1/8" or so of excess thread. Most Big Twin necks I've bought have about 1.5" of thread at the top and a 3/4" shoulder on the bottom for welding. The jam nut on the bottom is not needed as most folks just tack the bottom end like a factory installation. I'm looking for a picture of the assembly.