The race is round to a tighter tolerance than I can measure. The bearing fits fine on the bench but wobbles once the race is installed. The upper bearing is fine on the bench and installed in the frame.
I sort of dry-fit (dammit) the steering stem together and didn't feel any play, but I don't feel good about leaving it as-is (I have no control) - I don't feel play now but I don't want to find it at 65mph over a pothole (or is it pot-hole? Ha.)
It appears to be pinched in the front/back (safe) since the play is sideways, but I am having a tough time measuring the inner diameter since it's sort of rough in there (like someone had a hard time removing the lower race?). I will note that the lower tree was bent and the forks have been recently rebuilt, so I am guessing the bike was in a crash. When I test-drove (game over) the bike, it had a little bounce in the front wheel when making somewhat tight turns. I figured it was maybe just fork oil, then later figured it was just the lower tree, but now wondering if the frame is actually bent.
So what the heck do I do with this? Searching online turns up 'get a new frame' results, but I know the people in this forum are a little more resourceful than that. I don't have many serious machining tools, but one idea is re-boring the lower ID, maybe it can be done at home with a special order tool and some proper fixturing. Maybe there is a suggestion for a better way to measure the ID, and hit it with a simple rotary grinder to remove some stock or something.
Please help
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