Steering Head Bearing Seals

Special seal rings for the tapered roller bearings in the steering head of many later-model Harley-Davidson motorcycles. As early as 1949, Harley-Davidson was already using tapered roller bearings in the steering head—long before most other manufacturers. At the time, the bearings were covered top and bottom by dust caps, which still allowed moisture to enter. Only with the first V-Rod models proper axial seals were introduced, featuring a rubber sealing lip bonded to a steel washer, reliably keeping splash water and rain away from the steering head bearing. In addition to the listed models, these seal rings are of course backward-compatible with earlier model years — wherever space allows.