>I have the same problem with a Motobecane. Mine seemed to have a too big=
> stem (Seems to be a standard 22.2mm. It's a GB, and I don't know if the=
>y made french size stems.) jammed in the steerer. Would that be the caus=
>e of the damage when the too large stem was tightened? Or would it have =
>been caused by something else?
It always had the original (Japanese SR) stem, but I have a new French Pivo stem to take its place. I don't know what caused the damage, and I don't remember it being like that the last time I repacked the bearings (about 20 years ago). I'm going to see if I can fix it with a 1mm thread file. If not, I'll put my new French headset away and go back to my French-threaded Italian headset, which works fine because the threads on the upper race are further up.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions on how to fix this problem!
Herb Langston