Hi Guys,

 

I am putting my bike back together tonight and have just fitted new chrome forks, but I have a question re the spacers.

My bike is a 2010 FatBoy so if someone has something similar and can either take a pic or confirm, I would be grateful.

So I have put the wheel back on, and I know that HDs have that weird setup where the front wheel is actually held on by squeezing the spacers to the left hand side, and the right had side fork just clamps the spacer.

My problem is, the fork does not but up hard against the spacer. As in... There is a small gap between the right side form arm and the spacer. The spacer itself can't move as it's pulled tight by the axle. But I just wanted to be sure the gap is OK.

ALSO... there are marks on the spacers, do they need to go to any one particular side - as in - closer to the wheel or closer to the fork?

Any help would be great.

Cheers
John

 

Don't know about the FatBoy but on the Road glide 2012. Yes there is a small gap on the right side before the axle is tensioned up and in fact it looks like there is a gap still there after. There are grooves cut into the spacer on the right side and the manual says they are to go on the outside.
Not your bike but hope it helps.

OK - thanks man. I might take some pics today and post - as there is still a gap on mine too.

Cheers
John

Hey Ozymax,    My bike is 2009 flht Electra Glide.   Whats the go with the grooves cut around   the front right wheel spacer !!    Manual says, as you say , grooves to the outside .  Question is , what is the reason ???     The reason I ask is,  the grooves on mine are on the inside.   Cheers  

The manual for my 2010 Widey says the larger side of the chamfered spacer goes away from the wheel....I checked mine and it has the grooves on the inside against the wheel and the spacer looks the same  diameter for it's full length...I changed my front wheel and just put it back in without looking too closely at it but it seems to go ok...

it is the axle pushing the spacer across, its normal if im understanding your post correctly.

T1

I'm the same as you Sparra,   Front tire has been on for approx 15,000km with the spacer grooves on the inside and no problems with ride or handling.   The only thing I can thing of , is the spacer , (which is tightend onto the bearing face ,  has a slightly different end compared to the end which has the grooves !!    That being said,  having the spacer with the grooves against the bearing (inside) , not outside (as per manual),  could this damage the bearing face in some way ???  

For those that dont know what where talkng about,  a couple of pictures will help !! 

I will let  someone more experienced in front ends, wheels, bearings , etc  to chime in,       Cheers   

 

sorry boys been out for a ride for most of the day, hot but a great time was had by all.

 

Here is a pic of mine on the road glide.

Don't actually know what the difference from end to end is but I suspect it may be the face for the bearing and the grooves simply identify which way it goes. Could just as easily been 1 groove though.

Interestingly in my Dyna Manual it doesn't mention the grooves and I can't recall if it had them or not. However the manual does say " with the largest chamfered end facing away from the wheel.

As for the gap it looks like there could be one and there definitely is against the lower fork cap as that doesn't actually match up with the fork width. On some forks there could also be a small lip which could hold the spacer off at the edges a few thou. I would say as long as the cap is just slightly snug then the axle is tightened it should remove all gaps as far as is possible, then torque up the cap.

 

from every space i have seen they are the same end to end, the gap you can see above is the step up of the axle and is normal.

T1

Hi,

Lines to fork, other end to bearing as is of better manufacturing tolerance, parrallel etc

But i dont think you have to work these machines like a space shuttle and as indicated by others either way runs well
Thanks
Robots

Hey there Robots...Does the other side spacer have the sigle machined line to the outside as well on your bike??? And have you ever had your front wheel off???

 hi,

yes it does, yeah had wheel off

i goto harley shop on friday and have  a look

thanks

robots

 

Thanks for the reply mate...I took mine off and turned them around today for piece of mind but I really couldn't see a difference...

 

Cheers...Sparra

 hi,

i couldnt see the "chamfered" end either, the only other thing I notice is for the cast wheel installation FXDF it looks like it has grooves in the spacers in the manual

thanks

robots

I have some spare ones off my old 07 fatty. 1 wide, 1 narrow. Both had 4 grooves but the smaller one had the grooves closer together.
Makes me think the grooves are there as a machining guide possibly to make thinner ones for other models?
Both faces looked the same, and no chamfers. Bores were parallel also. No tapered on the OD either.
I remember, I replaced them with the Harley chrome versions, and the new ones had no grooves! So there you go forum dwellers.

BTW, trendsetters, the wide one was on the rotor side, and the grooves faced the forks on both sides.

Thanks everyone for the info.

It's the space between the spacer and the fork on the right side (non rotor) side that I am worried about. I will take a pic today.