Front wheel collar spacing?

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Laser Dude

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I was looking at my bike and noticed that the spacer, or what they call the collar that's on the left side if you are looking at the front wheel, has a gap in it. The bearing is on it, but the shoulder on the collar isn't up against the oil seal. Should it be? Seems like it should be. Right now, when looking at it, you can see the edge of the oil seal, then there's about a 1/4" of the smaller diameter of the collar visible, then the shoulder. I would think the shoulder should be up against the oil seal face. It was late when I saw it last night and I didn't have a chance to look into it, but my gut tells me that that would allow the wheel to move left and right the distance that the shoulder is away from the oil seal now.

I tried to use the right names based on the parts diagram, so if I said something that makes no sense, let me know and I'll try to clarify.

The breakdown being, the axle, the collar, the oil seal, then the bearing, on that left hand side, facing the bike.

 
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Did you take things apart?

If not, stress less and ride more.
punk.gif


Yes, there's a collar and it rests against the bearing and is inside the seal....unless you took something apart and are trying to put the thicker end of the collar against the seal.

 
Did you take things apart?
If not, stress less and ride more.
punk.gif


Yes, there's a collar and it rests against the bearing and is inside the seal....unless you took something apart and are trying to put the thicker end of the collar against the seal.
Well, no story is simple, is it? I've heard a "popping" noise while sitting still, if I turn the front wheel a little with the front brake on. If I let the brake off, and turn the wheel, it may or may not pop. I've stopped, looked at it many times and cannot locate the source of the pop. It's not consistent and only does it every so often. It does it without the bike running or with it running. I had a connector down in the upper fork area that I didn't tuck back in correctly under one of the inside panels, and I thought that was it. I fixed that and hadn't noticed the noise again (that was weeks ago) until yesterday. I was taking a short ride and had my face shield open when I heard it while turning. I turned a few times and I could hear it. When I got home, I looked and found one driving light bracket broken and one driving light was flopping. Ahhhh, that's a new once, since I just looked at them earlier in the day to make sure they were turned on. So I know what that noise was, but in looking at the broken bracket, I saw the gap between the collar shoulder and the oil seal face and it made me wonder if that was the popping noise, where maybe when sitting still and turning the wheel slight, the wheel is popping to the right.

To me, in my untrained opinion
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, the shoulder of that collar should hit the face of that oil seal or be darn close. With a good 1/4" gap, it makes me think my front wheel is sliding on the axle back and forth 1/4" or so.

I haven't had the wheel off for 7,000 miles or so and it's quite possible I did it wrong 7,000 miles ago
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I was at work when I typed it, home for the photo. Upon closer inspection, everything is rock solid and I think everything is correct and the shoulder of the collar should not be against the seal. Much more clear when I can look at it instead of just thinking about it.

 
No, the spacer does not fit all the way into the bearing space. The shoulder is a few mm away from the seal.

Also, I'm betting the popping noise you are hearing is the floating rotors. If you don't know what they are, they make a racket you can't figure out. Those little silver roundels in your rotor spin, if they're clean. If they're clean and working, your rotors will make noise at random times.

 
I just went out to look at mine and it looks the same as yours.

That's what I figured, the more I talked the worse it got!
https://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y364/LaserDudeFJR/Front wheel/IMG_4289_zps9h6rl7k2.jpg

Is that space between the collar shoulder and the oil seal normal?
 
Thanks guys, I think we're all good! Just a tad bit of paranoia. Saw it at night, then worked all day the next day, so my mind was working overtime on it. Everything is tight up front, so we're all good.

 
I was at work when I typed it, home for the photo. Upon closer inspection, everything is rock solid and I think everything is correct and the shoulder of the collar should not be against the seal. Much more clear when I can look at it instead of just thinking about it.
You are correct. The shoulder end of that collar goes up against the inside of the fork leg. The smaller diameter end of the collar goes through the oil seal and buts up against the bearing.

 
Please ignore the excess grease and bug guts.



Something strange is going on with Photobucket links lately - sometimes they work and sometimes they don't...

 
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