Sprocket hub install

Take a good look at the posts by @Cal and @Gert earlier. Part #10 (the spacer) is commonly installed the wrong way 'round.

Other than that, the only thing that prevents the carrier from sliding into the hub is the friction caused by the cush rubbers (#6). If these rubbers are new, it helps if you put something on them that lubricates them, without attacking the rubber. I gave them a smear of washing-up liquid, but I guess any type of grease would work as well.

What also helps is if you understand and visualise the load path: If you torque up the axle nut, you are exerting a compression force on everything that surrounds the wheel axle. That load path should travel from left to right through solid objects, and NOT through a bearing (I mean from the inner to the outer race of a bearing or v/v).

This means that from left to right the following components need to make firm contact with each other:

• The flange on the wheel axle (#9)
• Left chain tension adjuster (not in the diagram)
• Left swingarm (not in the diagram)
• Spacer #11
• Inner race of the sprocket carrier bearing (#14)
• Spacer #10
• Inner race of the left wheel bearing (#16)
• Hub spacer #13
• Inner race of the right wheel bearing (#16)
• Spacer #4
• Carrier for the rear brake cylinder (not in the diagram)
• Right swingarm (not in the diagram)
• Right chain tension adjuster (not in the diagram)
• Washer
• Axle nut (#12)

Note that the outer rim of the sprocket carrier should NOT be in firm contact with the wheel hub. That's not where the sideways load travels through. Also, the sprocket carrier needs to be able to rotate independently from the wheel hub so that the cush rubbers can do their job. So, as said by others, I think you're perfectly OK with the carrier as it is, providing that you did not install spacer #10 the wrong way 'round.

The last test you can do is this. Simply mount the wheel and torque the axle nut up to the desired value, but do NOT put the chain on the sprocket just yet. If the wheel turns freely and rotates maybe two full revolutions after you give it a bit of a swing, you're good. If the spacer #10 was installed the wrong way round, the load path travels through two bearings from inside to out and v/v and ball bearings are not designed for that. So they bind up almost immediately, leaving you with a wheel that's virtually impossible to rotate.

conquermike said:

I have tried heating the hub and have been whacking around the hub with a 3lb hammer using a 2x4 to distribute the blows but progress has been halted and I've been stuck here for over an hour of smacking

Click to expand...

[Expletive deleted] I hope you did not cause damage with that action. When you take off the sprocket carrier to check the orientation of spacer #10, check your bearings. With just one or two fingers you should be able to rotate the inner race of each bearing (and there's three bearings in total you need to check). That rotation should happen freely, with very little resistance but no "notches" or variations to the resistance to be felt. But your whacking could have destroyed your bearings, in particular the sprocket carrier bearing or the left wheel bearing.