Shimming rear axle?

[Laava]

I was wondering if it is good practice to shim the freeplay on a rear axle? My V Strom has 1-2 mm play and this just gets taken up by tightening the ends of the swingarm together. Is it good practice to avoid stressing the aluminium if poss or am I being a bit anarl about it? Just asking now cos I am going to replace some bearings in the cush drive and that is the opportunity. And so if it is 2 mm i should put a shim both sides in theory to keep things central.

[Ocean1]

I was wondering if it is good practice to shim the freeplay on a rear axle? My V Strom has 1-2 mm play and this just gets taken up by tightening the ends of the swingarm together. Is it good practice to avoid stressing the aluminium if poss or am I being a bit anarl about it? Just asking now cos I am going to replace some bearings in the cush drive and that is the opportunity. And so if it is 2 mm i should put a shim both sides in theory to keep things central.

You're being a narl.

Just make sure you've got the right spacers in the right places and proceed as usual. Most bikes have a bit of clearance, guess it's preferable to have any manufacturing tollerances that way rather than t'other, and a couple of mm over the length of the swingarm isn't going to stress the arms worth worring about.

[mossy1200]

Only thing it may be is if someone cranked the nut tight and squashed the crush tube between the bearings.
Idd do 2 bearings ( maybe 40-50) and a crush tube if your worried about it.

Your call but its not good to have bearings under pressure if it is that.

[Ocean1]

Only thing it may be is if someone cranked the nut tight and squashed the crush tube between the bearings.
Idd do 2 bearings ( maybe 40-50) and a crush tube if your worried about it.

Your call but its not good to have bearings under pressure if it is that.

Had that on the last XB12, but they're an alloy tube.

But it only takes 0.025mm to fuck bearings, I doubt it'd last more than a couple of revs at 2mm.

Reminds me though, make steel tubes to go in next time the new one gets fresh rubber.

[Laava]

Cool, thanks guys!

[schrodingers cat]

If you do the sums on how much deflection (degrees) that is over the length of the swing arm you'll have a number to tell you how little deflection that 2mm really is.
But if you want to shim it then go ahead. Either way it'll be fine

[Shaun]

Funnily enough, using a Tourque wrench on said bolts is done for a reason

[BMWST?]

there has to be some clearance to to get the wheel in and out

[Akzle]

And so if it is 2 mm i should put a shim both sides in theory to keep things central.

lining up your drive chain is whut'd be impotent. straight edge off teh drive sprocket. (but as said elsewhise, you're probably being a bit nurl about it.)

[bsasuper]

lining up your drive chain is whut'd be impotent. straight edge off teh drive sprocket. (but as said elsewhise, you're probably being a bit nurl about it.)


ERRRRRR wrong again.

[Akzle]

ERRRRRR wrong again.

hows that?

[98tls]

Lavva does the Strom have the same annoying habit as TLs of when you do up the axle nut the chain tightens,if so flip the axle round the other way.

[Drew]

Lavva does the Strom have the same annoying habit as TLs of when you do up the axle nut the chain tightens,if so flip the axle round the other way.Common complaint, and so easy to avoid. I like to have the axle nut protected in a crash by the muffler, so it goes on the right. When tightening it, I put a rag between chain and sporcket, then roll the wheel so it pulls the chain tight as fuck. Then tighten the axle. Roll the wheel back, pull out the rag, and it will stay where you adjusted it to.

[98tls]

Fair call D,me im quite happy just to have turned the axle round..

[Laava]

Common complaint, and so easy to avoid. I like to have the axle nut protected in a crash by the muffler, so it goes on the right. When tightening it, I put a rag between chain and sporcket, then roll the wheel so it pulls the chain tight as fuck. Then tighten the axle. Roll the wheel back, pull out the rag, and it will stay where you adjusted it to.

That is good thinking!


Lavva does the Strom have the same annoying habit as TLs of when you do up the axle nut the chain tightens,if so flip the axle round the other way.

Nope, it has annoying habits but that is not one of them.

[AllanB]

Leave it alone - I'm pretty sure Suzuki knew what they were doing ......

[mossy1200]

I just thought.

What if the sprocket bearing spacer tube isnt in. that would let the sprocket carrier sit hard onto the hub and might be the excess clearance.

[98tls]

I just thought.

What if the sprocket bearing spacer tube isnt in. that would let the sprocket carrier sit hard onto the hub and might be the excess clearance.

Be a lot more than a couple of mil though wouldnt it?

[mossy1200]

Be a lot more than a couple of mil though wouldnt it?


No. Not before cranking the axel nut. The sprocket spacer tube only stop the bearing being distorted and helps with distance on the cushdrive. The cush drive almost or just touch with the spacer in but dont compress at all.

[98tls]

No. Not before cranking the axel nut. The sprocket spacer tube only stop the bearing being distorted and helps with distance on the cushdrive. The cush drive almost or just touch with the spacer in but dont compress at all.

Nice......

[Laava]

That is good thinking!



Nope, it has annoying habits but that is not one of them.


I just thought.

What if the sprocket bearing spacer tube isnt in. that would let the sprocket carrier sit hard onto the hub and might be the excess clearance.

Yer but no! If this piece was missing things would go pear shaped very quickly on the bearing front. It would be apparent something was wrong straight away i,m sure

[Drew]

Yer but no! If this piece was missing things would go pear shaped very quickly on the bearing front. It would be apparent something was wrong straight away i,m sureTakes longer than you think on some bikes. Honda's collapse pretty quickly, the older Suzukis would get you a fair distance from home.

[FROSTY]

OP--Im sure I'm teaching gramma to suck eggs but ---Have you laid the whole set up out and compared it to the parts diagram? Im wondering if theres a washer or a spacer missing.

[Laava]

OP--Im sure I'm teaching gramma to suck eggs but ---Have you laid the whole set up out and compared it to the parts diagram? Im wondering if theres a washer or a spacer missing.

Good point I will check that, but I have had the wheel out about a dozen times now and it has not been a problem. Last week I changed the sprocket carrier bearing and checked the freeplay prior to tightening. Far as I could tell it was about 1 mm.
Reason I started the thread was because I shimmed my Laverda rear, primarily because I was told that the old Italian frame would go a bit brittle. In fact it had, and had some major stress fractures, which I had welded professionally.