Sportster front wheel axle spacer question

[elstevedore]

I know a lot of questions have been asked about front wheel spacers. I did do a search and didn't find the answer I was looking for.

I'm replacing the stock 19" mag wheel on my 1998 Sportster with a 21" laced wheel that came from Paughco. Here's the wheel I'm putting on.

The stock wheel had a small spacer on the right, and a larger one on the left (brake caliper side). There is no speedo on the wheel.

The new wheel came with very narrow spacers already fitted in the hub, but they were not going to align the wheel with the brake caliper. I pulled them out and discovered that unlike the stock spacers which are just plain tubes, these ones have a little flange around the bottom (side nearest the hub) and there was a spring around the inside of the dust seal. That explains why they were so tough to pry out.

I've attached a picture of what came out of the new wheel:


The seals looked fine, so I popped in the spacers from the stock wheel, and everything lined up perfect and the wheel spins and everything seems fine. Buuuuuuut, I'm nervous about the bearings/dust seals.

Do you guys think it's safeto run it like this or should I replace the bearings and/or seals with ones that are more compatible with the stock spacers (IE: not designed to use with the flanged spacers and springs on the seals which I pulled out)?

[stumpnc]

If the OD of the spacers that are working are the same as the ones you took out and the seals ride on them ok, it will work just fine .You don't have to have the flange on the inner side of the spacer. Those springs go on the inside lip of the seal. You might want to get a new pair of seals,

[elstevedore]

Thanks stumpnc. That's what I was hoping. Yeah the ID and OD of the old and new spacers are the same. The old spacers seem to sit inside the oil seals just fine, and everything seems to be fitting together like it should.

I didn't put those springs back inside the lips of the oil seals, because the springs got kinda bent and fucked up when I pried the spacers out of the seal. So I will go ahead and replace the seals as you suggested. These should work fine, yeah?

But it sounds like it is pretty safe to ride it like this until the new seals arrive, right? Seems like the only issue with running it this way would be that over time I might end up with dirt inside the bearings, but it probably won't cause any problems over a couple of days to a week?

If the OD of the spacers that are working are the same as the ones you took out and the seals ride on them ok, it will work just fine .You don't have to have the flange on the inner side of the spacer. Those springs go on the inside lip of the seal. You might want to get a new pair of seals,

[stumpnc]

Thanks stumpnc. That's what I was hoping. Yeah the ID and OD of the old and new spacers are the same. The old spacers seem to sit inside the oil seals just fine, and everything seems to be fitting together like it should.

I didn't put those springs back inside the lips of the oil seals, because the springs got kinda bent and fucked up when I pried the spacers out of the seal. So I will go ahead and replace the seals as you suggested. These should work fine, yeah?

But it sounds like it is pretty safe to ride it like this until the new seals arrive, right? Seems like the only issue with running it this way would be that over time I might end up with dirt inside the bearings, but it probably won't cause any problems over a couple of days to a week?

Yes your safe to run it the seals just keep water and shit out of the bearings but you'll be ok. have fun.