Rear tire alignment issues

[Fxenewbie]

He used a frame rack.

Ya pretty fucked

[gww250]

From what I see it looks like the welder put together what was in the package exactly as it fit to the old frame so I don't think you can blame him but his experience should have told him it wasn't right the minute he put it in the jig if he used one to begin with.

[Tattooo]

From what I see it looks like the welder put together what was in the package exactly as it fit to the old frame so I don't think you can blame him but his experience should have told him it wasn't right the minute he put it in the jig if he used one to begin with.

Yes sir I agree...... He should have known better than to weld it up like it is without saying anything to the owner first....... Unless it was his first hard tail kit...........

[Tattooo]

He used a frame rack.

He should have known better.............

[gww250]

Here's what most weld on hardtails look like for the shovel. note the dogleg in the lower rails for chain clearance.

[gww250]

another shot

[TriNortchopz]

You can make it work...or, it can be made to work. Just gonna cost ya a bit of time, a bit of $$,and gonna have to do something different...or get somebody to do it for you.

Is that the only wheel you want to run? Other wheels may have a narrower hub.
You said you have a flat sprocket, which causes the chain to hit the frame...but it looks like you have quite a bit of room between the tire and the chain...
might be as simple as getting a 3/8" dished sprocket, flip it around so dish is in, and add a 1/4" sprocket spacer between the sprocket and the hub, so chain is INSET 1/8", ...or if you need more, get a 5/16" or 1/8" spacer to adjust your rear sprocket inset.

a drum brake may save space too. Doesn't have to be a Harley wheel...seen Honda 750 rear drums on HDs.

You could get a sprocket/brake rotor combo - known as a sprotor, for about $700...

http://www.bitterendchoppers.com/Brakes.html

which reduces the amount of space you need between the axle plates because you are not running a separate brake rotor/caliper setup on the other side.

it looks like with that stringline down the backbone and over the wheel that the chain was on and had clearance.
with the chain on, and if you align it straight, with wheel straight, how much is the center of the wheel offset from the center?

if close, you could get a bit more clearance with a 520 chain kit instead of the standard 530 on there - it would be 1/8" narrower.

if there is still a problem with chain alignment and you really want to run that wheel and really need to have the wheel perfectly centered, you could build a jackshaft setup with 2 offset sprockets so the two separate chains run straight; this idea common for super-wide rear wheels, but they would be closer together:



or, you could cut it off, re-do it like a 33 member 79Josh81 did to get a wide wheel on the back of his XS650 when he could not find a wide enough hardtail section for his chop - starting on page 4:

2019 Thread: Wide Rear Tire - “how to” advice

http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52724&page=4

or you could cut it off and send it to reputable custom shop that has the right ones and does installs properly.


Just for reference, I just went and measured my rigid C&G Mfg.(old '70s chopper parts supplier) frame; between the rear hardtail rails is 7-3/8", yes, 7.375", and the distance between the axle plates is 8", 8.0".

I am running a 5.10 x 16" tire on a Hallcraft Satellite rim made to fit a BT, with a 5-1/2" wide hub, and a Sportster dished sprocket and a Sportster rotor and GMA brake caliper, and it fits...super tight, but it fits; I will be installing a 520 chain, machining the sprockets thinner to fit the narrower chain and then the master link won't try to brush the paint off...even thought about turning the masterlink around so the plate and spring clip is on the inside side of the chain.
I measured, took the time and made it work. 5/8" narrower than what you got.

You can make it work...or somebody else can for ya.

[Fxenewbie]

You can make it work...or, it can be made to work. Just gonna cost ya a bit of time, a bit of $$,and gonna have to do something different...or get somebody to do it for you.

Is that the only wheel you want to run? Other wheels may have a narrower hub.
You said you have a flat sprocket, which causes the chain to hit the frame...but it looks like you have quite a bit of room between the tire and the chain...
might be as simple as getting a 3/8" dished sprocket, flip it around so dish is in, and add a 1/4" sprocket spacer between the sprocket and the hub, so chain is INSET 1/8", ...or if you need more, get a 5/16" or 1/8" spacer to adjust your rear sprocket inset.

9

Here is my sprocket and bare with me this Is my first build, but Is this dished or flat? It has curvature so I figured I'd make sure.

I actually flipped it around and mounted it, I was able to get my brake caliper bracket on with some room for the chain to clear. Now it's too close to the tire (gonna assume because its backwards now) is there where the spacer will come into play? Or am I way off?

[TriNortchopz]

it is not flat.
it it is a dished sprocket.
with it laying like that in first pic, , measure from the table to the bottom side of the middle hole. that is the amount of offset (dish).

to see if a flat sprocket will work without buying one first, get some spacers (stack of washers?) equal to the measurement between the table top and the bottom side of the sprocket middle hole, as in first pic.
put the spacers between the hub and the 'backwards' sprocket to see if the chain will clear. With those spacers, it should be he same as a flat sprocket.

if not, change length of spacers until you find out what works, then get a flat sprocket, or spacer.

[JBinNC]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]102608[/ATTACH]9

Here is my sprocket and bare with me this Is my first build, but Is this dished or flat? It has curvature so I figured I'd make sure.

I actually flipped it around and mounted it, I was able to get my brake caliper bracket on with some room for the chain to clear. Now it's too close to the tire (gonna assume because its backwards now) is there where the spacer will come into play? Or am I way off?

The sprocket you pictured is the stock, dished FX sprocket. It has a dish of .220/.230. In your chassis, and with a STOCK WHEEL, if your chain line is correct with that sprocket, your wheel would be offset from the C/L of the frame by approximately .09 toward the chain, the FACTORY rear wheel offset.

If you have a later model wheel, '85 or later, the drive flange of the wheel hub is moved to the left by .200. In a four speed chassis, that necessitates using a flat sprocket with about a .03 shim under it.

The above applies whether you have the original swingarm or a hardtail conversion. It doesn't matter, the CHAIN LINE of the chassis doesn't change.

You need to examine your wheel to see if it is a four speed wheel, with symmetrical flanges, or a later wheel with the drive flange offset.

Jim

[70fatster]

I've got to say, At least half of why I read this stuff is to learn from Jim! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
The kind of info you share can't be found in a simple shop manual, it's more like an overview of all shop manuals combined with a shit ton of hands on real world experience.
I try to contribute when I can, but a lot of times I just sit back and learn from real masters.

[Fxenewbie]

Ahem to that. I've learned a lot from Jim and everyone who writes in when I post a question you guys are the shit!

[JBinNC]

I've got to say, At least half of why I read this stuff is to learn from Jim! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
The kind of info you share can't be found in a simple shop manual, it's more like an overview of all shop manuals combined with a shit ton of hands on real world experience.
I try to contribute when I can, but a lot of times I just sit back and learn from real masters.

A lot of this information, especially about the chassis, is not in ANY manual. It comes from observing and measuring and taking notes in the course of modifying (or fixing other's modifications). I am happy to share with you guys about the bikes I have experience with, and in turn I learn about the bikes I am not familiar with. Two way street. And the various forums are great resources in the modern innertube day.

Jim