82 Shovelhead: front pulley very tight?

[Clawhammercycle]

hey yall:

looking for some guidance.

swapping over to a BDL open primary and runnning into some issues.

first off, my front pulley was tough to pull off. needed a little heat to work it off. so i got that done and installing the BDL pulley and thats an even tighter fit. took some heat to get it on. getting it off will probably require a puller. (thinking a steering wheel puller should work?)

so, just wondering if thats all somewhat normal? i thought those should just slide on/off easily… the spline teeth dont look boogered. pretty good lookin i think. one of my concerns is if i blow a belt on the road. id rather not have to carry a steering wheel puller with me to change the belt.

any tips and advice appreciated.

i have to pull it off again tomorrow because i BDL hid their instructions really well. need to put on inner belt guide.

[TriNortchopz]

Looked closely at condition of the splines? Any burrs on either the shaft or the pulley?
splines look and measure the same on each part?
Can you measure them to confirm the fit - interference or sliding? I don't know, but wouldn't want it to "just slide on/off easily…"

[JBinNC]

If you happen to have an S&S sprocket shaft, they have closer fitting splines. A light press fit is what you want. If the pulley (or sprocket) is loose on the splines, the nut will tend to loosen up, and you will get a knock that will drive you crazy until you find it. Consider yourself lucky that you have tight fitting parts.

Jim

[Clawhammercycle]

thanks jim. the few people ive talked to about it all say consider yourself lucky.

guess ill roll with it!

its definitely the stock sprocket shaft. the OEM pulley is very tight as well. never been raken off since 1982.