H: Hubs, Wheels and Tyres Rapide front wheel spindle too short?

Phil Arundel

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VOC Member
I have now progressed to mounting the front brake plates to the wheels.
On fitting the plates it seems that the wheel spindle is too short . I do not have enough spindle thread protruding to screw on the resting nut when the brake plates are shimmed out to rotate freely.
Spindle too short or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks
Phil Arundel
 

vibrac

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First are your plates alloy or steel? if steel the nuts should be flush to the end of the hollow spindle if they are not something is wrong. . an easy check whatever you have is that the hollow spindle on its own can slide between the fork ends with only small clearance
I don't have a measurement for the spindle to hand
 

Robert Watson

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Or if you have alloy backing plates there are no nuts and the hollow axle does not protrude through them and the whole plot is held together by the spindle and nut.
 

Marcus Bowden

VOC Hon. Overseas Representative
VOC Member
If the spindle is too short then look closely at the Tommy bar end and see if you can find the pin that goes through spindle & Tommy boss, There is normally 1/2" to 3/4" as I think they are screwed then pined, machine back the boss until you have sufficient thread for captive R.H. nut.
 

Robert Watson

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OK maybe I have got it wrong. I took it that the hollow axle did not protrude through the backing plates for the thin nuts to be installed, So is that the case or is it that the wheel is all together with thin nuts, fits in between the fork legs but is too short to install the axle nut???????
 

vibrac

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NO nuts on alloy plates hollow axle ends flush.or just under flush
nuts on steel plates. then nuts flush with end of hollow axle
remember hollow axle fits between fork ends nuts or no nuts

you still have not said steel or alloy....
 

davidd

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I think that it does not matter if the plates are steel or Lightning plates. The axle has to fit through the two fork blades with the tommy bar on one side and the threads poking through on the other even if there is no wheel between the fork blades. When you switch from the stock plates to the Lightning plates, each Lightning plate is thicker than the stock plate by the thickness of one E80 nut, which is why the Lightning plates work without E80 nuts.

It sounds like the the plates are spread too far apart with shims (which is apparently necessary to allow them to turn freely), which in turn is spreading the fork legs and taking up all of the thread on the axle.

The blade to blade separation should be about 6". This means if you slip a tiny scale through the hollow axle it needs to be about 6" also. Your focus should be on the width of the hollow axle as the blades may pull in slightly when the axle is tightened. The E80 nut should be flush or slightly proud of the hollow axle to install the wheel in the fork.

It may be that your brake plates are bent. I have seen very few that are not bent. See if your races are home and I assume they are the correct width along with the bearings. Somehow the E80 nuts on the hollow axle need to get down to 6" or so when installed.

David
 

greg brillus

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I think we need to ask if the fork blades need to be spread apart to fit the wheel assembly, If not then perhaps the forks have been assembled incorrectly, unless something is horribly bent. Fit the solid axle on its own and see if the thread comes out the other side, if not, there is your problem.
 

chankly bore

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Non-VOC Member
It is possible that you have a wrong mixture of bearings and spacers. Standard H22 cone is .848" wide with no spacer, only shims; H22/1 (also Imperial ) cone is .750 wide and needs a .100" spacer on the outside, The metric bearing 30204 is of 20mm. bore in the cone and is only 15.25mm. wide and needs a correspondingly wider spacer again. In my 1985 SKF Automotive fitments list it says you can mix 09067/09195 (H22/1) and 09074/09196 (H22) cups and cones if this will help you sort the problem of measurement, but I'd personally only do it for checking as different manufacturers make things differently.
 
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