I have a set of rare hubs from a former 97-99 era MXGP Honda team for my CR250 build. They came without bearings, distance collars, sealers or spacers and I have been trying to figure out what it needs by trial and error. The front hub was easy and too many of the orginal Honda CR parts, but not the case for the rear bub which uses much bigger bearings and seals than OEM.
The OEM distance collar was too long to allow the bearing to set on the inner bearing seat (lip), so I had to shorten it. However, when I tighten down the axle nut, there is some noticable drag even though all inner bearings turn freely. It is not hitting the anything, nether the chain guard or the caliper (pads still have plently of play when piston is pushed back).
My Question:.. My beleif is that the distance collars were not supposed to prevent the bearings from seating on the lip, but just long enough for them to sit on the inside of the lip and not fall into the wheel. To ensure this, I have a very slight amount of lateral play in the distance spacer.. probably less than 0.5mm. Is this OK?
I read elsewhere that the distance spacer was supposed to preload the inner race of the wheel bearings. I am not sure how this helps and it would be very tricky to cut the exact perfect length for a custom distance collar such that it just kisses the bearing, but doesnt prevent the bearing from sittting on the seat of the hub bore. It would have to be within 0.1mm, I would guess which is a challenging tolerence for a home garage situation.
Please educate me on what the correct length is for wheel distance collars and if a very slightly too short collar would cause binding or not.
thanks,
mike
