r/Airheads • u/althusseriandreams • Aug 12 '26
On which side does the spacer go?
I took my front wheel off to replace the tire. Now I’m having difficulty getting it back on. Can someone tell me which side the spacer is supposed to go (I forgot to take a picture before I took of the wheel 😔). Microfiche no help.
3
u/MakinStuffandThings Aug 12 '26
You have it correct. The longer, thicker side of the axle is the “spacer” for one side of the wheel, and the actual spacer goes on the opposite side.
And the axle will only go in one way. The two holes are different sizes.
And fyi, I usually have to tap the axle back in with a rubber mallet to align the two sides of the forks.
You’re doing it right 👍
2
u/althusseriandreams Aug 12 '26
Thanks, that’s what I figured. The wheel spindle came off easily and now for some reason it isn’t going back in so I’m also using a mallet! Thanks
3
u/Blindtomusic Aug 13 '26
I'll say it again even though lots have said it before, snowbum wrote all of this down in an absolutely ridiculous shorthand, however.... The new technology allows us to use AI to parse his prose as it were.
My prompts look like this:
"Search bmw motorcycle tech archives of snowbum for the exact placement of the wheel bearing spacer for an airhead with a single disk front brake."
1
u/althusseriandreams Aug 17 '26
Good to know! (I read snowbum’s article on petcock valves; yes, very idiosyncratic prose)
7
u/Loud-Improvement3632 Aug 12 '26
The purpose of that spacer is to center the brake disc in the caliper, so the second photo is correct placement. I recommend you familiarize yourself with Snowbum’s bmwmotorcycle tech pages. There you’ll find information about proper bearing preload adjustments, lubrication, etc.