LCGB Forums

While I've got my engine out for a spring clean I decided to investigate a problem I've been having intermittently when moving the bike backwards the wheel jams sometimes. It does not show any sign of this with the engine out - the hub spins freely in both directions with maybe just the slightest hint that it's rubbing a shoe.

Anyway I put the puller on the hub and started to tighten it down, once it got a bit tight I give the bolt a sharp tap as usual expecting that to break the taper and the hub to pop off - it was having none of it. I had to jack it the whole way off with the puller and it was tight to the last moment. I've never had this before.

The cone was still firmly in the hub and I can only presume that it was so tight in that it was dragging on the splines the whole way. I do remember that I lapped in this cone with grinding paste when it was originally fitted. It was cleaned with brake cleaner before being fitted though.

Thoughts -

a) On the backwards binding ?
b) On the hub tightness?

Not quite the same but I get backwards binding on my reverse pull front disc which I put down to removing the anti rattle circlip but that I am not sure about either.

Rich'

Is the rear hub spacing washer in place?

It was yes

In Relation to the tough hub removal problem I think it was simply a matter of the cone binding in the hub and compressing on the splines. You can clearly see the marks of the splines on the cone -



I suspect this was a hub you could actually have taken the nut off and the hub would have stayed put like the old myths say...

For the binding problem I'm not sure I got to the bottom of it, but I put a better chamfer on the shoes and dressed of any obvious high spots - we'll see how it goes.

I have not experienced the problem as stated, but I have purchased new cones (& lapped them in) that have shown evidence of the spline marks from the layshaft upon removal.

Personally, I always add a dab of Copaslip to all surfaces of the cone, as I have every faith in the concept of taper drives torqued up correctly, including the flywheel taper drive. I do not torque beyond recommended figures.

However, back to the hub cones, & I suspect that the hardness of the remanufactured cones is not as OEM cones, & they are softer, hence the fact that they become splined so easily. Unfortunately, choice is limited where to buy them, but I would have thought Scooter Restorations should be as good as you can get. Sad to say, that my own experience is that they are not.

I believe that I have brought up this problem before on this Forum, but don’t recall anybody agreeing, so perhaps I had a rogue batch.

It would be useful for all of us to qualify any doubts, so if anybody has access to free hardness testing equipment, I’d be happy to pay P&P both ways of OEM & remanufactured cones for comparison & publishing here