I'm changing from a 14 tooth sprocket (which was the size fitted when I bought the bike) to the original 15 tooth to get the gearing a bit longer for road use. The steel plate / guard which goes behind the plastic guard now touches the chain. Has anyone else seen this problem? There don't seem to be any aftermarket alternatives, so I'll have to get some spacers to allow the plastic guard to fit. Any other ideas appreciated.
Been changing 14T to 15 back and forth since new. No clearance issues. Odd. Do 15T have same offset as 14?
I agree, a 15 should fit with stock parts and my buddy has a 15. I will say though, the stock metal guard is awful tight to the 14's I've always run... .
I drilled out some stainless M6 nuts to use as spacers and just didn't fit the metal guard. See how it goes.
I get it- I’m a “let’s make this work so I can ride” guy myself. Now on this one I’d lean towards “let’s not ‘see how it goes.’” That thingy is your case saver if the chain breaks, or to prevent anything wedging up in there. Sure- not the most robust case saver/chain guide, but not bad either and better than nothing. Now as Dynobob pointed out it’s tiiight- i.e. with the chain already in place it takes some wiggling to get it past the chain and into place. If the chain isn’t in just the right spot (rotation-wise) you can’t get it past the chain and into place. Maybe just a little more fiddling? Don’t get me wrong- I’m sure you know what you’re looking at/doing- just can’t help but think it’s something simple as that OEM sprocket should of course work just fine with the chain guard/guide.
I could make the original fit by removing some material, but it's pretty thin already. How much clearance do you have? It would be nice to see a close up installed with a 15 T sprocket.
It is thin, but keep in mind we're talking about grinding off just a tiny smidge at the back edge where the chain goes by (so not affecting the thickness of the piece.) This may not be feasible- if I'm recalling correctly the pass-through barrels (for the bolts) are flush along that back edge, and of course the structural integrity of those needs to be maintained. I've got my sprocket and chain (and guard) off right now and could fit it up for show, but I don't know if I still have my 15T sprocket (took that off back in 2012.) But- then again- I'm a notorious pack rat so it's entirely possible that I have it laying around. I'll check this evening.
Took a pic of mine with 15T sprocket on. Guard appears to sit in center of rollers with at least 1/8" clearance from chain.
Glad you did that Willie- thanks. At lunch I was home and looked for my old 15T and couldn't find it. Eoin: I'm still thinking what I outlined in my post above...that some fiddling is in order (again getting the guard "past" the chain and into proper position sometimes requires rotating the sprocket/chain just a bit as you wiggle it in/through.)
I started again and paid a bit more attention when trying to get the guard in place. One of the screws holding the clutch slave in place was a little long, so stopping the guard from fitting through the narrow gap. It didn't matter with the 14T, 15T took up all of the clearance.
