First question... is this a new issue or was it present before the bike was disassembled?
Second question... If it's new, what has changed and what work has been done that might affect the clearance?
There are several reasons why the clearance might have changed.
- If the complete bearing pack was removed from the wheel, there is a chance that it hasn't been assembled correctly or seated back properly.
- Was the central core tube of the final drive removed... if so, was it seated back into place correctly?
- As ZM comments, there are a number of different sized 'top hat' spacers that fit between the inner bearing race and the central core of the final drive. On some models (don't know about yours) the spacer on the inner side and that on the outer side are different widths.
- Have you torqued up the axle? is there any play in the bearings? The internal grease seal (assuming, of course, that it's fitted fully into it's recess) is most unlikely to stop the wheel from pulling up fully. If it did, you would get a lot of play in the bearing as the pack would not be pulled up tight.
The logic of the assembly is this...
The step on the axle is pulled up against the outer top hat spacer by the nut on the drive side.
The top hat spacer pulls up against the inner race of the outer bearing which, in turn pulls up against the 'wedding band' spacer and the spacer tube before pulling up against the inner race of the inside bearing... It is these four components that set the bearing free play.
The inner race of the inner bearing pulls up against the inner top hat spacer and this in turn pulls up against the central core of the drive which goes through the drive casting to bear against the washer under the axle nut.
All of these components are solid steel and, to all intents and purposes, they can be considered as absolutely rigid and of set dimensions. Once torqued up, the bearings will be correctly set and there will be no excessive bearing free play. Any interference that stops the bearing pack from torquing up correctly will result in loose bearings and excessive free play.
What I think you should do first is make sure the wheel is properly torqued and check for free play in the bearings. If there is none, then the bearing pask is correctly set up and the issue is with either the position of the wheel on the bearing pack, the top hat spacers or the central core of the drive being displaced (I have to say I think the last to be unlikely as torquing the wheel would probably press it back into place but it's a possibility).
Rob
