Hey all,

I am reassembling my 1990 FXRS after replacing a snapped rear drive belt. I have a factory manual for FXR & FLT 1984-1990.
When I started mounting the rear wheel, the manual has a NOTE that states the following:

On FXR be certain spacer is installed on axle between caliper bracket and swingarm.

My bike did not have this spacer present when I removed the wheel and the manual does not show this in the break-apart diagram(s). I called my local Harley part's counter and they are not able to help me at all with this.

If this bike does need this spacer it would have to be VERY thin. Currently, I have the bike assembled like it was before and there wasn't any slop on the axle before tightening the axle nut. I would like to know whether or not this spacer is necessary before I take a test ride.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

If it wasn't there before and it ran fine I wouldn't worry about it now.

 

Well, that's just the issue.....I don't know if it ran fine because I just bought it. The belt broke within my 1st 2 miles of riding it & it is possible that a missing spacer (misalignment) may have been the culprit. The PO had just had a new rear tire installed just before I bought it & so it could have been reassembled incorrectly.
I don't want to snap another belt due to something this simple/stupid......that would suck.

 

FWIW I tried looking at Ronnies web site but I couldn't find your bike.

I did fine a '91 FXRS but couldn't see a spacer that would go between the caliper and the swing arm on any of the parts diagrams.

Do you have a parts manual for your bike?

When you put your bike back together try leaving it in neutral and spinning the back tire to check the belt.

 

doing this every day we have found many things in the oem books that do not jive with the real world parts on any one bike

i have seen a spacer on a few it is thin BUT

try this install the rear wheel with that you took off - remove the belt guard do a snug up on the belt and than turn it in the normal direction of rotation and see if you can adjust it so the belt is in the middle of the pulley not rubbing on one side - when your happy ----.>>>

than reverse the direction and see what happens to the belt and its location on the pulley -- jz

 

They may be referring to part 43654-86A which I have on my 86 FXR.

Not sure if it applies to your year though. Its a big spacer so if its supposed to be there and is missing you will certainly know about it when you dry fit all the bits back together.

 

When I adjust the belt per the manual, it likes to ride a bit on the left side of the pulley when spinning forward.......in reverse it rides on the right.
Are you suggesting that I not follow the manual and adjust until it rides dead center? The belt on my FLHT rides exactly the same as my FXR currently rides, have I been doing it wrong all this time?

 

I believe this is the spacer that sits at the wheel hub, I have this one. The one I'm talking about sits between the caliper and swingarm.
I don't think this bike is supposed to have one at the caliper/swingarm, I think the manual calls it out because an older caliper version was thinner and would require said spacer.......the caliper on my bike is thick and acts as the spacer needed.
Plus, I'm thinking the rotor would bind at the caliper if it were missing this spacer, and mine rides there perfectly.

 

Thanks.
I haven't been able to find a parts book for this bike yet & every break-apart I've seen seems to be for an earlier or later year. None of the diagrams I've looked at show the wheel's assembly with the caliper on the same page. Diagram for the caliper shows no spacer either.

 

Another FWIW.

I would suggest you go to the dealer and order one.
They are great for looking up the part you need and for exploded diagrams for what you are working on.

I regularly pull mine out to look something up.
Aside from the service manual it is one of the most useful things you can have for your bike.