Hi all. Did a bunch of work the past week or so on my ride (what a PITA). New rear tire, new bearings, new shocks and new pads. Anyway, after searching about my slightly offset (apparently common) rear tire (spent way too much time stressing about it), now I am trying to figure out if this is normal (photo included).

There appears to be a small gap between the bottom of the shock and the mounting tab on the swingarm. Do you guys think this is a problem? It was torqued to the proper specs.

I appreciate the help/advice.

 

really can not see what you are talking about but:
the shock bolt is or should be a shoulder bolt. that said, it will only tighten up so far. if the isolator bushing in the shock eye is less than desired, there could be a gap. good/bad???

my take is if there is little to no movement and the shock is not loose on the stud, probably alright but if there is movement, might try and replace the eyelet bushing, good luck finding that one. but not all is lost, you can buy poly bushings and if not exact, can be machined down to suit.

 

looks like the sleeve that is inside the rubber bushing is touching to me. Not going to get it any tighter than that.

You're fine.

 

I realized that I did not take the best picture, unfortunately. There is a tiny gap between the shock eye and the bottom mounting tab on the swinger. Doesn't move much, I just don't want to screw anything up. I may disassemble and reassemble to see if looks better.

Thanks

 

The visible eye of your shock has a rubber insert inside it, then inside that is a steel sleeve through which the mounting bolt fits. That sleeve is longer than the shock eye, so the shock can rotate around the sleeve, as the wheel goes up and down while riding. In other words, there MUST be a gap for everything to work as it is designed to. Hope that helps - you CAN sleep easy!

 

Thanks again for you insight and observations.!