I have a 06 independence st240 soft tail. I'm having trouble centering my rear tire. I can get it close but the belt still walks toward the rear tire and rubs it when I roll backwards and squeaks alittle when I roll forward... any suggestions?

Thanks... Ryan

 

It is highly likely with a tyre that wide, that the front and rear wheels are not directly in line with each other. So aligning the rear wheel needs a fresh approach! I am installing a wide wheel in my own bike at present and this is how I worked out how to set the rear wheel.

I did this with the wheel out of the bike. Look down the side of the tyre, so the top and bottom beads are in line, as in my photo. Measure how much of the pulley rim you can see. On my wheel, I can just see the whole of the thickness of the rim, so that is how much clearance I have, from tyre to belt.

Simply set your rear wheel in the bike so you have the correct clearance between tyre and belt, where they get closest to each other. Simples!

 

Thanx man.

 

The pulleys are designed to walk the belt outward ( a little,) when going forward, and conversely 'in' towards the wheel when backing up.

 

I should have said that my clearance is 3/16". I actually used an allen key that size, like a feeler gauge, to set alignment!

 

Turns out I need 1/4 inch spacer between the sprocket and the hub to center the wheel so it won't rub.

thanx guys ...best forum I've been on so far.

Ryan V

 

Ryan, pleased to be able to help!