Worn wheel dampers?

[Jeff K]

When I bought my RC wheels they were supposed to take the stock wheel dampers. They were so sloppy I couldn't bring myself to leave it like that. So I made some shims. My new to me Half Fast I/S had worn loose dampers also. Instead of replacing them I made shims out of rubberized fiber gasket material, same as the RC wheels. Now they are nice and tight. Had to tap the ring and the spider into palace. The RC wheels have tens of thousands of miles on them and the rubber and shims are still as tight as when I put them in.

[hubcapsc]

We used to moosh silicone seal in with the dampers on our little dirt bikes, but
they were 100 ccs, not 100 horses...

-Mike

[salty1]

Good solution, I guess.    The wheel in the pics looks like a stock wheel.   ???   

[Jeff K]

It is a stock wheel. I did this on my RC wheels years ago out of necessity. I bought new stock dampers and they were loose in the wheel. So when I got this new to me stock bike I did it to the stock bike when I was inside checking the final drive service.
I have a new set of dampers in stock but thought I'd go this route. This is much tighter than stock.

[Brian]

 I like it.

[Xtracho]

I like it.

Me too! 

[WilliamRS]

It is a stock wheel. I did this on my RC wheels years ago out of necessity. I bought new stock dampers and they were loose in the wheel. So when I got this new to me stock bike I did it to the stock bike when I was inside checking the final drive service.
I have a new set of dampers in stock but thought I'd go this route. This is much tighter than stock.

Is it possible that there is an engineering reason for the new stock dampers to not be 'tight'?  perhaps to reduce transmitting stress into the rest of the drive system...?

[Jeff K]

It is a stock wheel. I did this on my RC wheels years ago out of necessity. I bought new stock dampers and they were loose in the wheel. So when I got this new to me stock bike I did it to the stock bike when I was inside checking the final drive service.
I have a new set of dampers in stock but thought I'd go this route. This is much tighter than stock.

Is it possible that there is an engineering reason for the new stock dampers to not be 'tight'?  perhaps to reduce transmitting stress into the rest of the drive system...?

Not sure how sloppy drive train parts equal less stress. I can say that every other bike I have that has a damper setup are solid as a rock. The old goldwings have a damper that is pressed into the wheel. 35 years old and it's still fine.
I don't know why you would want the dampers sliding around. It would surely make for wear on a soft rubber part.

[Patrick]

You can certainly feel loose dampers and I think any good way of snugging them up is a good thing. It looks like Jeff's were pretty loose.

[hubcapsc]

It is a stock wheel. I did this on my RC wheels years ago out of necessity. I bought new stock dampers and they were loose in the wheel. So when I got this new to me stock bike I did it to the stock bike when I was inside checking the final drive service.
I have a new set of dampers in stock but thought I'd go this route. This is much tighter than stock.

Is it possible that there is an engineering reason for the new stock dampers to not be 'tight'?  perhaps to reduce transmitting stress into the rest of the drive system...?

When I changed my dampers the first time, I used the "old kind", I just ordered off the
fiche page for my 97 down at HDL. They were tight as could be, it was hard to put
everything back together.

When I changed them the second time, I used the newer kind. They weren't so tight,
it was easy to put them in and to twist that cover back in place.

That feeling of looseness (I call it "lash" because I hear other people call it that, I
don't know if that is the right term) will certainly be lessened when you change out
worn dampers for new ones, but it will never go all the way away, nor should it. If
you hold a nice tight good final drive in your hand and turn the pinion cup back and
forth, you'll feel a little bit of lash... if you hold a crappy beater final drive in your
hand and turn the pinion cup back and forth, you'll feel a lot more lash...

-Mike "data point"

[salty1]

Jeff what is the name of the material you used and where did you get it? 

[Jeff K]

I use it on a lot of things. The old pkg says 1/16" victopac It's a fiber / rubber gasket material I bought at NAPA

I assume this is the same stuff

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=FPG3187_0366687121

[f6john]

      Jeff, always thinking outside the box.   I know you have a camera, how about some pics of your blowerstate, the whole fleet for that matter??

[jammer]

Jeff:

     I have used everything from electrical tape to inner  tube rubber.. Shimming is a good fix.