Axle off center on new wheel

[tptackab]

I received a new kit this week (26" front wheel kit). When I started putting the wheel on my bike, I noticed the axle seemed to be pushed a few mm to one side. The flat part of the axle on the "pushed in" side goes slightly into the motor casing/cover such that the washer pushes directly onto the casing. When the nut is tightened down on that side, the washer tightens down onto the motor cover causing the wheel to bind. The other side of the wheel seems fine as the washer is prevented from reaching the casing where the flat portion of the axle ends. I peeked inside the motor and found that the axle appears to be machine pressed into place (i.e. no adjustment), so I doubt this was caused in shipping (no damage to the box either).

Does this problem sound familiar to any others? Is there a moderately easy fix? I've had a Wilderness Energy hub for a couple years, but I'm far from an expert...never had a motor open until this one.

I sent an email to sales@goldenmotor.com. No response yet, but it's only been a few days so I have not yet lost hope. I sure wish I found this forum BEFORE ordering the kit from China. I would have gone with a distributor here in the states. Some of the posts in this forum have me thinking that I might never hear from GM again, and that I'm now the proud owner of some nice spokes, rim, tire, tube, and a nice hunk of scrap metal.

I sure hope GM's commitment to customer service is as advertised on the web site.

Tom

[ahend]

I had a similar issue with my hub motor, although not as acute. When fitted to the fork, there was hardly any hub cover clearance on one side. Taking a closer look I found that there was a bushing on each side of the axle. These bushings fit down inside the hub cover where they seat against the axle shoulder. The purpose of the bushings, are to transfer the pressure of the fork nut down through the hub cover and onto the axle shoulder. The clearance problem stemmed from the fact that the bushings were not of equal length. I made a new bushing to match the other and it lined up great.

You may be able to rectify the problem with a new, or perhaps two, new axle bushings. If the axle is truly offset, your bushing will have to be made different lengths to compensate.

Before you measure for new bushings, make sure the hub cover is completely relaxed and seated properly to the motor casing. Make sure it is not binding on the axle bearing and holding the cover out slightly. I ran into this when reseating one of my covers. All the screws were tightened in an alternating fashion and it looked good, when I heard a loud pop. The cover was binding on the axle bearing and suddenly released. To check this, you could use a rubber mallet to carefully tap the edge of the housing (where the axle exits) and see if it gives way a bit. You could also loosen all the screws on the cover and see if a gap appears somewhere on the perimeter of the cover, indicating that the cover is not seated properly.

If you do make new bushing(s), be sure the faces are cut as square as possible.

Andy

[tptackab]

Hi Andy,

I took another look and although it's not the bushing issue you described, I figured out it's not the axle. Your reply forced me to take a closer look. Thanks!

It's actually the motor cover thickness. Specifically, the outer wall of the center extrusion on the cover that houses the bushing is thicker on one cover. It looks like both covers have machine markings on that outer wall where they are ground down to spec, only this one is not spec. 

I confirmed the difference in height with some measurements, and even switched the covers to rule out an offset axle. I'm a bit more relived now that I've ruled out the axle. I'm hoping GM will ship another cover and bushing. The worst case scenario is I'll be doing the grinding (and repainting) myself.

Thanks again!
Tom

[tptackab]

Just a follow-up...Golden Motor has dropped off the face of the earth...for me.  Not a word or response from anyone, not even after I shipped my wheel back to the Oakland address from which it was packaged and shipped to me. Oh well, my credit card company gave me a refund, but my guess is they just wrote off the loss since I'm a long-time customer.

Good luck all!