Front Seals

[RapidRoy]

I'm changing the front tire this weekend, have the wheel off. Everything looks good, including the seals. It does look, however, that the outer seals have never been in contact with the axel. When I stick the axel in, there is a bit of daylight between the seal and the axel. Is this normal? According to my logic, the seals should be in contact with the axel. The wheel bearings are sealed. I'm talking about the outer dust seals here.

[GF-in-CA]

Do you have the spacer on the axle when you insert it?  The seal contacts the outside surface of the spacer on the right (throttle) side of the wheel, so if you insert the axle without the spacer, there will be a gap.  The seal on the left side is in the speedo drive, and contacts a collar on the wheel.

[RapidRoy]

Doah! Went back to square one and looked at the diagram. Turns out I left the spacer in the solvent. Now all is clear, well clearer anyway.

Thanks.