Nine Continents - Inside Washer

[El_Steak]

A friend bought a 9c front motor for his Haro BMX.

The BMX fork is all steel and very heady-duty. It is 100mm wide which is enough for the motor, but not for the 2 thick inside washers. Since it's short and very strong, the fork is very difficult to spread to allow the washers to fit in.

The dropouts on the fork are made of steel, they are thick and perfectly flat. The motor axle is a nice tight fit in the drop out.

In that case, are the inside washers still essential or can he skip on them?

The motor is a 12x5 in a 20" wheel and will be run at 48 volts / 35 amps. (A torque arm is included of course)

 

[dogman dan]

I'd spread the fork. You may be able to get some thinner inner washers from E-BikeKit. Thier kit comes with a different, less thick inner washer.

 

[Russell]

The danger is that the small diameter axle with the limited shoulder area can dig in and open the dropout, loosening the nuts in the process and facilitating a spin-out. That said I didn't run them when I had my 9C on my Raleigh and didn't have a problem though it was for less than 800 miles. I use inside washers on my two E-bikes now and would do so on the 9C should I ever put it back into service. Jason from E-BikeKit also sent me a couple of washers but I don't know if it was because I bought two motors from him or if it was a bribe

-R

 

[dogman dan]

A car scissor jack is often used to spread forks, but yeah, if it has 20" wheel, it would be harder. If the forks are that beefy at the drop, you may be ok, but I'd get the washers from Jason and spread em enough for those.

 

[El_Steak]

OK thanks, I'll PM Jason to see if he would be willing to sell us 2 of the thin washers. It's probably easy to ship in a regular envelope.

To spread the forks, I use a threaded rod with 2 washers and nuts. Its very easy to spread in a controlled manner this way.

 

[El_Steak]

Hummm, I went to PM Jason and the PM function is disabled for his profile.

A quick look up also shows that pretty much all of his previous posts on the forum have been changed to : "Deleted. Thank you to all at ES."

Did something happen with Jason?

 

[ambroseliao]

I just called him at his shop and he's doing fine. He's focusing on growing his business and expanding his shop right now.

Ambrose

 

[mwkeefer]

If you can get a friend to help... your only talking about a 1-2mm bending, I do these myself by cradling the motor with washers in the beginning of the dropouts, then I pull them apart (not easy) but it lets the motor slip into position and doesn't require actual bending - once the nuts are in place, it just provides more clamping force.

I would email jason with a request for the torque washers: jason@e-bikekit.com

Hope this helps!
-Mike

 

[El_Steak]

I emailed Jason and he will send some washers my way.

That guy is great !

 

[NeezyDeezy]

Jason is awesome!

 

[mwkeefer]

Not sure I'd go as far as AWESOME but he is an honest, reliable standup guy and he does seem to go the extra mile (even for customers he doesn't know) based on the comments posted here and the feedback I've received from people I've referred to him.

-Mike

 

[El_Steak]

I've just received the washers from Jason. Perfect Fit !

The original 9c washers are 3mm thick each. Jason's washer are half the thickness at just 1.5mm. When you double that, it means a difference of 3mm in the space you need between the dropouts. For short heavy duty forks like the BMX ones, it makes a huge difference.

I'm really impressed with Jason, he answered my emails within 10 minutes and sent me the washers right away, even though I had not bought anything from him. He will certainly be at the top of my list next time I need a kit!

BTW, the washers are perfectly flat, the little shadow is only the paper under them that is bent downwards.

 

[mwkeefer]

Wait a moment - he sent you washers and it wasn't even his kit? I take my previous statement back, he is awesome!

-Mike