Indian GP Engine Build Part 7

A fuck up

With the crank in I now fit the front socket. I'm going for an 18-47 sprocket combination with my 34 tooth fifth gear (the taller option). This gives a final drive ratio of 4.67, which is very close to the 4.6 ratio recommended in the AF Gear Chart for the TS1/JL3 exhaust combination that I'm building. Fourth gear is the same as the previous Indian GP 200 box at 5.22, which will be fine for sitting in slower group rides when fifth may be too tall. Also, conveniently, 18-47 are the sprockets I have...

Sprocket spring caps are notorious for being difficult to fit. The recommended technique is to tap the cap with a mallet before tightening. This brings the splines in line and is accompanied by a change in sound to the tap. This has always worked for me and all looked good this time, however when tightening I noticed that the cap had gone wonky. One side was going down the splines fine but the other side wasn't!
I backed off, tried again...checked it, filed off some burring, tried again...all to no avail. At this point I gave up and walked away. I needed to place an order with MB for one of their flange type inlet manifolds anyway, so added one of their special tapered sprocket caps to the same order. This should be easier to fit and I wasn't happy using the now damaged original one...

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