Hitchcocks Forum

how do you achieve proper spacing between the stator and rotor? the manual talks of a spacer, but I couldn't find one on the site to order. Plus, I'm in the states and even if I could order one it would take weeks. There doesn't seem to be much wiggle room in the stator once it is worked down over the studs. Do I loosen the rotor to get the spacing right and then tighten it down, or do I try to get my spacing by wiggling the stator? Can recall a post where someone recommended using the thickness of a cereal box as the spacer.

dean there is a part made by hichcocks , it is just a thin strip of plastic possably 2 in wide that you slide in to centralise the magnet/coils , much as I would say use a piece of card etc, a std A4 is not long enough.

plan b: , plastic milk carton , cut 6 x strips about an inch wide and 2 in long , slide those in before tightening up , don,t worry if they are tight , if you can get a piece of paper thru the gap when tightened , job is good

Alan, do I tighten the rotor first and insert spacers, or do I leave both the rotor and stator loose until proper spacing is acheived and then tighten both?

place the stips in place with the stator loose , tighten up , then remove , the rotor should be tight

Strips cut from a 2-litre plastic Coke bottle work very well -- they even have almost the right radius. Cut three strips, each about an inch and a half wide, and leave them in place until the stator is tightened up.

does it matter which side is facing out for the rotor? one side has numbers etched on it. same for the stator- does it go on with the three wire harness on the outside margin or on the inside towards the engine. took photos but wife accidently deleted them thinking I was done with this project. little does she know.
thankfully I prefer coke to pepsi - will go get a bottle

The Hitchcock's alternator spacer is simply a strip of paper laminated, you could do the same thing with the type of laminating device many people have in homes and offices.
Alan R -not sure they have UK style milk containers in the States! We don't even have them here across the Channel in Guernsey! (Our Guernsey cows are too classy).

I don't think it matters which side of the rotor faces out - at least if it does I've always got lucky! As far as I remember the stator goes in with the wires towards the engine. This is not for any electrical reason, just so that they pass straight out through the hole in the inner primary case.

Above all if using a drinks container as a spacer, make sure you use one in liters if your bike has metric threads or pints if it has imperial!

Thanks all, Rube Goldberg spacers worked great. Should be firing this beast up as soon as the head comes back from the machine shop. Keepin my fingers crossed as this is my first rebuild.

I found a good way was to pinch up the stator retaining nuts but not very tight and then use a nylon hammer to tap it into the right position before fully tightening the nuts.. If found this quicker and easier than using spacers.

Simon, the trouble with doing it that way is that it is very difficult to judge if there is a gap without using some sort of feeler or spacer. Also, in finally tightening the nuts you might move the stator. I would recommend always to have whatever spacer you use in place at the time you fully tighten the nuts, then you can be confident that there is a gap.