Fitting a hub motor onto a fork with washers

[tiernoj]

Hello everyone,

So I recently bought dillenger's "Street Legal Electric Bike Kit - Samsung Power" http://dillengerelectricbikes.com/e...bike-kit-samsung-power-13ah-by-dillenger.html and I found it doesn't fit on my front forks, it fits fine in the dropouts, but the hub motor hits the fork as it goes up. Actually the motor itself clears the fork, though really quite closely, but what hits it is actually the screws on the hub motor, so it's not going anywhere as is. Now this sent me looking at replacing the fork, which due to my poor luck ends up also meaning a replacement headset and all that goes with that.

So when I went ahead and emailed dillenger asking for advice on replacement forks and measurement of their hub he just suggested adding some washers to spread out the fork to make that clearance. Now really as much as it seems like an overly easy solution it just seems odd to me and I was wondering if anyone had ever tried doing just that? Are there any thoughts as to the pitfalls or issues I might face with this? How about potential risks?

The fork itself is a steel suspension fork

 

[JoePah]

There is a piston in that suspension fork and if you bow the fork ends out too far the misalignment will mess up the suspension travel.

Just add one washer on each side at a time then test the fork travel.

I use washers all the time to fix all sorts of fit up issues.. no biggie,

 

[daleL]

I recently bought and installed the same Dillinger kit on my wife's 1990 Bridgestone MB4. Are you referring to the screws on the hub motor that are meant to hold the disk break? If so, AND IF, LIKE MY WIFES BIKE, YOU DONT HAVE DISC BRAKES, you can just remove the screws and toss them.
If not, you might also call the 1-800 number at the bottom of the Dillenger website. I found the guy very responsive and helpful.
P.S. I really like this bike kit and my wife is all smiles too. Good luck.