Missing rear hub spacer?

Well I'm confused. I reassembled my swingarm today. When I put the brake drum, chain, and chain guard back on things don't appear to be lined up right. The chain is dragging against the left side of the chain guard. I thought I perhaps left out a spacer but according to my parts list and service manuals everything looks correct. The chain guard clips on to the shock bolt so no way to adjust that. Does anyone have an idea what I'm overlooking?

Also can't figure out how that rear brake cable is supposed to be routed. I didn't notice how it was routed when I took it apart because I thought it would be obvious. D'oh! Seems like the muffler mtg bracket is in the way no matter how I try to run the cable. Suggestions or a pic would be very much appreciated!

thanks,
Debby
71 750 Roadster

Well the chain will clip that side of the guard real easy on one that is put together right so you may have done nothing wrong. There are several things or combos that can cause this. One, bent chain guard, two, using a standard 3/8 bolt for the lower shock, the right one has a very thin head on the bolt. Three using a unmodifiied wrench to hold on to the thin head of the bolt therefore bending the chain guard mounting point one of the most common user mistakes. Buy a cheapo 9/16 open end and grind it down to fit this bolt head just for this job. Norton tool # D-2 28. Four , runnining an after market 530 chain that is too wide will cause even more damage to the inter primary cover forget the chain guard. Five, using some after market shocks that don't clear the chain guard and force it into the chain. I have changed over my Commando's to use 520 o-ring chain this requires you to lathe off material from the outside of the brake drum increasing the clearance for the chain guard. Also after fighting the stock guard for years I have switched to the 1968 model and it looks and works much better. The reason that your muffler bracket is in the way is that the cable runs through it. norbsa

That bolt does have a big fat head. That could be part of the problem I guess. I got it on good enough to ride though. I got the brake cable routing figured out too - thanks! Still not satisfied with the chainguard position but I'll see what I can do about it later.

Finally some real riding with my bike! Swingarm feels nice and tight now with the new spindle. There's a few other nagging issues to deal with but it's running well and overall everything is working pretty nice

Debby