MKIII clearance between primary chain and idler gear

Hello all,

I stripped my '74 MKIII down to the frame for a full refurbish, and when I was rebuilding the primary I noticed the clutch chainwheel plate and engine sprocket appeared out of alignment when using the method outlined in the workshop manual (a straight edge placed between the two gears).

I ended up removing two spacers (together roughly 1/16") behind the clutch plate before it appeared aligned. It felt weird removing spacers original to the bike, but at the time it didn't seem completely out of the question that after a full rebuild (new isolastics etc) the relationship between the gearbox and motor might have shifted a bit.

Once I had everything back together however, I noticed that the primary chain looks to be uncomfortably close to the idler gear. There is enough play in the chain that I can push it into contact with the idler gear (pic below). Its certainly possible my attempt at alignment was poorly executed but my changes did appear correct at the time.

What sort of clearance is acceptable between the idler gear and primary chain?

Thanks,
Anthony

Update: I took apart the clutch this morning and removed the clutch center nut so I could see how adjusting the clutch chainwheel plate forward would affect that clearance condition. Moving it out the 1/16" really didn't affect the distance at the idler gear much. So I guess its just meant to be very tight there. Since my bike was partially apart when I got it its been a lot of guesswork. Just doing my best to avoid causing any damage when I finally get it started up.

Anthony