Back tire rubbing on fender

[Arnold]

Saturday, while riding my 1981 interstate with a passenger and no air in the rear shocks, we both began smelling burnt rubber. At home we saw a shiny black circle around the perimeter of the left side of the tire, where the sidewall meets the tread. It looked about 1/8 inch deep. The fender sheetmetal has a supportive channel that comes very close to the tire, at least on the left side, and that's what was rubbing.
It seems impossible to move the rear wheel further over to the right, given that the final drive is butted up against the swing arm. I could flatten the inner fender support channel with a hammer, or I could just keep the shocks more fully inflated.
Any advice? :?

 

[joedrum]

the 80-81-82 1100s had to have air in them all the time ....in later yr 83 they put in stronger springs and you could run with no air .....if you put proggressive springs replacement in them you could run with no air ......one up for sure .... :mrgreen:

 

[scdmarx]

When I first got my 83 Interstate I had the same problem. Riding one up was no problem, but with a passenger we would smell the hot rubber and see the ring left from rubbing. Adding air did nothing to help. Mine was rubbing on the brake hose. If I lay under the bike and look up I could see it clearly, but could not see anything wrong from the top. I think in the end I blamed it on the old tire. Once I had a new tire the problem was solved. Those old tires, even though they still have good tread, get weak in the sidewalls and don't support the weight as well anymore.
How old is your tire?

 

[dan filipi]

The fender sheetmetal has a supportive channel that comes very close to the tire, at least on the left side, and that's what was rubbing.

Others have had problems with certain tires rubbing the brake support arm.
At least one guy fixed it with a solid hit from a sledge hammer to bend it to the left, just a hair did the trick.

It doesn't sound like yours is rubbing there though. A picture would help.

 

[toytender01]

I HAD THE TIRE RUBBING PROBLEM AFTER CHANGING WHEELS FROM AN 82 0NTO MY 80 :read: :head bang: SHOULD HAVE READ THE BOOK :doh: :whistling: WHEELS ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE :head bang: :rtfm: :rtfm: :rtfm: LIVE AND HOPEFULY LEARN arty:

 

[jdegase]

my tire rubbed on the break arm and killed a brand new tire!
it was a problem the PO had put a spacer in the wrong spot inside the final drive.
now with the new tire on I can get almost my whole finger between the brake arm and the tire..
and the final drive seems much tighter less lash in the gears...
but now I have a seal leaking from running misaligned for awhile.