Today installed New OEM front drive sprocket to my 2001 GS. There is about 3/8" play between sprocket and cir-clip. Earlier on this bike was fitted with after-market sprocket which is thicker than OEM, by the previous owner.
please advise.
Cheers.
3/8"? That's pretty substantial. To my knowledge, there are 3 types of front sprockets for the GS500 - and you may have the wrong type for your model.
Have you looked on JTSprockets website at all? They have pretty good details about all 3 sprockets.
The space on the spline out to the circlip without the sprocket in place is only about 3/8". The proper sprocket for a 01 GS is about 8.5mm wide but older 89-03 GSs had sprocket w/o the hub and are narrower. How wide is your new sprocket and how wide was the one you took off? Sounds like your bike has been modified somehow? Attached JT sprocket dims for 2 kinds used on GSs, they are easiest to find for ref.
(http://www.jtsprockets.com/fileadmin/code/images/small/jtf565.jpg)
(http://www.jtsprockets.com/fileadmin/code/images/small/jtf516.jpg)
I had the same problem. The new sprocket was thiner than the old one. I went an bought a washer with the right diameter opening and thickness and put it on BEFORE the sprocket to acheive the correct spacing. No big deal with chain clearance if it were there or not. I just didnt want to hear in rattle.