is it shim time?

[Zachariah Mully]

Hello collective.... This past Saturday, while lubing my chain (no, I won't mention what lube I used), in preparation for a ride on Sunday with Robb, a fellow lister/lurker such as I, I decided to pull the front sprocket cover on my 1991 KLR. Other than being full of gunk, I noticed that the metal toothed plate which bolts to the sprocket was severely worn, the teeth had been worn to close the original offset of the sprocket (i.e. the offset of the teeth between the plate and the sprocket is what the Kawi engineers figured would keep the front sprocket on the driveshaft I assume). I have two questions about this... 1) Is it time for a Jake Jakeman Shimming kit that I have heard about? 2) Am I stupid to continue riding my beauty with the knowledge of this condition? (not that not knowing would be better, but ignorance is bliss) I pulled the front sprocket off and inspected it and the drive shaft splines. Both seemed to be in excellent condition with no visible deformation or rounding, so I hope that is the good news. The bike only had 7000 miles on it when I purchased it and had never been off road (changed that this weekend), so I don't think that the degredation of the retaining plate has had time to permantly damaged my driveshaft. What should I be looking for/checking and what can I do in the meantime to prevent this from worsening? Thanks again, Zack 1991 KLR