Get a piece of cold rolled round stock the same diameter as the spacer, and cut off a piece about 1/8" shorter, and try a test drive with the short piece installed. You won't be making any sort of permanent modification that can't be reversed by simply reinstalling the original part.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!