[Bryce2471]

Originally Posted by Travis Covington

I think he was saying that the bending moment induced by the torsion on the pinion gear is less when the gear is closer to the mounting plate. This would decrease the bending moment and the likelihood of bending the CIM shaft. I recall seeing one bent shaft on our 2013 robot (caused by some significant shock loads in the PTO/hanging mechanism). We used the same mounting scheme in 2014 and saw no bent shafts.

The dog shifter design usually spaces out the pinion by one gears face width. The design he has shown can place the pinion almost directly against the mounting plate.

I couldn't have said it better myself!
(Obviously, sense I tried and failed lol)