Orion shaft too short?

I have a fun pic with an orion, but the shaft is too short. It only allws for me to put the pinion gear on half way, and half way touching the main gear's teeth. This strips out the pinion gear pretty easy. Is there shomething I should do to give it more grab? The mounting plate is under the frame, not between the motor and the frame.. Any ideas? What did you guys do? Also, how many tooth pinion is good for the Orion? I was using 9..

Thanks for any help.
Jeff

seems i,ve had the same problem solved it because i had a 8t pinion wich came with the cooler from ikarus this one is much longer and made of copper mabye you can order it and you will need it whit the orion because it revs much higher than the standard engine and not using it would cause your engine to overheat and burn out the orion(expensive misery!)
hope you sucseed! let us know how youre doing.
may general radd be whit you!(if he,s not busy in the gulf region)

You will need a metal 8 tooth pinion, but even then the shaft is quite short.