Oh, heck! Now what did I do?

[Anonymous]

Folks,

A couple weeks ago I noticd what sounded like my chain clanking against the guard at low speed. It had a lot of play in it, so I adjusted it to tighten it up. When I took it out on the road there was a periodic scraping noise that I thought sounded like the rear brakes dragging. When I got it back home. the chain was really tight - tighter than I had left it when I adjusted it.

I put the bike ('80 GS450T) up on the center stand, put the transmission in neutral, and gave the rear wheel a spin by hand. It had a lot of drag for a moment, then loosened up and moved freely. Then it tighened up again.

I've discovered that when the wheel moves easily the chain has a lot of slack, and when the wheel drags the chain is tight. This bike had new tires put on last May and the shop adjusted the chain correctly then. Since then I've put maybe 1000 miles on it. It's only in the last 100 miles that I noticed the chain slap that started all this.

So the question is, what's the problem? Is it a stretched chain? Or did I screw up the chain adjustment?

Dave

[redliner1973]

Sounds like the chain was adjusted too tight at one time, stretched, but not evenly. new chain time.

[Anonymous]

So the question is, what's the problem? Is it a stretched chain? Or did I screw up the chain adjustment?

Your chain is getting tired. As they wear, they often develop tight spots and stretch unevenly. You should be adjusting your chain at the tightest point and not worrying about the looser spots, since a loose chain won't cause any damage but a tight one will die in very short order. It sounds like yours is on it's last legs and will be needing replacement in the near future.

Mark

[Joe Nardy]

You can cause much more serious damage than just a chain and sprockets by running the bike with the chain too tight. You can chew up the output shaft bearing and mess up some of those expensive little parts in the transmission. Don't ask how I know............

Joe

[Anonymous]

worn out

Mark M is right on, had the exact same problem with mine, as well had a rythmic thrumming noise anything over 80KPH. After changing the chain and sprockets noise was gone. The chain had a couple of tight spots in it where the links were seized.
If you put the bike in neutral on the center stand and turn the rear wheel you can see the chain getting tight and loose as it rotates as well as moving up and down....Mike.

[Anonymous]

Re: worn out

If you put the bike in neutral on the center stand and turn the rear wheel you can see the chain getting tight and loose as it rotates as well as moving up and down.

Yup, that's what it's doing.

I looked at the rear sprocket to see if there's any obvious abnormal wear (like undercutting) and didn't see any, but I'll take a better look just to make sure. If it checks out okay, can I keep the old sprocket and just replace the chain?

Dave

[Joe Nardy]

You should ALWAYS change chains and sprockets together. If not, the new chain will not last long at all.

Joe

[skreemer]

You should ALWAYS change chains and sprockets together. If not, the new chain will not last long at all.

Joe

where would you reccomend getting a chain and sprocket? Are one brand of chain better than others?

[Anonymous]

With a chain that far gone, the sprockets are almost certainly gone too. Even if the rear sprocket has a bit of life left, a worn sprocket will accelerate the wear on the new chain.

A stretched chain will apply force (tension) to only a few sprocket teeth, concentrating the load to a progressively smaller area. They don't wear at an even rate; they wear slowly at first, and then the wear rate gradually skyrockets.

You can see this for yourself. Even with a taut chain, you'll be able to wiggle the links at the rear of the sprocket. A slight amount of play would be normal, but you'll be able to rock them around freely.

On the plus side, when you install the new chain & sprockets, your chain adjustment stays put for a long time -- and new drive components sound SO cool (with a quiet exhaust, anyway). That quality chain noise is the only thing I miss with a shaft drive bike.

[Joe Nardy]

where would you reccomend getting a chain and sprocket? Are one brand of chain better than others?

I think any of the brand name chains are good. Like all other things, chain and lubricant technology has come a long way since these bikes were new. I had very good luck on my Hurricane with an RK Gold chain. It was pricey but almost never needed adjustment. Plus it looked really cool when clean. I'm due for a chain and sprockets this winter. I'll probably go with stock sprockets since I've gotten 32,000 miles out of the originals and they still aren't too badly worn. I'll probably go with an aftermarket chain but I'm limited because I have a 630 chain. I'm also going to look into a 530 conversion.

Joe

[Jethro]

What kind of chains can I get for my 83 1100 with the 530 conversion? Is that why people like to do the conversion?

[Joe Nardy]

Jethro,

People do the 530 conversion because 530 sized chains are now strong enough for the big bore Suzukis, they are cheaper, and they are lighter. Plus it is getting harder to find 630 chains. A quick look at some websites showed that RK and Tsubaki offer 630 chains while D.I.D. and Regina did not. They all offer 530 chains, usually several different ones (O-Ring, X-Ring, etc.). Beware that if you want to do a 530 conversion on your 1100 you have to shim the countershaft sprocket for correct alignment. I'm going to start another post to see if anyone knows where to get the complete conversion kit at one place.

Joe