1980 GS450L Chain Troubles

[Bryce]

I ride my bike pretty much everyday. I love to ride, and then I don't have to walk to class. Convenient. Anyways, I was noticing some increased slap when I rolled on/off the throttle and then started hearing a new noise when I would engine brake around the 2 to 4k rpm range. So I checked the chain to find it very loose.

So I adjusted my chain. But after adjusting it, I put the bike up on the center stand and ran the chain a bit to check that all was good and I have a horrendous amount of chain noise. It really sounds like the normal whir of a chain, except much much too loud. Upon doing lots of research on the issue, I lubed it, and rechecked my tension. I do have the manual and it is tightened to spec. Both sprockets and the chain have about 1000 miles on them, under my butt: I installed them, I rode them. As far as I can see, all are in good shape. I can't remove the cover at this time as I don't have the tools I need here with me at college and I will have to replace the bolts as the heads are all almost stripped. I would have expected a chain to get quieter with use, not louder, at least until the chain is in terrible shape and stretched or the sprockets are shot. I did attempt to change the wheel alignment back and forth by only changing one side adjustment in case my marks are out of synch, but this seems to be to no avail (And I returned them to matching after not getting results). I have not had a chance to try a string test, hopefully in the next couple days I can do this. I cannot hear the chain noise over the sound of the engine (Currently in the city at college, so this is only to about 35 mph) but it is very noticeable if I clutch and roll off the throttle.

Also, one thing I did notice that seemed a tad odd, the rear sprocket has all of the paint wore off to the depth that the chain can reach on the outer side, but only about half of it is wore off on the inner side. I'm pretty sure that this wear is only paint deep, it isn't gouging the metal. To me, this seems like the tire was slightly out of alignment, but I can't really decide which way I think it was off. (I can't decide if a tire aligned with, for example, the front being too far left would wear the paint off the left or right. If it was a straight bar, it would totally be easy, but a chain could be rubbing on the top or bottom and that would change the side of the sprocket it wears. Would it be reasonable to thing that the top side would wear more, being under tension while the bottom should be more free running?)

So my first question is, is there a preferred chain lube, heavier to dampen noise or not?

Also, what is a normal chain volume? It used to be really quiet. I never noticed it at all, except a slight whir if I would clutch and kill the engine on a test drive to listen to brakes or something.

And until I check the string alignment, is there any other ideas that anyone might have for me to check out?

Also, I'm an engineer, so give me the nitty gritty; I'd rather ask someone to explain what they mean and learn something than to get the watered down answer that might fix it without teaching me anything for the future.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Keep the shiny side up,

Bryce

 

[eil]

I'm not an expert on chains but it wouldn't surprise me if the chain started getting noisier due to wear. Wear lengthens the chain but the sprockets stay the same so things don't mesh quite as well as before. (And then the sprockets start to wear faster, too.)

The string alignment method is highly accurate but is also a huge pain in the butt in my experience.

How many miles on the existing chain? Could it be stock? Maybe it's simply lived out its useful life.

If you replace your chain, replace both sprockets as well or your chain will wear faster.

No chain lube that I can think of will do anything to dampen the noise.

 

[bwringer]

What kind of chain is it?

You need an o-ring or x-ring chain. An unsealed roller chain (sometimes other sneaky terms are used, like "heavy duty") won't last very long at all.

There are also some cheap Chinese o-ring/x-ring chains floating around on eBay and the rest of the internet that are dangerous junk.


Also, how much slack are you leaving in the chain? If you adjust it too tight, the chain and sprockets will wear very quickly. This is a very common mistake, and quite frankly using the spec in the manual will usually lead to a chain that's much too tight. It's far better to err on the side adjusting it to be a bit loose.


Any discussion of chain lube soon turns into a holy war, but the truth is that with a quality chain and sprockets just about anything will work fine. Chain "lube" doesn't really lubricate -- it's only there to keep the outside surfaces from rusting. The lubrication is sealed inside a good o-ring or x-ring chain. So it doesn't matter a whole lot what you use, only that you keep the chain reasonably clean and protected.

I prefer a wax type product that goes on thin, then leaves behind a thin, dry waxy coating as the solvent carrier evaporates. As it's applied, the solvent also helps flush away any dirt that's on the chain. It's a very thin coating of a clear wax, so you really can't see any residue or coating -- the chain just looks shiny, but you can feel the wax with your fingers. After it's dry in less than a minute, dirt and water don't stick to the wax, the chain doesn't rust, and the wheel and tire stay clean. (I use a product called DuPont Chain Saver -- it's in a yellow can, it's relatively inexpensive, and sometimes can be found at Walmart. Every product has its adherents.)

 

[Gorminrider]

The obvious has to be mentioned. Is the chain hitting something? you will have to Take off the cover over the front sprocket and see for sure if you can't otherwise "fix it".. Every bike needs a toolkit and there's always a way to work on them wherever you are... KEEP the cover off as you check alignment.
and, any chance you put new tires on and they are the issue rubbing on the swingarm? ie:Is the noise REALLY coming from the chain?

You need BOTH sprockets renewed with a new chain. Not just one. but apparently, you can wear out two plain non-oring chains per one set of sprockets if everything has been kept oily and clean.
1000 miles on chain and sprockets is not very much for any chain assuming you have of reasonable quality D.I.D etc. Did you get OEM "530" chain or a lighter one.Double check that your new sprockets you installed match the chain.
Test slack when sitting on bike. as said, chains don't like being tight, especially as the arc of the swing arm does not exactly agree with the drive sprocket's axis...

IF when you rotate the rear wheel, the chain has tighter and looser spots, it is ruined. This may be the noise you hear...If the slack is the same throughout, it is wearing normally, but a new chain needs very little adjustment after a short run-in period. You can go a long way on a decent chain, o-rings or not IMO without adjusting if you keep it lubed and don't get overexcited at stoplights . ...When it starts needing frequent adjustment, obviously it is wearing quickly or something else is wrong at the axlebolt...hard to imagine how, but it's a possibility. I assume you have the original adjusters on the axle.

You need to check alignment for sure (take the drive sprocket cover off)... it may even show as shiny spots on one side of sprockets.

 

[Bryce]

Well,

Somehow I managed to mess up two responses now. Meaning, I tried to respond a week ago, and again about 10 min ago, and neither worked.

So, I got a new chain, this one is DID. It is much quieter than the old one, however it still seems plenty loud as well. It had a slight change in tension as I rolled it around even when it was brand new. Not sure if that means it was a junk chain, or if manufacturing just isn't perfect. Which we all know it isn't.

I plan to keep an hawk's eye on this new chain and keep it running right and see how long it lasts.

The tires and chain and both sprockets were all replaced at the same time. I have about 200 miles on the new chain now and roughly 1200 on the other components.

I have worked on the bike in many strange places, bwringer, but I was pretty sure I would need an impact driver tool (one of those screwdrivers that you turn left or right and smack with a hammer to make it go) because of how stripped the heads are already. I fully intended to get new bolts on the bike when I replaced the chain, but my hardware store wasn't open until 9 and I had other stuff I had to get done, so that had to wait for another day in the future yet. Just a matter of knowing that they get more messed up every time I take a screwdriver to them, and that eventually I may have to drill the heads off a few.

Thanks All, hopefully I can keep her on the road. I'm real close to 30k miles and getting excited about it. might roll 30 tomorrow, if not, Thursday will do the trick.

Keep the shiny side up,

Bryce

 

[Gorminrider]

if manufacturing just isn't perfect. Which we all know it isn't.

DID are good chains. Unlikely there's a manufacturing fault in a brand new chain. If your new chain's slack is varying as you rotate the wheel . an axle has to bent, or a tooth worn...the chain would not be dropping down on a tooth etc. ,for this to happen.

If you get around to changing out (JIS-not phillips head!) screws on covers, and don't want to continue with the oem JIS, I'd recommend getting hex-head (8mm I think) and not allen-wrench type. Your Impact driver (which will pay for itself very quickly) will help to get the old ones out (and these sometimes come with JIS bits) but they don't need to be awful tight on reassembly... a bit of Never-seize@ can be good on these.