View Full Version : Chain stretch, replace?
My chain has become VERY VERY loose twice now in the last few weeks. I know the wheel has not moved forward. Is my chain wearing out? I mean it is REALLY loose. Makes a funny noise when I ride too. I can't imagine it would stretch that much in under 2,000 miles. Any ideas?
dnakase
Fri 7/26/02, 5:43PM
Do you wheely to work?
The stock chain should be good for a min. of 10k miles and that's if its not maintianed on a regular basis. Keep it oiled and maybe replace it along with the sprockets at 25k.
Most of the time you think its too loose just because you have no one to sit on the bike. (Have them stand then drop their full weight on their butt in the seat.) With a rider on the bike, it should have like 1.5 inches (max) of travel from the center, not total travel. 1.5 UP and 1.5 DOWN. That seems like a lot.
I used to tighten mine to within an inch of its life.
Now I also oil it after every 2nd tank, about 300 miles. I'm now used to a well oiled chain and can tell if its getting dry. (I may be too lazy to do anything about it, but I know)
I have been riding A LOT harder than I used to. I'd say the last month or so, I have been pushing the bike pretty hard in the twisties. The chain has more than enough slack to touch the bottom of the swingarm and makes these funny click/clunk noises under acceleration in first and second gear. Granted I am not the best about oiling my chain but I'd say I do it usually once a week. (600-700 miles) If I end up with over 1000 miles in a week I'll do it twice.
BTW-my bike now has almost 13,000 miles. Sprockets still look great.
bloodclot
Fri 7/11/03, 11:41AM
my chain just fell off. im not sure how or why, as i haven't taken the gear plate off yet, but it fell off as i was accelerating away from a stop light. i had to push her for 10 block to get home !!
ill get back to you guys with more info once i tear it apart, but what would cause that ??
make sure your chain isn't stretched out too bad... read above for correct adjustment.... also make sure your rear wheel alignment isn't off...
bloodclot
Fri 7/11/03, 12:01PM
well i just looked at it and its not stretched. my axle nut on the left side is scooted about an inch and a half or so forward, i can see the marks it left on my swing arm. and i seem to be missing that little end cap with the allen screw from the back of the swing arm on that side as well. what are those things called and how much do they cost ??
looks like i need to make a stand as well now, any one have any home made stand plans they would like to share. you know, measurements and such.
ez4me2c3d
Fri 7/11/03, 12:16PM
dude that sucks. Sorry to hear, I bet if I ride another 20 miles on my bike the chain will pop off it as well. That's why im not riding it again until I fix it. New chain and sprocket here i come.
dillweed
Fri 7/11/03, 12:53PM
You should replace it ASAP. Mine behaved the same way, at about 13,000 miles. I kept trying to adjust it, and it kept getting worse. Started grinding against the swingarm.
Originally posted by bloodclot
well i just looked at it and its not stretched. my axle nut on the left side is scooted about an inch and a half or so forward, i can see the marks it left on my swing arm. and i seem to be missing that little end cap with the allen screw from the back of the swing arm on that side as well. what are those things called and how much do they cost ??
I think you can buy aftermarket ones. I don't know for sure if ones off of the Gsxr/TL/Busa will fit, but it makes sense that it would. I've seen anodized aftermarket ones that go for about $60... which is what you'll probably pay for the factory ones anyhow...
I'd do a search at lockhart phillips or parts unlimited... I'm sure they have something for you.
dillweed
Fri 7/11/03, 3:05PM
If you are missing the end cap with the allen screw, it will be harder to adjust your chain. The allen screws on both sides are used to adjust the chain tension before you tighten the axle nut.
bloodclot
Fri 7/11/03, 8:30PM
i know that, and the stock end cap is like 15 dollars from bikebandits.
as far as replacing the chain. i dont think its damaged. i think what happened is the allen screw sheered, then the cap popped off and went god knows where. then the nut slid forward and that made the chain pop off.
im guessing that the shop that put the rear tire on didnt tighten the axle nut enough and that put all the stress on the adjustment screw and cap. then it eventually just snapped leaving all the weight and force from the torque on the already loose axle nut, causing it to slip forward. and now im back where i started. :D
now that i think i know what caused it, my biggest concern is making a stand. like i asked before, any one have any measurements to make one ?? if not, i guess ill have to make a Jones special.
anniebeehere
Wed 7/30/03, 10:04AM
I was reading a post by Grunthos in a different topic...
Originally posted by Grunthos
Brought my ride in for its 4K check up (chain verry loose) and saw the pretty little red SVS sitting there on the show room floor... looked like an '01 or '02. And a shiny black and silver socalsv sticker right on the windscreen for all to see.
... and am wondering if the loose chain thing is very common (last bike had a belt) to SV's.
My bike has been serviced twice now (mostly because it's been dropped twice) and each time the dealer noted my chain was loose. Is this a big deal?
Tillers_Rule
Wed 7/30/03, 10:19AM
It's not a big deal, as long as you get it tightened. All chains will stretch out and have to be adjusted, by simlpy pulling the rear wheel back will work.
Depending on how you ride, I would expect at LEAST 10,000 miles out of a chain on an SV.
I just changed mine out on my TLR at 16,000.
Chains are more high maintanance than a belt, or so i've heard, but it's nothing too bad, just clean and lube every 500 or so miles and you should be fine.
anniebeehere
Wed 7/30/03, 10:22AM
Thanks T_R... since I only have 800 miles on my bike I thought it was very strange to have loose chain problems. I will need to REALLY go over my bike each morning before I do the commute!
bwarbiany
Wed 7/30/03, 10:58AM
Originally posted by anniebeehere
Thanks T_R... since I only have 800 miles on my bike I thought it was very strange to have loose chain problems. I will need to REALLY go over my bike each morning before I do the commute!
Gotta stop doing all those wheelies, Annie!!
Grunthos
Wed 7/30/03, 11:15AM
For the first few thousand miles (mind you, many hundreds of those miles were done at constant speeds in sixth gear), I had problems with stalling the bike at take off, downshifting too far, letting out the VERY stiff clutch too rapidly, etc. etc. I suspect that that must be conducive to stretching the hell out of the chain too (along with grinding my gears down, destroying my clutch, rainforest deforestation and slowly melting Greenland).
usually a new chain will stretch, I don't know if this is common of the stcock chains but when you replace it with an aftermarket chain it will stretch alot in the first few hundred miles. You should get a minimum of 10,000 miles out of a chain otherwise you are doing something seriously wrong. As long as they are well lubed chains shouldn't stretch too much, I usually get mine adjusted every 3000 miles or so. If you tighten it yourself though make sure to check the whole chain because depending on how you ride you can have loose and tight spots and you don't want to adjust the chain tight in a loose spot and then have it overly tight in the tight spot. It's a pain in the @$$ so I usually just have the mechanic do it while I'm getting an oil change or something. Oh and IMO RK chains suck and I prefer DID but that's just my preference:D
Oh yea stretched and loose/tigth chains do suck at low speed lots of chain slap etc, when I replaced the chain on my ducati the low speed ride was much improved.
Setter32
Wed 7/30/03, 12:12PM
...I treated my stock chain like crap.........
....and it lasted me close to 20,000 miles.......
....I would clean it at ~ every 1000 miles..........give or take a few hundreds........:grin:
....but periodically.........I would def check the chain tension..........and if it's loose..........it's very easy to tighten.....
....all you need is a rear stand.............and a measuring tape.......or even a ruler will do.......
....
....by the way........if you hear knocking...............most likely it's not your motor.................most likely...your chain is loose..............yeah baby....:o
:D
Originally posted by Setter32
......all you need is a rear stand.............and a measuring tape.......or even a ruler will do.......
hell, u don't even really need a rear stand to adjust your chain. sidestand will do.
A chain will only be stretched in the first 1000miles.... if the chain is getting enouf oil .... a chain can not strech , only wear can give a longer chain .
I can recomend to use a chainoiler .... scottoiler or other brand.
Chainlife will be X 3 - 5 miles.
ptheo
My chain was soo loose that when downshifting it would skip some sprocket teeth. When I got home to see why it was doing that, I saw how loose it was. It was touching the sidearm.
I tightened the chain and life was good again. I did a full check on both sprockets and in the chain. Nothing wrong. If I haven't caught this problem early, I think it could be different.
By the way, I have 18000 miles and no sign of wear in the sprockets... the chain is starting to get stretched.
Padu
Almost two weeks from my previous post... my chains are making funny noises at low speed. I think they need adjustment again.
The rear axle is almost at the far maximum, I think my chain is approaching end of life now.
Another thing I've noted, it's becoming rusty.
I always treated my chain with care... lube every week, and at least once a month, I will scrub it with WD-40 and a toothbrush, and then lube it. When I use to do this, the chain would gain the metalic look and remain this way for weeks. Now it is rusty after only two weeks after the last cleanup. Do you guys think the high humidity of the last weeks have something to do with it?
Padu
dabame
Tue 11/18/03, 3:55PM
how do you know when its time to replace the chain? how much should it cost? is it worth doin yourself?
i just got my bike back and the dealership says i need a new chain and they didnt tighten it up, its got way to much free-play. what are the problems with to much freeplay in the chain?
the chain should be replaced under alot of circumstances, one is where you have alot of loose and tight spots and after awhile you can only tighten it so much. Or if there are rollers falling apart etc. Or if it's stretched so much that you can't tighten it within spec anymore. The problems with too much freeplat depends on how much there is and what was their reasoning for not doing it? you should take care of it as soon as possible though.
Before replacing mine, it was adjusted all the way back, and even though there was too much freeplay... two things happened:
1) Downshifting it started to jump teeth, I was lucky enough to not have anything damaged in the bike. One time though the chain got out of the sprocket, luckly again, I was under 20mph and nothing serious happened.
2) It will start sanding your swingarm from friction... mine did.
I've replaced the chain and sprockets, didn't need to replace sprockets, but I did anyway. I went two teeth more in the rear sprocket and I'm very happy about it. I did all by myself, spent less than 200 including the cost of chain, sprockets, dremmel and two master link riveter (the first one I broke by not having the previous chain pin grinded - that's why you need a dremmel).
Chain is a Gold DID, and sprockets are AFAM. You can probably get cheaper than that, if you borrow the riveter from someone and grind the pin manually.
Iyindo
Tue 11/18/03, 9:05PM
I know pinky told me this on Sunday, but ahmo ask anywaze... about what mileage mark do you have to start thinking about chain replacement?
Danny
Tue 11/18/03, 9:36PM
I change mine around 15k regardless, once youve seen a bad chain failure or two it seems quite sensical. Otherwise, check the stretch, the free movement of links, and wear on the rollers. Very easy to install a new chain yourself, if you don't have a riveter just install the clip link and ride to a shop to have the rivet link(a must) installed.
some people get 30 depnding on riding style and how often they lube, I dont' like RK chains but DID seem to last for a good long while
dabame
Tue 11/18/03, 11:24PM
how much should an average chain run me? i only have 13k and i dont trust the dealer or anyone else for that matter that is tryin to sell me something.
cbrsmurf
Wed 11/19/03, 12:02AM
Originally posted by dabame
how much should an average chain run me? i only have 13k and i dont trust the dealer or anyone else for that matter that is tryin to sell me something.
at least 10k for normal riding in normal conditions for a 530. Smaller chains like 525 and 520 will have less life.
dabame
Wed 11/19/03, 12:16AM
how much is too much to spend on a chain?
GetnJgyWitit
Wed 11/19/03, 6:04AM
just on a chain? They will cost anywhere from 90-110 bux. Don't spend more then 130 unless you are getting some super badass mofo!
go for an r-ring DID chain most of the people I've talked to prefer those and that's what I'm going for when I replace mine
Rocko
Wed 11/19/03, 2:33PM
Originally posted by Dominator
go for an r-ring DID chain most of the people I've talked to prefer those and that's what I'm going for when I replace mine
damn...the guys at lee's are putting an RK on my bike as we speak...
GetnJgyWitit
Wed 11/19/03, 3:08PM
RK I hear are good chains too, don't worry.
Rocko
Wed 11/19/03, 3:15PM
speaking of lee's...saw a dune buggy in there that they were working on. wondered why it was at lee's, but then i saw the dash...it had a busa gauge cluster...and engine to match
dabame
Fri 11/21/03, 12:10AM
Originally posted by Rocko
speaking of lee's...saw a dune buggy in there that they were working on. wondered why it was at lee's, but then i saw the dash...it had a busa gauge cluster...and engine to match
a busa engine in a buggy????? i wonder how fast it is? at least its original
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