Last week I did a pre ride check and noticed my chain hung down and TOUCHED the center stand (while the bike was on the sidestand). I was happy I caught this, and immediately tightened the chain and went riding. No issues, and the ride felt great, maybe the chain was too loose before?
This week, was cleaning and lubing the chain, and noticed the previous tension was gone again. The chain wasn't touching the center stand, but was hanging lower towards it. Had a ton of slack as well - this all being measured when it was on the center stand.
The chain itself probably has about 5-6K on it, I don't ride it too often and I've had this bike for about 4 years now. I park the bike always on the center stand. Could this be from chain age, or is the tensioner going bad?
1). What make and size is the chain? I.e. D.I.D. 530 X-ring
2). When you adjusted it, did you make sure it was at the tightest part of the chain. Meaning that the chain is not always uniform in how it sags. Sometimes some links wear or "loosen" up more than others and the chain will sag more in this area than a section that is tighter.
3). When you tightened the cam bolt on the hub, what torque setting did you use? On the 5/6 Gens this is 54 ft.lbs.
What is your maintenance regimen, are there any O-rings missing and does the chain appear to have a rust-looking color that maybe is getting on other components such as the swingarm, wheel, etc?
To be honest, unless the pinch bolt is not holding the adjustment eccentric properly, the chain sounds like it's due for replacement.
1). What make and size is the chain? I.e. D.I.D. 530 X-ring
2). When you adjusted it, did you make sure it was at the tightest part of the chain. Meaning that the chain is not always uniform in how it sags. Sometimes some links wear or "loosen" up more than others and the chain will sag more in this area than a section that is tighter.
3). When you tightened the cam bolt on the hub, what torque setting did you use? On the 5/6 Gens this is 54 ft.lbs.
1) No clue - owner said it was new when I bought the bike, and it was indeed in good condition
2) BINGO - before I did not find the tight spot. Now I found the tight spot, so I will see how this tightening holds up.
What is your maintenance regimen, are there any O-rings missing and does the chain appear to have a rust-looking color that maybe is getting on other components such as the swingarm, wheel, etc?
To be honest, unless the pinch bolt is not holding the adjustment eccentric properly, the chain sounds like it's due for replacement.
I haven't checked if any O rings are missing, I will do that tomorrow.
Maintenance is usually at the 500 mile mark for cleaning and lubing - no rust is getting flung onto other parts.
If you find a tight spot and can get a good adjustment on it and the O-rings are all intact (so grease is still inside each pin) it sounds like you might be able to get some add'l life out of it. Three adjustments is about all a chain is good for, so if it's still going south it's probably had it. One other possibility is that the P.O. did not change sprockets when replacing the chain, which can cause rapid wear (teeth and links no longer match up). For comparison, my current chain is a DID ZVMX 530. I've put a bit over 6,000 miles on it and have not changed the adjustment since it was installed. I use 90W oil and lube it at intervals of no more than 250 miles.
The mc shop that sold me the VF600F2 I bought for Keny assured me the chain was good after i told him that Keny would ride 1,000mile+ home to Finland on it...
Well, that was utter porkies.....
It streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetched so much he had to get creative on the trip back.............
1) No clue - owner said it was new when I bought the bike, and it was indeed in good condition
2) BINGO - before I did not find the tight spot. Now I found the tight spot, so I will see how this tightening holds up.
3) I did tighten it to 54 ft/lbs.
I did not get the #3..
If you are saying you adjusted your chain to a torque, I'm pretty sure your'e doing i wrong. Well, idk everything, but I've always seen instructions where you adjust amount of slack in the middle between sprockets, not the torque. If you torque it, there is no slack at all, so at times it is way overtightened and that would lead to a problems.
If you tightened it the right way and it is loose right after, change both sprockets and chain. Better to do it now than wish it to be done on the road :D. Besides if unlucky - broken chain at high speed can do lots of damage.
If you are saying you adjusted your chain to a torque, I'm pretty sure your'e doing i wrong. Well, idk everything, but I've always seen instructions where you adjust amount of slack in the middle between sprockets, not the torque. If you torque it, there is no slack at all, so at times it is way overtightened and that would lead to a problems.
If you tightened it the right way and it is loose right after, change both sprockets and chain. Better to do it now than wish it to be done on the road :D. Besides if unlucky - broken chain at high speed can do lots of damage.
In case you are not kidding, the torque was applied to the bolt that tightens the adjuster, not the actual chain.
Personally I'd stick a fork in it figuring it's done and replace it. It's not the lube - the water is only revealing weaknesses in the chain - ingressing to places it shouldn't be. The squeaking is probably from the pins no longer having grease and they're grinding away. The consequences of a chain letting go can be severe. For my money it's worth the peace of mind to have a sound final drive. Be sure to use new good quality steel sprockets along with a new chain.
Worst thing there - replacing chain/sprocket set. Afaik if chain is dry under the o-rings, you can throw it out. In your case I would buy the set or prepare myself to expenses :D and check on this chain often to see if it is getting worse rapidly.
New chain will last long with appropriate care. My bike had chain with ~3k miles on it when i bought it and I installed the Scottoiler system and have needed to adjust the chain for a first time after ~12k miles after, that was recently. Chain still good for many miles more :).
Ugh I guess my chain maintenance wasn't as good as I thought - so much for 500 mile cleaning and regreasing intervals. I should probably just grease it down after every ride now.
Sooo next question - what's a good chain and sprocket set? Do I go O or X ring?
IRT my first question, my theory was that it wasn't a quality chain to begin with and may have been part of the reason why you were having trouble. It's very possible the PO just threw on whatever he could find and not really paid too much attention to the type and quality. As far as which type, X or O, I don't think there will be a monumental difference between the two. What would matter is the maintenance after purchase. Like many here doing the cleaning/luring more often than not will help extend the chain life.
If/when I wash the bike or if the chain gets wet, I usually use WD-40 to help displace the water and then lube the chain with (insert prefered lube here).
I never clean my chains apart from when washing a bike, then i wash a chain with a sponge too. Haven't noticed that being a problem. So in my opinion cleaning is more for aesthetic purposes.
If i have to lube it manually, I do it with every other refueling.
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