Chain Clatter

[mrfreeze5]

I spent the day working on the bike and I finally got all the chassis tightend and torqued, so I finally got the chain adjusted. Once I did I noticed a clatter when I spin the wheel. At first I thought the sprockets werent as lined up as I thought, but theyre good. Dead on. Then I noticed the clatter went away if I spun the wheel backwards. Eventually I figured out that it is the cross piece of the chain tapping the valley between the sprocket teeth. Watching the chain, it kinda bobs as it meets the sprocket and thats whats making the noise. It doesnt do it going backwards since angle isnt as sharp on the bottom of the chain as it is on the top. Its been so long since my bike has been together, I dont remember if this is normal. If not, what is wrong and what can I do to fix it? I watched the teeth engage into the chain as well and they are moving in dead center, not pusing to one side and the engagement looks good. in fact everything looks great, I cant figure out what would make the problem.

[mrfreeze5]

Just rolled it around back and its definately not normal. Ive never noticed this before today. I wonder...

[sweekster]

I had a chatter on my FZR but that was with the old chain and it didn't matter which way the wheel was spun. For me it turned out to be a loose front sprocket. I've since swapped sprockets and the chain for new items and it went away. I know this will sound silly but the correct tension is on the chain right? No binding in the links? I'd go back to basics with this one and realign the wheel again.

[mrfreeze5]

Ill double check the sprocket nut and make sure its tight enough. The tension is right and the wheel is aligned. Its also a brand new chain.

[fizzerguy600]

Is it the link with the master link thats making the chatter? The link itself might be binding just enough especially if you pressed it on a little too hard. If the sideplate is squashed on too much, the pins won't allow the link to engage the sprocket teeth smoothly, and may be the cause of the chatter you hear. You say its a new chain, so have a go a lubing it and test each link to ensure they're not binding.

[mszilves]

Hey freeze, I had the same thing happen last season when I put on a brand new chain/sprockets. Everything is aligned and torqued to spec (front sprocket has lock washer, tension properly adjusted etc), and I oil my chain religiously. It had a clatter since day one, and I also couldn't remember if the old one did that or not. It's kind of a light tick-tick-tick if the wheel is rolled, or the bike is pushed forward. It bugged me for a while, but since I've had the chain on there now for approx. 10k km, I've had no issues whatsoever, and the wear on the chain/sprockets is negligible, and looks new still. So I don't think there's any issues with this, but I'd like to find out why as well. What kind of chain/sprockets are you running? I'm all stock with RK Gold X-Ring 530 (rivet master link), and 15/45.

[mrfreeze5]

Ive definately never heard this before yesterday. I can only guess that its since I havent fully torqued the sprocket nut since I need to loctite it still and tap the shaft for the lock bolt, Ive already drilled it out. I was checking everything before I did loctite it on and I was met with this. Not good.

Download Chain Clatter Movie

The chain looks good with one exception, it seems like it rides the rubber guide for more than it should. I thought this was there in case it touched, not for the chain to ride completely accross. It almost seems to raise it up slightly above the sprocket, maybe thats whats making it bob and tap? The suspension is already set pretty low and fits me well, so I dont really want to raise it much if I dotn have to, but that might level the chain. Like I said, it looks straight and everything looks to be in acceptable alignment. But something is definately bad. Very very bad.

[manveru]

It shouldn't ride on the rubber. by the way it looks in the picture, lowering the rear might level it out

[mrfreeze5]

Its riding over the peak in the swingarm. If I lower the bike as in make the seat lower to the ground, the swingarm will go up right there and make it worse. If I raise the ride height then it might make it go away Im hoping since the peak in the swingarm will move down the chain wont hit, but I really like where the height is now. Oh well.

[abs929cbrrr]

make shure its not hitting the lower mount of the inside of the foot peg. last night i road my hybrid for the 1st time (wow is al i can say) and i noiticed my chain hits the foot peg mount on the inside of the frame...just check it.. i noiticed this is the only problem left with my bike until i cut the pegs off and spacer them out with .250 steel.

[mrfreeze5]

ABS wins the cookie.

Its hitting the lower rearset nut. Somehow I completely forgot about that, even though I had to address that the weekend I bought the bike with the stock chain, now Ive spaced it even farther out. How dumb of me to forget.

[YAM93]

Good job ABS.

I tell you, I wouldn't get too worked up about the chain riding on that plastic swingarm guard, that's what it's there for. It's actually sort of a chain guide really, a lot of times they're called "chain sliders". That's exactly what they're supposed to do. If your chain is eating thru it down to bare metal or it's causing too much tension / bounce in the chain that's a different story. On my MX bike it's a pretty long piece of plastic and the chain is always wailing on it, just like it's supposed to.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it unless it's wearing down really fast. The slider should probably be replaced every 15-20,000 miles anyway, depending on wear.

[mszilves]

Download Chain Clatter Movie

Ok, after listening to that, mine definitely doesn't sound like that! Mine is really just barely noticeable. I can't think of what yours could be other than the chain riding on the rubber swingarm guard. Have you tried it with the bike and suspension loaded, to see if the natural compression of the swingarm fixes it (ie pushing the bike around)?

[mrfreeze5]

I just threw it up on the stand and yanked the wheel off and took the dremel to it for a few minutes. The loud clatter is gone, but there is still an audible tick. I was definately hitting the peg mount nut, so I shaved it down and it clears fine now, but Im still getting a tick, but that may just be the gears. Its not as nasty sounding now.

[YAM93]

BTW, I couldn't get that "DOWNLOAD ...................." link to work. It just comes up with a big QuickTime symbol with a big question mark in the middle of it. I upated my QuickTime, but it still won't do anything. What am I doing wrong ?