Hi all,
For those who want background info, keep reading, otherwise the questions are:
*My sprockets seem out of round such that the chain has very tight and loose spots. What are the possible causes and fixes for this problem?
*When centering the wheel while tightening the chain, assuming I have an equal number of reference marks visible on both sides, should my tire have equal distance on each side away from the swingarm? I have 2 reference marks visible on the chain side and 4 visible on the brake side in order to make the wheel look centered, with equal distance from the swingarm on both sides... Any clue what is going on?
*Is 180/55 an acceptable size rear tire for my bike, seems mighty close to the chain?
*With the rear wheel off the ground, clutch in, start the bike, drop in first, clutch still in, the wheel starts to turn... Is my clutch out of adjustment?
background:
This morning I tried to tighten the chain on my '00 SV that I bought off a forum member about six months ago. This is my first SV and my first time doing motorcycle work. I ran into a couple interesting things that raised questions.
First, I should say that I am tightening my chain because spontaneously it developed gobs of slack. When I bought it, I didn't check it but the bike rode/sounded fine. On my first longish trip to the mountains I started to hear a dragging as if the chain were rubbing something... Sounded really bad, but by that point I was close enough to home that I rode it out gingerly. I thought maybe the wheel slipped in the swing arm, but it appears that probably wasn't the case... I think a lack of lube just stretched it badly. Is that possible?
My starting point was 3 reference marks on each side visible behind the edge of the square washers on the axle... again, gobs of slack at this point. I tightening he adjusters evenly until the chain was as tight as it would go, measured the 21 pins and determined that I am barely within the service limit.
Next I loosened evenly until I found about 3/4" of slack at the center of the chain. As I am typing I realized that I measure at the top of the loop, not the bottom like the manual says...
Now I was at 2 reference marks showing behind the axle washers and had what seemed to be a properly tightened chain... then I spin the rear wheel and notice an incredible lack of uniformity in the chain tension... At some points the chain is fully tight, at others there is 2" of slack at the center... It is as if the sprockets are out of round... Any ideas what is going on?
The next thing I noticed is that despite having equal reference marks on both sides, the wheel seems incredibly crooked in the swing arm... That is, only if I can trust referencing the tire distance perpendicular from the swing arm... In order for the tire to have equal distance from the swing arm on both sides I need to have 2 reference marks showing on the chain side, and 4 showing on the brake side. So should I be trusting the reference marks or measuring distance from the swing arm, or something else...
Other info/questions:
The bike came with a 180/55 rear tire and when the wheel is equal distance from the swingarm on both sides, the chain seems mighty close to the tire... Should I be looking into a stock sized tire?
Also, when I had the bike up on the rear stand I started it up, because I wanted to get the rear wheel going good so that I could see if the chain was jumping around... Anyway, I started it, had the clutch in, dropped it into first and was surprised to see the rear wheel start going before I even thought about letting the clutch out... Is my clutch out of adjustment?
When I went to loosen the torque link nut as specified in the manual I was surprised to find it less than finger tight... It seems like it could have fallen off at any point... Any damage possibly done by this?
Thanks very much for any advice anyone has to offer.
Dave
For those who want background info, keep reading, otherwise the questions are:
*My sprockets seem out of round such that the chain has very tight and loose spots. What are the possible causes and fixes for this problem?
*When centering the wheel while tightening the chain, assuming I have an equal number of reference marks visible on both sides, should my tire have equal distance on each side away from the swingarm? I have 2 reference marks visible on the chain side and 4 visible on the brake side in order to make the wheel look centered, with equal distance from the swingarm on both sides... Any clue what is going on?
*Is 180/55 an acceptable size rear tire for my bike, seems mighty close to the chain?
*With the rear wheel off the ground, clutch in, start the bike, drop in first, clutch still in, the wheel starts to turn... Is my clutch out of adjustment?
background:
This morning I tried to tighten the chain on my '00 SV that I bought off a forum member about six months ago. This is my first SV and my first time doing motorcycle work. I ran into a couple interesting things that raised questions.
First, I should say that I am tightening my chain because spontaneously it developed gobs of slack. When I bought it, I didn't check it but the bike rode/sounded fine. On my first longish trip to the mountains I started to hear a dragging as if the chain were rubbing something... Sounded really bad, but by that point I was close enough to home that I rode it out gingerly. I thought maybe the wheel slipped in the swing arm, but it appears that probably wasn't the case... I think a lack of lube just stretched it badly. Is that possible?
My starting point was 3 reference marks on each side visible behind the edge of the square washers on the axle... again, gobs of slack at this point. I tightening he adjusters evenly until the chain was as tight as it would go, measured the 21 pins and determined that I am barely within the service limit.
Next I loosened evenly until I found about 3/4" of slack at the center of the chain. As I am typing I realized that I measure at the top of the loop, not the bottom like the manual says...
Now I was at 2 reference marks showing behind the axle washers and had what seemed to be a properly tightened chain... then I spin the rear wheel and notice an incredible lack of uniformity in the chain tension... At some points the chain is fully tight, at others there is 2" of slack at the center... It is as if the sprockets are out of round... Any ideas what is going on?
The next thing I noticed is that despite having equal reference marks on both sides, the wheel seems incredibly crooked in the swing arm... That is, only if I can trust referencing the tire distance perpendicular from the swing arm... In order for the tire to have equal distance from the swing arm on both sides I need to have 2 reference marks showing on the chain side, and 4 showing on the brake side. So should I be trusting the reference marks or measuring distance from the swing arm, or something else...
Other info/questions:
The bike came with a 180/55 rear tire and when the wheel is equal distance from the swingarm on both sides, the chain seems mighty close to the tire... Should I be looking into a stock sized tire?
Also, when I had the bike up on the rear stand I started it up, because I wanted to get the rear wheel going good so that I could see if the chain was jumping around... Anyway, I started it, had the clutch in, dropped it into first and was surprised to see the rear wheel start going before I even thought about letting the clutch out... Is my clutch out of adjustment?
When I went to loosen the torque link nut as specified in the manual I was surprised to find it less than finger tight... It seems like it could have fallen off at any point... Any damage possibly done by this?
Thanks very much for any advice anyone has to offer.
Dave
