little, just checked rotation 2 and half tire rotation to 1 chain rotations hope it helps ride safe

 

The length of the chain has nothing to do with the ratio of the wheel rotation.
It is all dependent upon the number of teeth on the counter shaft sprocket and the rear wheel sprocket. For simplicities sake, let’s suppose the counter shaft sprocket has 15 teeth and the rear wheel sprocket has 45. The ration is therefore 1 to 3. The counter shaft will turn over 3 times for every 1 time the rear wheel turns. It would not matter if the chain had 100 lengths or 500.

 

The length of the chain has nothing to do with the ratio of the wheel rotation.

I think when you say something like "ratio of the wheel rotation," it has to be in reference to something else. I'm no mechanic, but I'm pretty sure the length of chain has everything to do with the ratio of wheel rotations to chain rotations.

(e.g. A 45 link chain run on a rear wheel sprocket with 15 teeth will result in 3 wheel rotations per chain rotation. A 30 link chain run on a rear wheel sprocket with 15 teeth will result in 2 wheel rotations per chain rotation.)

 

Opps::: "lengths" should be "links"

 

Your chain could be unevenly stretched, causing it to go tighter, looser, tighter and so on as it rotates. See if chain tension varies as you turn the wheel.

 

X2. Chain too loose and unevenly stretched. Might be thumping the arm or chain cover.

 

Ok, any other guess you guys? I tore the bike apart last night. Rear wheel bearings are good, tire is good, torque are all up to speck on remount. Rear brake checks out, I went through every link of the chain for binding, measured the chain slack at 3 different points and it checks out. Rolls without any resistance when it is on the jack. I give. I still have this thumping at lower speeds, probably just can't hear it as the speed goes up. It is worse when I am braking, and I feel it in the pegs. Clutch in or out, it doesn't matter. I can hear it, too. Hard to isolate, but is is coming somewhere from the pegs back. 7200 miles on the bike, and I also lubed the bobbins, just in case.

Swing are bearings? I am doubting this, because of the low mileage, and the bike has yet to see rain. Oh, head bearing also torque correct, but I know what those feel like when they go.

Somebody guess.

 

There have been reports on the UK forum of warped brake discs, but I only remember it being a problem with the front discs. And besides, you said you checked your rear brake and all was well.

 

is it only intenser when you use the rear brake, or also when using front brake or both?

I assume disc is flat, no partial grinding of disc and pads??
You could try to open the rear brake as much as possible.
Thus increase the distance between disc and the brake pads, so the pads abolutele do not touch the disc. i.e. by putting a small wooden wedge between pads and disc to increase space.
then ride again, using front brake only.


else: maybe your rear tire is not "round" anymore.
did you perform any heavy braking? maybe you'll have to re-balance the rear wheel?

 

I agree; most likely culprit is a warped/damaged rotor (perform check as mentioned above - although you should simply be able to pry the pads apart and ride without touching the rear brake) OR a flat spot on the tire. Obviously it isn't the motor as you said it doesn't matter if the clutch is in or out or what RPM the motor is at. Could also be a chain or wheel bearing issue, but my money is on the rotor.


Edit: Ooops, missed the last update; check the masterlink for contacting the chain guide (don't have my V here and can't remember what they have for a guide) just another idea.





Dave

 

Put it up on a swingarm stand if you are able to do so and watch it in motion. Any rythmic "thumping" should be easily detectible. Look closely at the tire for a flat spot. Have you ever locked up the rear tire for a brief moment? I think you are missing something very obvious........

 

CL - You didn't mention what was the chain tension overall. You said it wasn't different between the three sections, but was it on the loose side overall? If it's too loose that could be the source of the noise.

Gustavo

 

All suggestions good- I did stick it on the swing arm lift and the tire appears round, equal distance from the floor, and as far as I can describe, the chain had fairly equal stretch all the way around. I did pay special attention to the master link- it was good. For fun, I hung the rear brake on the frame and road it without around the block. Same thump.

You are right, I am missing something obvious, but I can't find it. Poo.

 

Did you check to make sure there was nothing trapped in the inner hub?

 

I'm going with Redline's suggestion of something in the hub....in any event I can't wait till you figure it out , the suspence is killing me!

 

Process of elimination;

ride the bike down a hill without the chain.

Dave

 

Does it make the noise if you pull the clutch in and coast with no brakes ? If you engine-break does the engine pulse rhythmically with the 'thump' sound ? These are both signs of a loose chain or a chain with a tight spot. I had a similar sound on my Drifter before I replaced the chain. It has a horrible tight-spot in it.

 

I personally don't think it's the chain, caus' when pulling the clutch the tension on the chain is less, it is like in neutral position. that should the influence the thumping. and it doesn't as you said.

Try to exclude the engine by riding at the speed where the thumping is good noticeable, accelerate a little bit, shut of the engine (red button, don't know the exact name in english ;-) ) and then find out if it is still there.

It could be a bearing, which sounds great on a swing arm stand, but might give strange noises when loaded. That could also explain the vibrations you feel in the pegs. But just saw you checked the hub bearings. swing arm should have bearings to, but those would not produce rhytmic thumping.

or back to the tyre, if it seems round unloaded, that doesn't mean that it is still round loaded. may be you did once hit a curb? increase or decrease the pressure of your tyre to see if it influences the thumping.

I assume the tyre is correctly centered, and chain is aligned?

good luck, i am curious what it is.. ;-)

 

Gimme until tomorrow and I will update. I had to work all day today. Oh, nothing in the hub, you guys. Will try the down hill, engine off, no brakes tomorrow. Are you guys trying to kill me? That's the kinda stuff I did 20 years ago.

 

In the mean time, I got sick of the stock mirrors and did this cheapo mod that works. These little mirrors set me back about $8 and they seem to work. I haven't done more than around the block yet, and no night riding, buy I'm going to further update to see if they work.

Here's the right side, stuck between the bar end weight and the hand guard. I they adjust and if I snap them off in a dump, I am not out a bunch of money.

And I stuck my old Happy Trails bags on.

 

Ok, down a mine shaft, with a tail wind, the brake pads pried open and the clutch in, I still get it. It is too slow for the tire, so I am leaning toward a binding chain. I just stuck it on the stand again, and with turning, I feel a very slight increase in resistance at a certain point on the front sprocket. Now, this makes sense, right?. Unloaded, my chain slack is less, suspension travel less, so it wouldn't be as obvious as going down the road, at higher torque values, and loaded. I just thought I would be able to see the chain bind on that front sprocket. What would I look for, a kind of tent of the chain on a front sprocket tooth?

If you guys agree, who has the best deal on chain and sprockets right now? I'll do it myself, and go to the 16t front. I sure had hoped to get more than 7500 miles outta it. I have never had a bike with this short of chain life, and it has had excellent chain care.

 

All of that is logical IMO, but again you can check to be sure in two ways;

- ride the bike downhill with no chain (yes, I know you'll have to get it back up the hill somehow!)

- take the chain off and check each link pivot by hand; if there is one (or more) that are stiff enough to cause the problem you are describing, then you should easily feel it.

Dave

 

I just replaced my chain on my Kawi Drifter a couple months ago. It had 22K on the factory chain. The new chain is X-Ring and it is insanely cool. Super quiet and I've only had to adjust it once in the last 2000+ miles. I just checked the slack Saturday before I sold it when doing a once-over and an oil change for the new owner (my dad. hehe). I really like the X-ring. If I can get it for the V it'll be my next chain... in Kawi racing green.

 

I'm not it's the best deal, but Sprocket Center usually has competitive prices. Worth comparing offers from several vendors, just in case someone is running a better sale right now.

If you are after sprocket longevity, avoid the aluminum rear sprockets, in my experience they wear faster than the chain, and cause premature wear on the chain while they are at it.


Gustavo

 

the best deal is buying from your local shop so your money can circulate in your own community, IMHO. aluminum sprockets are ok IF you get the hard-anodized versions and keep the chain lubed, otherwise they wear out pretty fast.

 

I'm with you tomla. I only shop online if my local dealer doesn't have what I'm looking for. He's not the cheapest but I think he's fair and I definitely would miss his shop if it went belly up.

 

Couldn't agree more. I always give them the opportunity to come close to the prices on-line, and for the most part, they do. Even for a few bucks more, I'll always give them the business. Funny part is that the Dealer I buy my parts from is not the same Dealer I bought my bike from. They will not discount at all. When asked they said it was not worth it....my response was that they should re-think their approach because if everyone thinks as I do {!}, they ARE losing business......it's better to make a smaller profit than none at all......

 

I felt three stiffer links. I think it is fixed, but I am on the watch for any funny stuff again.