Chain stretch

Supergank1

Supergank1

Registered
anybody ever lite the back tire up one time and find the chain(hanging bad)loose the next time you stop? happened to me the other day on my 07 , now it`s tight then loose as you rotate the back wheel. i guess i stretched the chain in one spot?? been riding a long time and had alot of bikes and never had that happen before, it`s only got about 4000 miles on the factory RK chain. going to get a DID chain and new sprockets and cush rubbers to replace it. just wondering if anyone else had this problem??
 
Chains don't stretch.(Well measurably)

They sag due to the wear of contact parts.
They're good for about 20/22000 km.s
If you've only got 4000 k. on this one, tighten it.
 
JusPlaynBob @ Jul. 16 2008 said:
Chains don't stretch.(Well measurably)

They sag due to the wear of contact parts.
They're good for about 20/22000 km.s
If you've only got 4000 k. on this one, tighten it.
Click to expand...
i did tighten it when i got home but it now goes from being too tight in 1 spot to hanging off in another as you rotate the wheel. got out a dial indictor and checked the shaft and sprockets for being bent and they are straight as an arrow, the chains gotta be jacked?? i`ll find out tomorrow when i put the new stuff on..
 
Must've been a bit loose to start with.
Under load, a loose chain will head towards the outer edge of the sprocket.
Perhaps a pin hooked on the end of a tooth, bending a couple of pins just a hair.

Post up what happens, with the new one.
 
JusPlaynBob @ Jul. 16 2008 said:
Must've been a bit loose to start with.
Under load, a loose chain will head towards the outer edge of the sprocket.
Perhaps a pin hooked on the end of a tooth, bending a couple of pins just a hair.

Post up what happens, with the new one.
Click to expand...
yea it might have been a little loose?? it might be bent like you said?? i`ll post up when i get the new stuff on, hopefully it will be fixed.
 
Your sprockets may not be bent but are they still round? Uneven wear from one part of the sprocket to another in the valley part of the teeth can make the sprocket almost egg shaped causing it to go tight in one spot and then loose in another.
 
BIKE DUDE @ Jul. 16 2008 said:
Your sprockets may not be bent but are they still round? Uneven wear from one part of the sprocket to another in the valley part of the teeth can make the sprocket almost egg shaped causing it to go tight in one spot and then loose in another.
Click to expand...
yea i thought about that..it looked to be round but thats kinda hard to measure, i`m just going to replace both sprockets and chain and cush drive rubbers too so i know it`s all good. i was just surprized that i have a chain problem already, guess i`ll need to step up my chain maintainance routine a bit..
 
my 05 done the same thing with real low mileage when your putting the power to the ground they will put a tight spot in your chain replaced my 1st chain at 9,000 miles not the sprockets or cush drive rubbers
 
I took my old chain and new one, laid them side by side and the actual link plates were distorted on the old chain (bent and pulled).. anyone else ever noticed this?
 
Well chain isn't something you want breaking on you. don't gamble it,for it can cost you lots of $$ if it were to snap. Can crack you engine case and so forth. If you must ride it baby it till you fix it.

Still kinda on subject...

How well are the factory chain made?
 
Stock chain is crap. Get ZZZ, adjust it once after first 500 miles and forget about it.

If maintained correctly it will last 30K miles easily. I have 12K on my ZZZ and it looks like new.
beerchug.gif
 
Mr Bogus @ Jul. 16 2008 said:
I took my old chain and new one, laid them side by side and the actual link plates were distorted on the old chain (bent and pulled).. anyone else ever noticed this?
Click to expand...
+1

Have had that happen to two stock chains. When you roll the bike forward or reverse the chain will go from normal to tight. It happens when the stretched or bent link goes onto either sprocket. It takes the slack out of the chain because of the miss-alignment of the chain link rollers and the sprocket teeth. The sprocket teeth actually push the chain outward on the sprocket because of this and the chain will tighten up. Additionally, if you adjust the chain when the stretched chain link is on the sprocket, the chain will go loose when you rotate the wheel. If you adjust the chain when the stretched link is off of a sprocket, the chain will tighten up when you rotate the rear wheel.

I've had the above happen with a chain with less than 1000 miles on it, and one that had well over 8000 miles. I think it has more to do with metal fatigue and failure of the manufactured material. In both case's the sprockets were fine because; 1. They were metal sprockets. 2. I heard the chain noise was different and inspected the chain / stopped riding until I got a new chain.
 
This may seem like an odd check but... are you sure the rear tire is at the halfway point in the chain from your front sprocket?


For example, if you take a rubber band and pull, your front finger and rear fingers will end up dividing the rubber band fairly evenly. However, if you put the same rubber band on your front finger and pinch the rubber band with the other hand at some point and pull, you will end up with a tight portion and a loose portion. This is because you're not "centered" along the rubber band's length'

Now apply this to your chain.

I've had this happen before and I was off by about 2 teeth. Top was TIGHT and the bottom was like a jump rope.

If you've had the rear wheel off recently for any reason, that would be my best guess.
 
Mr Bogus and Disturbed1 hit it..after cleaning the chain up and looking at it it`s bent up. looks like the stock RK chain is weak or at least the one i got was?? i only had to adjust it once at about 800 miles and i always check it before i ride and it was good when i left the house and went 2 miles up the street until i decided to turn it loose. went from 17/40t to a 17/43t and the red cush rubbers..nice difference!!
beerchug.gif
 
your bike will treat you how you treat it,,if you beat it it will break..sitting there spinning yur rear tire isnt really nesacerry,is it? unless your getting ready to go down a strip at top speed and need all the traction you can get...go with the ZZZ
 
spinning the rear tire puts no load on the chain at all.. it would be the launch or the shift that would distort the links I would think..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mymaster
Chains Stretch?
2
Replies
24
Views
1,815
JuiceSC
J
L
Chain tension
Replies
3
Views
1,063
Knebnr
K
turbobusa2000
Chain stretch?
Replies
5
Views
793
Fastfrog007
Fastfrog007
UR IT!
Question on chain
2
Replies
29
Views
1,413
UR IT!
UR IT!
07vigorblue
Chain choice
Replies
18
Views
1,061
megawatt
megawatt
Back
Top