Author Topic: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?  (Read 930 times)

sunchaser

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Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« on: June 26, 2020, 12:49:53 PM »
Replaced the o-ring chain on the Enertia with an EK 420-SRO o-ring chain about 1000 or so miles ago due to the old chain making a clicking noise at each rotation.  It was also fairly rusted.  From what I've read it's best to replace the sprockets at the same time, but I don't believe that there are any new sprockets available for the Enertia.  If someone has found a substitute that works please let me know.

The Enertia manual states that when the bike is on its side stand, the slack measured at the mid point between the front and rear sprockets should be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches.  From my experiences, I feel that anything less than 1 3/8 inches of slack makes the chain far too tight when sitting on the bike.  There is very little vertical movement.  Does anyone else have any experiences to share on this?

I've adjusted and lubricated the chain several times since it was installed because it either seemed too loose or too tight.  The strange thing is that even though the chain has most likely worn since installation, after tightening the adjusters on the swingarm, the distance from the axle block to the rear of the swingarm change is less that a millimeter.  I've also noticed that while riding the bike feels like there's additional resistance when the chain has less than 1 3/8 inches of slack in it.

Also, I took a close look at the sprocket teeth and it looks to me like there's some uneven wear.  The best way I can describe it is that some teeth appear to be more narrow than others.  It's difficult to see in the photos, but it looks like the teeth go thick, thin, thick, thin etc.  I've included a photo that will hopefully help.

I'm also wondering if the chain itself is wearing unevenly.  I took measurements with the bike on its side stand at 7 different points roughly 12 inches apart.  Here are the slack measurements:

1.  1 3/8"
2.  1 1/4"
3.  1 1/8"
4.  1 3/8"
5.  1 1/4"
6.  1 3/16"
7.  1 1/16"

From what I've read a chain that is too tight will cause accelerated sprocket wear, so I'd rather have the chain to be a little on the loose side.  I'm planning on adjusting the tension again because as I mentioned before, anything less than 1 3/8" seems to be too tight.  I thought that the last time I adjusted the chain it was close to having 1 3/8 inches of slack at the tightest point on the chain, but I must have made a mistake because now the chain has more tension than it did after the last adjustment.  Very frustrating to say the least.

Sorry for the long post.  Hoping someone has some chain wisdom to share.  Thanks!

« Last Edit: June 26, 2020, 01:07:11 PM by sunchaser »

sunchaser

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Re: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2020, 12:57:06 PM »
Photos.

sunchaser

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Re: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2020, 01:02:26 PM »
Another photo.

sunchaser

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Re: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2020, 01:12:27 PM »
I'm off to perform another chain adjustment.  So excited.

Does anyone have a recommendation for chain lube?  So far I've tried DuPont Chain Saver, Chain Wax and Bel-Ray chain lube.  I liked the dirt repelling quality of the DuPont product but felt that it was lacking in lubricating quality.  The Chain Wax seemed okay but really sticky and gets dirty very quickly.  So far the Bel-Ray seems somewhere in the middle. 

Richard230

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Re: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2020, 05:00:30 PM »
I use Bel Ray Superclean for its lack of fling and also Lucas chain lube as it seems to be more oily. I bought the Lucas lube at the local O'Reilly auto supply store.
current bikes: 2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2011 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Classic, 2009 BMW F650GS, 2007 BMW R1200R, 2005 Triumph T-100 Bonneville, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

empulsefan

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Re: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2020, 01:07:20 AM »
you should move  the chain fully to find the spot where the slack is minimal and then correct it!
sprockets are never fully round and centered.

Shinysideup

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Re: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2020, 06:52:45 PM »
+1 on adjusting where the chain is most tight.

I've also favored having the chain on the looser end of the spec, out of fear of causing too much wear on the final drive shaft bearing.

Have you measured the wear of the chain, that is, have you checked that the length between links is within spec?

As to lubricants, I used DuPont Chainsaver for a bunch of years and then switched to a Tutoro auto oiler. The latter made the chain last almost twice as long.

The sprocket teeth don't appear to be worn too much. No hooking. I can't really see they are all that different, but it wouldn't surprise me to see that they would wear in a non-uniform fashion, though I've never experienced that on my bikes. I always replaced chain and sprockets together. Sorry, but have no info on Enertia sprockets. A moto shop with a good parts guy or mechanic may be able to steer you to a proper substitute.

sunchaser

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Re: Abnormal chain/sprocket wear?
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2020, 11:20:54 AM »
Thanks to everyone who shared some insight on this.  I appreciate it.