chain hitting swingarm?

[CBFZ1]

My 2003 fz1 has been making a "clanking" noise when taking off from a stop for a couple months now. Ive finally checked the chain tenisoin and found it a little less than 2 inches according to the manual. I got my wife to sit on the bike (150lbs) and looked at the chain and its sitting on the swingarm. I imagine its even more loose when I'm on the bike because im only 145lbs.

Should i tighten the chain even though its within spec? It looks like the chain is wearing a deep groove in the plastic guides. The clanking on take off is driving me crazy guys, help! LOL

 

[M.Martin]

Is there any stiff portions on the chain? Sounds like it needs to be cleaned and lubed.

 

[FZ1inTX]

Too much wear on the chain guide? PartShark.com - Motorcycle Parts, ATV Parts, UTV Parts, PWC Parts, Powersports Apparel, Motorcycle Accessories for OEM and Aftermarket. and order a new one... and as Martin states, check for o-ring damage and binding. Maybe a new chain and sprockets are needed. Also, could be the rear sprocket dampers are worn out and there's too much movement in the driven sprocket. $6.44 x 6 parts will fix that for you from the same site.

 

[JdAnderson]

same deal

Did you ever find out your problem? I have the same exact issue going on with my 2002. It's incredibly annoying..

 

[Ssky0078]

I have the problem with my 2009. I need a new chain it has about an 1/8 of length of the total chain that is just really loose. Also one of the rollers is damaged which is weird, right? It's cut into my swing arm a little as well.

 

[Clyde]

Minimally, adjust the chain. Takes 5-10 minutes and can be done with the factory tool kit (although you should probably use a torque wrench on the axle nut). If you're seeing tight spots, or obvious signs of wear, replace it (and the sprockets, if you can).

I just replaced my chain at about 30K miles a couple of weekends ago. While the "stretch" wasn't too bad - about a link iirc (I was right at the last adjustment mark on the factory chain/sprockets), I had quite a few tight spots and some red dust starting to appear on the chain and swingarm. Toward the end, I was adjusting quite frequently, which I understand is pretty normal for a chain nearing the end of its life.

I had one guy get pretty adamant with me that I could just remove a link to bring it back into the adjustment range, but that seemed to me to be increasing the risk for breaking the chain and doing significant damage to the bike or myself (or both!). I opted not to take his "advice." Personally, I think it was a good choice -- when I "broke" the old chain to take it off, there were no O-rings left on that particular link, and the side plates were showing signs of wear where the rollers were hitting the inboard side of the side-plate.

For me, it was a good opportunity to drop a tooth on the front sprocket, which really woke up the bike at launch and low speeds. I now have to be careful about the front end coming up under hard acceleration, something I never worried about with the stock setup.

 

[Oldschool]

I have the problem with my 2009. I need a new chain it has about an 1/8 of length of the total chain that is just really loose. Also one of the rollers is damaged which is weird, right? It's cut into my swing arm a little as well.

Don't let it cut into your swingarm as that will get really expensive (Price a swing arm). I hope it is just the guide you are talking about.

A new chain and sprockets is a bargain by comparison. Personally I won't replace a chain without doing the sprockets as well, but then I buy the best of both that I can find and they tend to get about the same life. The only exception can be the front sprocket that tends to wear faster, and are relatively inexpensive. I replaced just the front before my big trip this year to extend the life of the drive-line as just the front was getting out of spec. This winter the whole works will be replaced.