Front sprocket knocking/scraping sound

[fq-craigus]

I fitted a did set on my gixer and can't complain. It's standing up well.

[Fozzie]

20,000 miles on a Bird with all that torque on a chain is probably the cause here! It will be worn to buggery.

I don't put my chain beyond 20,000 if it's x-ring or 15,000 on O-ring on a 600.

[Pete]

Chain and sprockets ordered! Along with a Sealey chain breaker/riveter. Hope it's not junk (the riveter I mean). Anyone who's done their chain and sprockets before - do you know if I'll need a Dremel to grind the old chain off or should my new chain riveter be able to sort that?

All I need now is 1) for this to fix the knocking problem, and 2) for my mirror repair job in my other thread to stop breaking on me!

I've put it on next day delivery so will report back with pics about 1 hour after it all arrives!

[eastanglianbiker]

just dont forget to loosen front sprocket before removing rear wheel and chainas you can use the back brake to hold everything still while loosening what ever is holding front sprocket on

[Pete]

Top tip that cheers. Reckon I'll need a Dremel to break the chain or will the sealey riveter be able to do it some how?

[Fozzie]

Top tip that cheers. Reckon I'll need a Dremel to break the chain or will the sealey riveter be able to do it some how?

 

Usually the riveter can push through old pins even the ones that are flared.

You could of course do what I do... Loosen all the sprocket bolts then get the angle grinder on the chain. Nice, easy, 5 second job

Or if you do use the dremel you could just grind the pins flush against the connecting plate then get a chisel in between the plate and the inner link and hammer it off. But the riveting tool usually removes the need for this, but I did do it myself last time.

[Tango]

Dremel?!!!!!........Angle Grinder is much more fun.......did mine and Bonniebird's chains with my trusty angle grinder......mwahahaha.....

[Stu]

dont use the riveter/breaker

although they are made for the job if the pin breaks your screwed for riveting the new chain

just cut it off you dont need to do a neat job on the old chain

dont mess about just get a grinder on it

[fq-craigus]

Disc cutter quick and easy. Like said though, crack off front sprocket nut before you disconnect, you can hold rear wheel while you crack it off, don't be tempted to put bike in gear and do it that way. Damage can be caused

[Pete]

Update!!

Made a lot of progress today, but haven't finished the job yet. Isn't it always the way that jobs always take longer than expected?!

This morning I went downstairs to find a note "Tried to deliver your parcel, wait 24 hours before asking Post Office". Inflamed and angry I waited 10 seconds before deciding to go to the Post Office to ask why my doorbell hadn't been rung. Long story short the fella redelivered half an hour later

So I got all my bits. New chain and sprocket kit, chain breaker/riveter. Decided to 'have a go' and see how far I got with the breaker on the old riveted pin from when the chain had been replaced before. If it was putting up a fight I was going to stop and get a grinder on it. To my surprise and delight the pin - without too much effort - pushed straight out. So far I'm really pleased with the Sealey breaker and riveter. Not done the riveting part yet though!

Before taking the chain off though I followed your advice and the advice on 'the internets' and loosened the front sprocket first. Again to my surprise and delight it came off without too much fuss. I love the Halfords Advanced Professional socket set I've recently acquired (no I didn't nick it), just gets the job done. Here's a video of the old sprocket vs the new:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9QQH77 ... dbFfV7pw5g

I put the breaker to work and got the chain off without a fuss. Dropping the back wheel was straightforward enough as well. And this is where I slowed up for about an hour or so - managed to loosen 1 of the nuts holding the sprocket on...and the next one snapped the 1/2" to 3/8" socket converter (non-Halfords part). Unbelievable. So off I went to the car garage round the corner and for the price of a couple of Greggs breakfasts he put the impact wrench to good work. Home I went, happy to carry on work...

...at home (with a detour to Halfords to buy a new 1/2" to 3/8" converter) I remembered cush rubbers might need a check. I've decided to order some more, which should be in at the local(ish) bike shop at some point tomorrow (fella on the phone didn't seem sure when they'd arrive so I HOPE they're in by tomorrow). Whilst I had everything off I gave it all a good clean which actually took the longest! Here're some pics:

Cush drive rubbers (can't tell if they need changing or not, but at £26 quid I thought I'd just do it):

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/cush-rubbers.jpg

Front sprocket looking cleaner than in the video above

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/front-sprocket.jpg

Front sprocket cover...you should have seen it before!

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/front-sprocket-cover.jpg

Swing arm, was completely black before I cleaned it.

http://s976.photobucket.com/user/peteblakemore/media/swingarm.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

Rear sprocket, in place and waiting to go on the bike when the cush rubbers are fitted

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/rear-sprocket.jpg

I'll update tomorrow (if the cush rubbers arrive!) with finished pics. Nearly there! Might pic up a couple of new rivets for the chain when I get the cush rubbers, just in case I knacker the one and only one that I have with the chain.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Pete

[Stu]

getting there

vid now shows

[Pete]

Oh bloody hell! Sorry Stu, nobbed the video up again so it's just a link. You wouldn't think I'm a web designer when I can't even embed a YouTube video lol!!

[Stu]

there is tons of ways to add a link but there is only one that works

I should really look into it and see if I can change it so they all work

[Pete]

Job done!

Chain and sprockets on, before putting exhausts, front sprocket cover and hugger back on:

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/chainandsprockets-1.jpg

Close up of my attempt at link riveting. Sorry it's dark, my garage has no light source and the flash is quite harsh but you get the idea.

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/rivets.jpg

What do you make of my rivets? Must have done each one about 10 times! Didn't want to go too far and split the link/crush the x-ring underneath. It was hard to tell if I'd gone far enough or not. I decided to stop riveting when the rivet was as wide as the 'shoulder' on the riveter pin I was using. Sound about right?

Took the bike for a 10 mile spin tonight and got no grinding noise what so ever back. I'm going to take it for a longer ride tomorrow just to fully get some heat into it and test it properly. If the noise does come back at least I can rest assured that I haven't just wasted time and money on chain and sprockets because they did need doing anyway after all. I'm off for a beer

Ah, one last thing - is chain alignment and wheel alignment the same thing? My chain is 100% definitely aligned. I used my brilliant little new tool to line it up, it's great. Just wondering if my wheel might need truing up or if aligning the chain is enough?

[fq-craigus]

There should be marks on the swingarm so you can see if the wheel is aligned. And double check with tape measure. Good job pal. Rivets look good too, I think 6 or 7mm rings a bell, if they are about that measurement they are plenty big enough

[Pete]

Will check the 6 or 7mm out tomorrow, cheers. I never trust the marks on the swing arm as they move when the wheels loose!