Tightened chain. More resistance???

[cadd]

I decided to tighten my chain a little today and align the wheels (string method). For some reason my chain slack was 1.75 inches!

The last time I messed with the chain was 3,600 miles ago when I mounted tires on. I remember aligning the wheels and adjusting the chain so that it was about 1.25" at the tightest point.

Today, I decided to follow the owner's manual and adjusted the chain to 1 inch. [The manual suggests the slack should be between 0.8" (20mm) to 1.2" (30mm)]

What's weird is that when the bike is on the rear stand, when it's in neutral (motor not running), the rear tire spins freely without much resistance. However, when I put it in 1st gear and pull in the clutch and try to spin the rear tire, there is noticeable resistance.

Same can be said about rolling the bike on the street. When in neutral and idling, I can walk the bike like I used to. However, when I put it in first gear with the clutch pulled in, I can feel a tad of resistance that I never noticed before.

So, I put some gas in and went for a 80 mile ride. At the end of the ride, I took the interstate home. On the left lane, while going 65mph...no traffic...I decided to go WOT in 6th gear. I did notice that it doesn't pull as hard as it used to. Of course being on a public road, I didn't want to go past 80mph and get a ticket.

And yes, I used a torque wrench every time I tightened the axle nut. I torqued it down to 73lb-ft.

Any ideas? Can a chain that's too tight cause the resistance that I'm feeling? Is 1 inch of play too tight?

[Ghostt]

Stupid question time, did you lube the chain? And how often? Did you notice any tight links?

[cadd]

Yup. Cleaned with chain cleaner and lubed with Chain lube. I usually clean and lube every 3 fill ups (so maybe 450 - 600 miles). No kinks or tight links that I've noticed.

I adjusted the clutch cable as well. Made sure I had at least 3mm of play.

With the bike on the rear stand and motor running, when I shift into 1st and keep the clutch lever squeezed, the rear tire turns for about 2 seconds and comes to a complete stop on its own.

Can you guys do me a favor??? The next time you have the bike on the rear stand...with the motor off, can you use your hand to spin the wheel when it's in neutral vs spin it while it's in 1st (while pulling in the clutch) and let me know if there's any difference in resistance?

Mine has a difference. In neutral, it's easier to spin and stay spinning. In 1st gear, it still spins...but stops shortly thereafter.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by cadd

............ Can you guys do me a favor??? The next time you have the bike on the rear stand...with the motor off, can you use your hand to spin the wheel when it's in neutral vs spin it while it's in 1st (while pulling in the clutch) and let me know if there's any difference in resistance?

That is the way it i supposed to be.
Other than in neutral, you have to rotate more gears and the discs of the clutch, which are submerged in oil.
Pushing all those things to move via the rear tire is like grabbing a lever by the shortest end: reversed leverage.

Engine end is low torque/high rpm's.
Tire end is high torque/low rpm's.
The transmission is the reducer/multiplier in between both.

[subxero]

^ this

When you have the bike in neutral you are not moving as much of the internals of the engine. So when you try and do the same thing in gear with pulling in the clutch you should feel more resistance as you are moving all the clutch parts and the plates are sliding between each other which have resistance. Often you will notice your clutch feels real grabby after a fresh oil change because for whatever reason the fresh oil creates a little more friction between the plates, I can barely if at all push my dirtbike in gear with the clutch in when it is cold after a fresh oil change.

This is why it is good practice to start your motorcycle always in neutral and not in gear with the clutch. It is less initial load for the engine to turn over

[Fastway Racing]

Also a tight rear chain will KILL your countershaft bearing. I've replaced dozens on customers bikes of varying makes and models over the years.

If you find that after you tightened the axle the chain is once again too tight:
While the axle is loose place a decent size screwdriver between the chain and rear sprocket and spin it direction of rotation just a bit. Tighten rear axle and rotate wheel back and remove screwdriver.
Once you do this a few times you will get a feel for it and have a well adjusted chain.