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Old December 26th, 2015, 05:48 PM   #1
Sarge1992
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Growling noise while going slow with clutch in

So I was riding home from work tonight and when I get into my neighborhood, I notice that when I'm doing about 20 or so with the clutch pulled in (no power to rear wheel) then about every revolution of the wheels I can hear some kind of growl, almost like a wheel bearing or maybe I need to lube the chain again?

How can I check for a bad wheel bearing or chain? They're all OE and it's been roughly 300 miles since I last lubed the chain. I used Liquid Wrench chain lube. Bike has about 9200 miles on it now.
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Old December 26th, 2015, 07:35 PM   #2
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.......... about every revolution of the wheels I can hear some kind of growl.........
I would check the brakes first, after putting the bike on the center stand.

The pistons of the caliper tend to get dirty, preventing the pads from coming back in and fully liberating the disc.
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Old December 26th, 2015, 09:42 PM   #3
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If your chain is too tight, it may grind like that. The lack of rpms and tension on the chain quiets everything to allow you to hear it easier. Next it's time to clean/lube your chain or get a new one.

Checking a chain is kinda a pain but easy enough. Remove the chain from the rear wheel and check every link visually for damage and frozen links. Another big sign it's time for a new chain is that it will not stay within the adjustment range, normally getting too loose within a few hundred or so miles after adjustment.
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Old December 26th, 2015, 09:46 PM   #4
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Whatever it is; figure it out BEFORE you ride it again! It may be minor or it could be a prelude to something dangerous.
Good luck and hope it's simple!
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Old December 26th, 2015, 09:48 PM   #5
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Actually brakes are fine, rebuilt the calipers and replaced pads, lubricated the slides, etc. I'm leaning more towards chain due to the fact that the previous owner never serviced anything. It got it's first valve adjustment by me at 9k miles, and was basically held together by zipties when I got it. I can safely assume chain adjustments and regular lubrication was probably not done. Just not sure how often wheel bearings even go out on these bikes.

Also should I be able to hear the chain while pushing the bike in neutral? It's pretty loud in my opinion.
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Old December 26th, 2015, 09:54 PM   #6
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@csmith12 can post up a picture of a sprocket WAY past due for changing! He may be familiar with the noise!
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Old December 26th, 2015, 09:57 PM   #7
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I never had much luck with chain diag while pushing it. Got stands? Raise the rear and run it while the wheel is off the ground. I wouldn't 100% trust this method though, when you sit on your bike, it changes the wheelbase, ie... tightening your chain. If you adjust your chain on the tight side, when you sit on it... it's gunna be even tighter, making the grinding sound louder.
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Old December 26th, 2015, 10:03 PM   #8
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@csmith12 can post up a picture of a sprocket WAY past due for changing! He may be familiar with the noise!
This one I ran until it broke a tooth!
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Old December 26th, 2015, 10:06 PM   #9
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I'm thinking the chain as well. Most likely too tight.

This is a good video showing the correct way to set the tension and make sure things are aligned properly.

http://canyonchasers.com/video/howto/chain.php
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Old December 26th, 2015, 10:30 PM   #10
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Actually brakes are fine, rebuilt the calipers and replaced pads, lubricated the slides, etc.......... Just not sure how often wheel bearings even go out on these bikes.....
A pad could still be dragging; I would double-check.
In my experience, when something changes for worse right after a maintenance or repair work, 90% of times the source of the problem is something that we touched during that work.

Wheel bearings are sealed and should last the life of the bike.

If the slack of the chain is excessive, when rolling in neutral or using engine braking, the upper section of the chain can drag over the swingarm.
Then, when the engine is pulling, that section gets tight and does not drag.
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Old December 27th, 2015, 12:11 AM   #11
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Couldn't sleep so went to the garage and started looking at the links, found a section of about 6 links or so that appear to have rust in them, so I shot them with some chain lube and will ride it tomorrow to see if it did anything.
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Old December 27th, 2015, 08:37 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarge1992 View Post
Couldn't sleep so went to the garage and started looking at the links, found a section of about 6 links or so that appear to have rust in them, so I shot them with some chain lube and will ride it tomorrow to see if it did anything.
Did you check the tension?
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Old December 27th, 2015, 09:19 AM   #13
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I checked the slack just now actually, using the video you posted jkv45, the lubed chain got rid of the growl, and part of the chain is stretched. 3/4 of the chain is at about 40mm but one section is about 50mm. My guess is improper care of the previous owner killed the chain. When I got the bike the chain had about 70mm of slack, I doubt it was ever adjusted before.

So looking around a very popular chain and sprocket combo would be the RK XSO, any other suggestions? I can get the chain, both sprockets, and the chain tool for roughly $170.
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Old December 27th, 2015, 09:39 AM   #14
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I am told that RK chains are fine as well, but I have never used one personally.
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Old December 27th, 2015, 01:22 PM   #15
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Hmm, I think I'll sleep on it. The RK chain has an unholy amount of great reviews, and the DID chains don't have quite as much as far as I can find. I can get both of them from amazon no problem, just wondering if the extra $25 for a DID chain would even be worth it compared to a seemingly good if not equal quality chain like the RK.
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Old December 27th, 2015, 02:46 PM   #16
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Old December 27th, 2015, 05:47 PM   #17
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I put a gold, non-oring, 420 RK chain on my Derbi not long ago and was impressed at the quality for the price. They didn't make one long enough (the swingarm is really long) so I had to buy 2 and join them. I think they were like $18 ea or something. It hasn't stretched much, but I've only put about 1000 mi on it - and we aren't talking much power here.

I'll probably buy a RK again the next time I need a chain.

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Old December 28th, 2015, 07:52 PM   #18
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Well I ordered the RK XSO chain and sprockets, as well as a chain breaker/installer and some Dupont chain lube. Also got some new handle bar grips and grip ends. Should have all of this early next year. Dropping the bike off Wednesday to have the carb sync and idle A/F adjusted. Local shop quoted me $70 to do both (primarily they build race bikes, but the owner liked me so he said he'd work on my bike).
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