Felton1

hey fella's
Im LOST!
My hawk has been acting funny lately and this morning on the way to work, had things gone a tad bit differently I might have been writing this from 6ft under... :S yuck.
2000 Hawk... New Chain and sprocket last year.-stock replacement...530 D.I.D- new rear tire. adjusted chain, make sure tire was square and torqued axle nut to 70 ft.lbs. 1 inch slack in chain unloaded...everything checked out. Rode all weekend felt great. untill late sunday afternoon.,.. I noticed that the chain was ssooooo tight when i stopped that i could play banjo on it. WHOA! so i baby'd it home...when i got home (about 20 miles) it was so loose I thought it was going to fall off.
So I readjusted it and retorqued everything and rode it to work today (monday) NOticed it felt as though a dog was wagging its tail through the corners....the rear end felt sloppy and loose. so i took it easy and got it to work. upon inspecting it at work noticed that the safety clip on the master link was missing!
I suspended the rear of the bike and tried my best to check the rear axle play from side to side and swing arm bushings but im not sure that im not missing something...also noticed the front sprocket...the center bolt is bottomed out in the shaft but the sprocket has play in it....minimal ..amybe 1/16th inch but it just doesnt seem right to me..maybe im wrong.....where do i begin and whats my first step.....

any ideas are appreciated THANKS!

trinc

a chain that gets tight & loose is often links that are binding. with a clip type master link you can pull the chain & soak it in kerosene & check each link ( it needs to rotate smoothly ).

clip style master link... get a new clip & apply a little silicone to it b4 putting it on ( install it correctly... the opening is to the rear of the rotation )

front sprocket is probably just not made to spec... over the years i've seen this many times ( unless it's a factory part ). i let a little play slide but if it's too much, personal decision, i get a washer & carefully check chain alignment for which side to put the washer on.

tim

Felton1

awesome, thanks trinc. Ive got the rear of the bike suspended at my work by a cheery picker and the rear tire and chain off. ill soak it first thing in the morning and see how freely it moves... I also ran down to the local honda dealer and purchased a rivet on master link and thankfully im friends with one of the technicians and he let me borrow the rivet tool. If the chain rotates smoothly ill get it back together and let you know how it works out. Thanks for the feedback!!

Fozzy Bear

How many miles have you done on this chain? The chain has stretched along one section. That's why it is suddenly tight and then loose. It all depends where the chain ended up when you parked.
Did the bike seem to surge in pulses when riding at low speed?

swordfish

remember, always adjust the chain by using the TIGHTEST part as your reference. better a little loose, then too tight.

Circuit_Burner

Also, the more you compress the rear, the tighter the chain gets.
As the suspension travels thru its stroke, the distance between the rear axle and the countershaft increases. Its not square.
Tight chains beat the living crap out of countershaft bearings and engine cases when the suspension is compressed while riding.
Looser chains are indeed better than tight chains.

Felton1

put about 7,000 miles on the chain and sprockets... have adjusted a few times... I did what trinc suggested and checked all of the links. Everything checked out. I rewaxed it and purchased a rivet on link... removed the rear wheel and checked bearing and bushings, just to be sure..everything ok. replaced the master link and remounted the wheel. double and tripled checked the adjustment and made sure the wheel was square. Seems to ride ALOT better. it tracks straight down the road and cut down on vibrations..so we'll see what happens. As far as the chain being stetched....is that common? how do i check it? and do i need to replace it or is it ok to run?