Rear tire being shredded by my chain.
 

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sup...4bc886e522.jpgMy chain appears to be shredding the sidewall on my tires.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sup...0fc75e6509.jpgI got about 3 - 4000kms on these new tire before i started to notice this slight wear. Two or three days later, they looked like the above picture.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sup...b73b614e78.jpgI thought it had to do with an aftermarket chainguard I installed, and ai was actually going to make a separate post about them, becausr Ive had nothing but problems with them, but I switched back to the stock plastic one and it still got worse.I changed my chain and sprockets, (which I've done before with no issue, stock size, 550 DID riveted)

What size is the rear tire? Wheel/spacers installed on the axle correctly? Bike ever been wrecked? Bent frame/swingarm? Running the correct drive flange for the sprocket?

Just throwing stuff out there...a lot of stuff can happen to a bike over 20 years.

The rear tire is stock size. Nothing bent. Im not sure about the wheel spacers. Ive never removed them. Looking at the manual, everything seems right. I must have screwed up something. She's had no issues for 20,000 + kms I've put on her. Is there more detaile informationd about the spacers cap?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sup...e486175186.jpgThe aftermarket chain guard kept bending and breaking, but along the reline axis...inward toward the tire.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sup...2b2c419ec6.jpg

So is the chain hitting the tire or the chainguard?

Sorry to trouble you cap. It turns out, stainless steel passenger peg spacers I made, weren't quite out far enough. This was causing my exhaust hanger to rub on my tire....what a costly mistake...https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sup...e7544978e5.jpg

I still don't know why the chain uard bends and breaks, but I suspected it was the culprit until I changed it back to the stock one, and the tire still got shredded. I thought the information may have been relevant to a diagnosis, ie, swingarm or some such issue

No worries. Glad you got it figured out. Better safe than sorry.