Help a newbie out please! Gear shifting and Chains

Hello all!

So thus far, the VFR has taken me 2k reliable miles (Yes, I've put 2k miles on this bike in the two weeks I've owned it. Not highway miles either) and everything works PERFECTLY. As far as I can tell. I clean and lube my chain every 300 miles.

To clean:
Immediately after riding the bike:
Prop the bike on the center stand
I take a grunge brush, spray Dupont degreaser all up in the chain, and just roll that tire with the brush firmly on the chain at about 10-15 rotations and then I switch position of the brush to grab the other side of the chain and roll that wheel till it's dirty as heck. Then I wipe it up with a rag and then I spray the Dupont chain saver all up in the chain both inner and outer rings while rotating the wheel and I give it a nice thick coat. Then I blot the entire chain with some paper towels so it's not over saturated. Then I let it sit for a while.

Is this right? I ask because I'm scared...I see some rust on a couple of the chain links and when I ride I don't hear any jingling but whenever I pass a car or solid shrubbery or anything on my left side really; I hear the chain jingling or rattling. Is that normal??? I don't know much about bikes yet and I'm scared I'm putting excessive wear on my chain.


The second thing that scares me: I know how to work a shifter and how to shift and what not but I think something is wrong with my stand still and low speed shifting. Sometimes when I'm at neutral in a particularly long stop light , I kinda sit there rolling my bike back and fourth with my legs to alleviate some pressure or I just sit there still and when I go to shift into neutral; instead of it going into neutral the shifter resists my foot and "chatters" and bounces against my feet making this weird noise and I'm still in neutral. It does the same thing if I try to go from neutral to second gear. This happens when I'm at a full stop or when I'm at a low speed and I want to downshift to first. If I'm heavy footed the bike goes into gear and what not but I don't think the shifter is supposed to be doing this.

Wth is going on??


Please help!!

Thank you in advance


Also; is there a how to on oil changing for this bike?

 

300 clicks is about right. All depends on the riding conditions (rain/dust/crud) & your riding style. As for what your doing in lubing your chain, sounds ok, I would not be hitting the chain to hard with a brush as it can damage the 'O' rings & degreaser may be a bit much. I use kerosene, wipe it down & let it dry, before I lube it. Then I take the bike for a good blat & add some more lube. Don't know much about the Dupont product.

Chains stretch over time & they never stretch evenly, the noise you hear is probably the tight/loose chain going over the sprockets. Your chain may need adjusting (or its cactus), which could go away in explaining whats happening with your gear changes, although this can be caused by a few other things (like needing an oil change). Just remember to find the tightest part of the chain, before you make any adjustments.

 

+1 on the kerosene as the best way to clean your chain. As far as the notchy shifting vfrs are known for that. Mine gets notchy about the time its due for an oil change. I tried some synthetic oil once to see if it would help and it wasnt any better than what i always use the honda gn4. But the bad side effect was my clutch would slip on the synthetic. I cant think of the name of the product but there is something you can buy to replace your shifting parts that is suppose to drastically help your notchy shifting. May be something to look into if your still worried about it. How manymiles are on your bike?

 

Look for a PDF factory manual on your bike.

The Dupont stuff is great. Maybe a little over use

What Pacemaker said. Your chain may be shot or needs adjusting. If it's toast, get a new chain and sprockets.

Check out some of the bike meets or bike nights or whatever they are called where you live. Lots of info there. Not all good or not all bad..

 

From thousands of miles away, without pictures its almost impossible to offer more than general advice.



You don't say when the bike was last serviced or when the chain/sprockets were last changed. Doing 2,000 miles in two weeks means you should be servicing that bike fairly often.

As a first step you should check to see if the chain and/or sprockets need replacement and that the chain tension is right.

If the sprockets and chain are badly worn, then you will be astonished how much better behaved the bike will be once they are replaced. If you post up some close up photos of your chain and especially the exposed bit of the rear sprocket we may get some idea of how worn they are. Even on a brand new bike minor specs of surface rust can form on a chain which gets damp during extended storage. Lubrication should however clear minor rust spots, but if there is significant rust or its along much of the chain then you should consider replacing it especially if the chain does not run smoothly.

You certainly seem to be doing a lot more thorough a job than I have ever done when it come to cleaning and lubricating the chain. :clap2:

I am fairly lazy and only bother to lube the chain every 600 miles (OK earlier if it gets wet) simply applying spray on lube to the chain as soon as I get back from a ride. That way the chain is hot and the lube will sink into the chain. There is no point overdoing it. Also if you spray lube on a cold chain, when you ride off, most of it will be slung off coating the bike and following vehicles in crap.

As for chain cleaning that should be linked to usage. If you regularly ride in very dusty conditions or the bike gets really drenched from heavy rain or riding through a ford then cleaning is important. I tend to only clean the chain when it looks like dust is getting embedded into the lube.

What really matters is you examine the state of the sprockets, and check the chain is reasonably rust free and properly tensioned. Getting the chain slack right is VITAL - otherwise a snapped chain can be really bad news! So a sensible routine would be..

Return from ride - put bike on centre stand

Examine rear sprocket - if it looks like a Ninja Throwing star it needs replacement - it should be a consistent series of smooth U shaped sprockets not spikes! - (If you are not sure post up some pictures!)

Examine chain for consistent engagement - rotate rear wheel, whilst watching where the chain meshes with the sprocket - it should feed in smoothly and stay consistently meshed in the sprocket all the way around until it detaches. Rotate the wheel/chain through several rotations so you examine the whole chain length. If the chain starts to ride up or there are significant tight spots - then a new chain and possibly sprockets may be required. (If you are not sure - take a short video - post it to YouTube and then post a link here).

Examine chain for slack - I don't own a 750 so won't guess how much - just refer to the manual for your bike - but you need to measure the free play at mid run. If its too loose, the chain will tend to wear quickly and can give rise to that swishing sound you refer to. If its too tight, the chain will wear crazy fast and may even snap without warning! If the snapped chain then wraps around the frame - you and the bike end up cartwheeling down the freeway which is not good!


Take care


SkiMad

 

How much do you weigh? A chain gets tighter as the suspension is loaded, and a little bit on the too loose side is safer and better than being too tight. You don't need to clean it so often but a little lube after long rides is good.

The clutch is wet by the same oil as the engine and contributes lots of debris, so change it and use the proper type. Might want to replace the clutch fluid and clean out the return orifice in the bottom of the master cylinder and inspect/clean out the slave cylinder --your shifter problem sounds like lack of full clutch disengagement.

 

Since you're using alot of chain lube, make darn sure to wipe off any lube that gets onto the side of the tire as that can result in a fall.

Resting in neutral at a stoplight is a safety hazard. If you're in gear you can move away from a developing situation far more quickly. When a dumb broad in a Blazer crashed me in the rear at a light (back in 1993), i was able to move forward several feet immediately, and that saved me from far more serious injury. Those people are everywhere !

At a light, be in first gear, hand on front brake, and watch your mirrors !!

 

Thanks for all the replies guys!! I'm not riding till I sort out this situation then. ... I'm 5'10 165 lbs so I'm not ladening the bike I think and the bike has 16700 miles on it.

Here's a video of the chain. Halp!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auzy94P4lng&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Link says the video is private. You sitting on your bike in the buff or something?

I think you are way over doing it on the cleaning of your chain. You have to understand that chain cleaner is a solvent of sorts and too much I fear would be detrimental to your rubber O or X rings. If the chain is really gunked up bad, then yes, give it a good soaking with the chain cleaner then wipe or hose it off really good. I would be putting the bike on the centre stand while doing this with the bike running and in first gear so that the cleaner gets drawn into the front sprocket. Careful though. Keep the damned digits away from that chain and sprocket. After you clean and wipe it down, then give it a spray with the lube making sure you get the inside, outside and rollers of the chain. I also do this while it is running on the centre stand in first gear. I spray each area for about a four or five count. Let it run a minute or so allowing the lube to work in, then shut it down. Allow the lube you are using to dry ( about a minute) then wipe off the excess. Unless you are riding in severely wet and dirty conditions, you really only need to lube the chain 500 miles or so. Only clean if you see that it is dirty.

 

Then we got the old harleydood story of the guy on the _____head stopped at a train crossing in gear and his clutch cable lets go. More to the story of course but it buys him a first class ticket to meet Jesus.

Then again he could have jumped for his life and gone on to invent the hydraulic clutch. Who knows for sure..

 

Oops I updated the video. Its not private anymore. Please halp!!!!

 

OK I don't have sound on my laptop. But one thing I noticed was that you were spinning your wheel in a reverse manner which will cause it to click and knock. Try spinning it in a forward manner and see what happens. I also see that it appears your chain is far too tight. A tight chain will knock but worse, may snap while riding and cause a wipe out and serious injury or worse. You need to find and download the service manual from this site somewhere and make sure your chain is properly adjusted. Tight chain is bad.

Last but not the least, if your chain was left without lube to allow that much rust, a link or two may be seized up and kinked. A kinked link will cause a knocking sound as it turns over the front sprocket. You are unlikely to see that problem if your chain is too tight as well.

 

If your chain has a master link then take it off and scrub the rust off with a steel brush. If no master then scrub it in place. Rust on the plates is no big deal, rust on the rollers is fubar. Soak it/clean it using a 50-50 mixture of kerosene and ATF. Too loose is better than too tight. i run my chains looser than those chicks at the strip club--and they are some seriously loose sluts...

 

Check here for a service manual which will tell you how to change your oil that you asked about earlier and how to properly adjust your chain.

http://www.vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3161

 

That chain looked way to tight & if that ain't the tightest part of the chain, then its way, way to tight. (My suspicions are that the previous owner has tightened it up to hide a f*cked chain). As the chain goes over the sprockets it would sound like my coffee grinder. As others have said, adjust it correctly, find the tightest part of the chain where you measure the slack, (even if this means loosening it up slightly to find it). If you could afford it right now, then getting a new chain & sprockets would remove any worries & would be my number 1 priority. I have experienced a chain that snapped & wrapped it self around the rear sprocket, completely locking the rear wheel, lucky I was only doing 60 kph, leaning into a corner & in peak hour traffic :grief:

 

Try this one:

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/...onda-vfr-service-manual-optimized-bookmarked/

 

Wow...so re-reading all of the replies....chain and sprockets are NO JOKE and do NOT mess or allow for error on there....so my bike is staying firmly parked till I adjust it. I am so so glad that I decided not to blissfully continue riding. So from what everyone has told me; I need to get that specfic spanner tool to adjust my chain....

So....adjust the chain and ensure proper slack and no rust inside the inner portion of the chain...got it....change oil....got it. And to adjust my chain maintainence methods....only use brush and degreaser for extreme build up. Otherwise use Kerosene and a rag to clean the chain....got it.

You guys are being awesome helpful and I do very much appreciate it!

^Randy my VFR is a 97. Would the 98-01 manuals apply? I logically think it would for the chain adjustment and the oil change scenarios.

 

I don't know 100% for sure but I think they are close enough for the chain adjustment. There are sites you can download all sorts of manuals by using the google search engine. It just takes some time to find one. Is there and owner's manual with your bike? Chain adjustment is routine maintenance so that should be covered in the owner's manual.

 

Aha from what I can see it is indeed the same procedure!! Thank you so so much Randy! The only thing left is to find that spanner tool so I can do this thing! Most likely gonna ask Mr.rideVFR to assist with that.

 

As per the owners manual on my wife's 4 th gen bike. To check the chain slack on your bike the bike should be on the side stand and there should be 15-25 mm of slack in the chain when tested at the mid point between the front and rear sprocket. With the bike on the ground your chain will get tighter than it looks already and as others have said that looks WAY too tight.

As far as lubing the chain, I usually lube mine about every 1000 km's (when I remember, oops my bad, sometimes it goes past 1000 km's). I agree with the others about rust forming on the outer chain plates could mean that there is some corrosion in the roller areas and that might run the risk of the chain binding somewhere. Personally I would be inclined to replace the sprockest and chain. This might alleviate both your chain problem and give you peace of mind. Peace of mind goes a long way to helping you enjoy your time riding.