1 year in, trouble on the horizon

[Holmann]

It's almost a year to the day since I brought my tiger home- first bike in 20 years.  Spent some late nights reading every thread on here just to figure out what I was looking at half the time.  Nearly 10k miles without a hint of trouble- which is good, because I have a distinct lack of mechanical skills- I get really proud of myself when I change the oil.  Not for lack of interest, but she's an awfully complicated machine to learn on.  I think I'm about to have my first real maintenance issue (I should mention that she went in for scheduled maintenance 1700 miles ago).

 Went for a great 300 mile ride on Sunday last, was 50 from home & started hearing a funny rattle when starting from a stop. Irregular clunking you can feel through the pegs.  1st thought was the chain- nope, seems about right.  Second though was a blank stare, because that ran us right off the end of my diagnostic list.  Nothing seems loose, I figure it isn't the engine (exhaust note unaffected)' the wheels aren't falling off, I'm in the middle of nowhere out of cel range- ride on home.  

Today is the first spare ten minutes I've had- wheel her out, start poking & prodding, fire up & ride around the neighborhood.  Rejoice, the sound is gone.  Head out of town, once we get good & warmed up, the noise comes back.  Back home, & notice the very first puddle in the garage she's ever left.  Dunno what it is- maybe it used to be oil, but it sure isn't now.  It's.....sludge, for lack of a better word.  Dark grey & shiney, about the consistancy of toothpaste.  Seems to be coming from the left side, behind the shift lever, straight down from the front sprocket.  Oddly not at all warm to the touch  after half an hour at highway speed.  Nearest dealer is 250 miles,  i live deep in harley country, the tiger seems to be as confusing to the local wrenches as it is to me.  I have a vague notion that transmissionny type things live up under there, but the diagrams in my service manual make my eyes glaze over.  I'm hoping against hope that one of you smart people has some advice (I never post, but I read every thread- some of it might as well be Greek, and that Kenny guy is a little scary, but it's a wealth of info).  I feel dumb not even being able to adequately explain the problem, but I'll feel even dumber when I borrow a trailerm& drive 500 miles if it's something really obvious & easy.  Any ideas?

[matts23]

There is a good chance that the slime is coming from inside the front sprocket cover.  If you keep your chain lubed, it slings and builds up inside the cover.  After riding and getting it good and warm, the grease gets warm enough to drip out on the floor and set back up.  Mine did this one time and I took the cover off and cleaned inside the cover and around the sprocket on the engine.  Reinstall the cover clean the chain and relube.  No more grease spots on the floor.

[chairhead]

If you hav'nt already take the sprocket cover off and check the front sprocket isnt loose  :shock: ,also check that the nylon chain rub strip thats on top of the swingarm at the front has'nt worn through,i hope for you that its not the bearing on the output shaft,fingers crossed for you


Oh and take some pics and post them up!! :D

[Timbox2]

......,also check that the nylon chain rub strip thats on top of the swingarm at the front has'nt worn through,..............

And also the lower chain rub block which sits behind the footpeg on one of the engine mount bolts, it was that on mine that gave the same symptoms that you report, mine had worn right through and the chain was rubbing on the metal spacer.

[Holmann]

ahhhh, a glimmer of hope.  I'll check all that after work, thanks.  makes sense, the day before the ride when the rattle showed up i went about 200 miles in a downpour, plenty of liquid slung up in there.  I confess I never clean under the sprocket cover- as opposed to the chain guard, that cover is held on with long, important looking bolts- who knows what they could be holding on?  I pictured a pile of gears & springs flying at me accompanied by a comical boinging noise.

If the sprocket is indeed loose, how tight should it be?  I did a search & found a few threads with people talking about leaning on breaker bars as hard as they could to tighten it down.  eek.

[chairhead]

If the sprocket is indeed loose, how tight should it be?

Well if it is then sprocket nut should be about 95 ftlb or 127 nm,

but look it up to be sure,this isnt that tight,having a torque wrench will help

[cdubya]

What year and how many miles are on your bike Holman? What are your chain maintenance practices, ie. type of cleaning and type of lube used? Are your sprockets worn with the cogs starting to become hook shaped? Once you have cleaned out the primary sprocket cover tend to your chain.
If your chain hasn't been cleaned in a while, soak it good with WD40 and then wipe it with a terry cloth towel. Repeat the WD40 process until your chain is spotless. Keep it up till the residue on the cloth is no longer a black greasy mess and is a very light gray in color.  Then take 'er for a spin and see if your clunk is gone. Tigers are sensitive to chains being too tight, chains being dirty or gooped up with too much waxy chain lube or having multiple stiff links, sprockets being worn out and the items stated above.

About a million solvents you can clean the chain with. I like WD40 as it sprays with some velocity and helps blast out the goop that builds up in between the links, plates and o-rings. I also have had good success using oderless mineral spirits and plain old gear oil. Bottom line is get 'er good and clean no matter what your favorite solvent/cleaner is.

[metalguru]

parrafin or diesel may be a cheaper way of cleaning as it sounds like there may be a lot to do!!!

[fnjeep314]

FYI, as per the shop manual its 132nm or 97.5ft/lb torque on the front sprocket nut.

[Mustang]

If the sprocket is indeed loose, how tight should it be?

Well if it is then sprocket nut should be about 95 ftlb or 127 nm,

but look it up to be sure,this isnt that tight,having a torque wrench will help

FYI, as per the shop manual its 132nm or 97.5ft/lb torque on the front sprocket nut.

what chairhead said  , "Gudenfukkentite" , works every time  :lol:

[chairhead]

If your chain hasn't been cleaned in a while, soak it good with WD40 and then wipe it with a terry cloth towel. Repeat the WD40 process until your chain is spotless.

Whilst being a big fan of WD40 infact i use it to dry clean my bike and many other things because it De-greases,i wouldnt soak my drive chain in it,
if your going to clean the drive chain best do it with gear oil on a rag with an old toothbrush or the like.......................if its that dirty,i cant recommend the scottoiler enough,a great bit of kit that keeps your chain lubricated and clean,its just a bit of a faff to install :D ,but once done you wont regret it

..........where the hell are the Pics!!! :lol:

[BigDan]

Yeah, WD40 will seep into the rubber o rings within the chain and start to drive out the oil that they contain.

You don't wanna do that. Paraffin is best for this.

[cdubya]

Yeah, WD40 will seep into the rubber o rings within the chain and start to drive out the oil that they contain.

You don't wanna do that. Paraffin is best for this.

You are making a statement of "fact". Any evidence to back this claim up? It is simply untrue. I used to use kerosene/paraffin and then follow up with a chain wax or lube like Dupont or Maxima.  I was lucky to get 20k miles out of my chains. Pushing 30k miles per chain these days with good ol WD40.

My apologies to the OP for misdirecting this thread. So how goes it Holmann?
Any luck on the clunking front?

[BigDan]

Yeah, read the can. It is a penetrating liquid dispersent

It disperses liquid, such as oil out of places. Such as O rings.

[Mustang]

Yeah, read the can. It is a penetrating liquid dispersent

It disperses liquid, such as oil out of places. Such as O rings.

Close but not quite,
says moisture not liquid , as in water , which combined with heat and friction makes rust , which is the biggest detractor of M/C chains

from the wd 40 website

WD-40® Myths, Legends & Fun Facts


One thing we must do is correct any misinformation that may be harmful to either our consumers or our good name.  Specifically, the listing of incorrect and poorly defined ingredients and safety information.

Myth: WD-40 Multi-Use Product is not really a lubricant.
Fact:
While the "W-D" in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product's formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal.

and the msds sheet lists petroleum oil as 25 % of the ingredients , which  is what kerosene ( paraffin) or diesel fuel is.

but everyone is free to use what they want , this is a sore topic like an oil thread or air filter thread , or which tire is best thread

opinions are like ...................well you know how the saying goes I think