[CoyoteB4]

2014 zx10r 6k mileage recently purchased.

After getting the "heavy/sluggish" feeling bike home in the middle of the night, I noticed that the tires had 25psi in the front and 27psi in the rear. The oil looked new but I replaced it anyway, and filter. The chain looks ok to me and free of defects, doesn't move to far left or right, very little slack in the rear, and maybe at its midlife. Chain was closer to 1.5" but still below. I cut the bike off rolling into a parking spot the next day and noticed the chain sounds thirsty. And, a guy getting out of his car asked "have you checked that chain recently?" After hearing the noise and conveniently some random dude thought something was up to, I tightened to right at 1.2". Cleaned the chain, put chain wax on. Handling obviously feels like it's on ice skates now but the sound and feel is a little off. The chain still sounds dry to me and making more noise then I'd like it to. Only other less important things I noticed: the axle has been reversed (nut on the right) which I only noticed when I started adjusting the chain because the chain adjuster blocks were left on the original sides so they work but the fitment is off due to size difference. Bike feels healthy but my next step is new sprockets, new chain, and tires. Could just be me on a new bike but any thoughts before I replace everything?

 

[RBZ10R]

Not really sure what you're trying to describe here, did you check the front and rear sprocket and the alignment? That looks pretty normal what is occurring in the video as its on a stand.

Interesting re the chain slack to me that looks too tight but thats a guessimation.

Rear axle that doesnt really matter for 2016+ they just reversed the side they put the axle through no difference in affect as its just a rail for everything to sit on and is the same diameter all the way through.

only other thing to check might be the hub on the rear wheel?

 

[lel atruin]

I run my chains on the looser side, check the alignment using the hash marks i never mess around with getting it absolutely perfect. Clean and chain spray and if it doesn't pull off the back of the rear sprocket you're good to go generally. Unless you can actually see the o-rings/x-rings hanging out of the chain then thats no beuno

 

[alexei]

 

[alexei]

Measure minimum slack at the tightest point observed as the wheel is spinned, in case you haven't already.
Also, make sure the upper portion of the chain (above swingarm) does not move as you move and measure slack on the lower portion. Otherwise, pushing the slack to minimum spec means over-tighten.

The noise, is probably from loose/worn rollers (see picture above), this cannot be measured with chain slack, but can be inspected by rolling some of the rollers with finger. If there is sufficient grease/chainwax between the roller and pins, it should silence the chain sufficiently. Chains with loose rollers (freeplay against the pins) should be replaced, even if the chain does not kink, elongate out of spec etc...

 

[CoyoteB4]

Not really sure what you're trying to describe here, did you check the front and rear sprocket and the alignment? That looks pretty normal what is occurring in the video as its on a stand.

Interesting re the chain slack to me that looks too tight but thats a guessimation.

Rear axle that doesnt really matter for 2016+ they just reversed the side they put the axle through no difference in affect as its just a rail for everything to sit on and is the same diameter all the way through.

only other thing to check might be the hub on the rear wheel?

The advise I was looking for has been given. Just the infinite amount of experience floating around the community to give me other ideas brother.
I did not check the alignment of the sprockets and I am unfamiliar with the task so I will research and do that.

Good guess. The chain was tightened to 1" slack in the video because it felt like it was moving around too much but out of fear from deviating from the manufacturer guidance I put it back to 1.2

I'll look into the hub as well but gotta do some research on it. This is exactly what I was hoping to get out of this post. Thanks man!

 

[CoyoteB4]

Measure minimum slack at the tightest point observed as the wheel is spinned, in case you haven't already.
Also, make sure the upper portion of the chain (above swingarm) does not move as you move and measure slack on the lower portion. Otherwise, pushing the slack to minimum spec means over-tighten.

The noise, is probably from loose/worn rollers (see picture above), this cannot be measured with chain slack, but can be inspected by rolling some of the rollers with finger. If there is sufficient grease/chainwax between the roller and pins, it should silence the chain sufficiently. Chains with loose rollers (freeplay against the pins) should be replaced, even if the chain does not kink, elongate out of spec etc...

Measure minimum slack at the tightest point observed as the wheel is spinned, in case you haven't already.
Also, make sure the upper portion of the chain (above swingarm) does not move as you move and measure slack on the lower portion. Otherwise, pushing the slack to minimum spec means over-tighten.

The noise, is probably from loose/worn rollers (see picture above), this cannot be measured with chain slack, but can be inspected by rolling some of the rollers with finger. If there is sufficient grease/chainwax between the roller and pins, it should silence the chain sufficiently. Chains with loose rollers (freeplay against the pins) should be replaced, even if the chain does not kink, elongate out of spec etc...

More stuff I'm unfamiliar with tinkering with so more research. Thanks for the detailed response. Just what I was looking for fellas

 

[CoyoteB4]

I run my chains on the looser side, check the alignment using the hash marks i never mess around with getting it absolutely perfect. Clean and chain spray and if it doesn't pull off the back of the rear sprocket you're good to go generally. Unless you can actually see the o-rings/x-rings hanging out of the chain then thats no beuno

I really want to reverse the adjustment plates to the original sides so the accuracy is able to be better observed. I feel like it's super close but want to eliminate all possible issues and not take it to a shop. Thanks for the response.

 

[Porschenut]

I agree with RBZ10R. My impression of the video is the chain is too tight. It's a good thing you loosened it after.

Chain slack adjustments are really frustrating! I always have a hard time telling exactly what 1.25" looks like with a tape measure so I had to develop a general feel for what's too tight or too loose. At least Lightech chain adjusters make it so much easier since it moves the entire wheel and holds the axle in place while you make adjustments. I highly recommend them although they're a lot of money for convenience and the unsprung weight sucks too.

As for chain line, it's sooo important. I've read that you can't depend on the swingarm markings to align your chain but mine are spot on and I stopped using my alignment tool after the 2nd time.

To the uninitiated out there, chain alignment tools are really neat by design and are cheap too. This is the Revzilla link to the industry standard Motion Pro tool and it's only $17.

 

[alexei]

Some slow-mo chain slack videos such as this one, puts me at ease whenever I think my chain is too loose. youtube

 

[CoyoteB4]

Lol the last one helped the most! Great video and hats off to the folks that do it. Looking forward to taking the fam to laguna seca while we're out here this year to see it in person.

 

[RBZ10R]

one thing i forgot to mention is make sure the axle block adjusters are aligned to the same marks on both sides so the wheel / axle / sprocket are straight

 

[CoyoteB4]

Did that with about 4 hours of re-adjustment on saturday. Also, with the block adjusters on the "wrong" sides, I don't like that I can't get it as precise however, it's super close. I also stripped one of the adjuster block locking nuts with the correct sized box wrench. So, going to order some Lightechs if I can't find a less expensive pair.

 

[alexei]

What make are those chains and sprockets?

 

[CoyoteB4]

Came on the bike...... JT520Z1R stamped on the chain..... Supersprox stamped on the sprocket. Never heard of them but this is the link to what came up in English....https://www.ebay.com/itm/ZX10R-11-17-ZX-10R-Blue-Supersprox-JT-Quick-Acceleration-Chain-and-Sprockets-Kit-/152601350864

 

[CoyoteB4]

 

[RBZ10R]

Ah yeah those supersprox are the Ali centre riveted to a steel outter, I wonder if there is any free play in the rivets as that could make a weird sound

 

[Porschenut]

Supersprox actually have a bad reputation for failures and they aren't even that light.

A lot of brands now have superlight steel sprockets that close the weight difference with aluminum and they cost less and last longer too. That's what I'd go for. Drive Systems and Driven sprockets to name a couple.

 

[scout]

520 chain size; when you clean the chain, any tight spots noticed when you clean the chain/ 520 would wear fast if prior rode hard. And, looks on tight side, but that's probably from you trying to sort then taking pics.

 

[CoyoteB4]

Yeah it was mad loose before I started f'ing with it (2.25"). I've been looking for a 520 oem similar setup without paying oem prices. I found some posts last night on here on the did 525 zvmx but couldn't really find a site with them available in the short time I searched. I plan to invest some time this weekend in solving this issue. Especially since I stripped a side of the chain block nut and it's just sitting in the garage since sunday.