Chain and sprocket noise R6

The 2013 R6 workhorse has started making a grinding type noise when rolling under power. Goes away when the clutch is pulled in.

First diagnosis was worn clutch basket- replaced the whole clutch assembly and that didn't change it. Definitely coming from the chain side. (without earplugs it was easier to tell.)

I suspected a missing spacer but when I took everything apart, all the spacers are present.

520 DID ERV chain with Vortex sprockets. I also made sure the Vortex countershaft sprocket was mounted with the shoulder facing out (so you can read the "vortex 15t) engraved on it).

When taking it apart, I can see that the rear sprocket has some material missing on the outside. Also the sprockets are WORN- this bike has tons of race miles and I can't remember ever replacing the chain, or sprockets for that matter. The 44T rear and 15T front is the most commonly used with the most mileage.

Once I cleaned the grease off the sprocket- it looks like the picture in a Haynes manual of a worn sprocket.

I also noted the chain guard on the swingarm is worn through. So I have a new chain, sprockets, and chain guard on order.

Question is- could this just be from wear, or do I need to keep looking for something else? Bike has no recent or significant crash history. Captive spacers, too.

 

Holy shit that sprockets missing a ton of material, not surprised its noisy lol. My bike gets a fresh set of sprockets and chain every season fwiw

 

was the chain tension set really tight? Also its a good time to check the alignment marks. Some times they are off just enough to have the axle slightly off center

 

LOL! That sprocket is toast! Just get a complete chain kit to include both sprockets and chain. Do a careful alignment and you’re done .

 

You mean a metric shit ton of material!

 

I keep it on the loose side- Daytona and Homestead both have sharp transitions on / off the banking that you hit at full throttle with the suspension compressed.

I noticed the noise at my first track day after Daytona, when I put this gearing (these sprockets specifically) back on- like I said, they are the ones I use 90% of the time so they get the most wear.

I know they are worn, but what struck me was there's more material missing off the outside of the rear sprocket, which leads me to believe it's misaligned a bit, or was in the past.

Anyway new ones are on the way.

You guys do a chain every season?

 

That sprockets BAD. Should have done chain and sprockets a LONG time ago.

 

Going to feel like a new motorcycle once you redo the chain/sprockets!

 

What's odd is that I am pretty good with maintenance. I feel like this wear is very accelerated. In other words, it looked fine in March when I put that sprocket back on. Probably did 300 laps since then, though.

I'm thinking after Daytona when I put that gearing back on, something was misaligned. Either that, or the hard coating wore off and the wear accelerated rapidly.

You can't really see it from the pics, but the outside is worn down way more than the inside.

 

I know, I was surprised when you posted that. I'm surprised with the amount of races you do that you don't start with new chain and sprockets every year.

 

I was recently trying to align my rear sprocket to the front with a laser tool that you hold against the rear sprocket. I noticed that one part of the sprocket would be aligned or slightly to one side. Then I would partially rotate the wheel, and the alignment would change to the opposite direction. I could never get the entire sprocket square. I eventually narrowed it down and figured out that the sprocket wasn't square and aligned with the wheel because of the cush drive. That was causing a lot of sprocket wear on one side.

 

I'll fix it.

 

Just make sure the chain run is straight and there's no misalignment of the rear wheel. Stupid dual sided swingarm things........

 

thats aligning from a single point versus say a dual point like a swingarm axle & rear axle

 

Isn’t it two points: the front sprocket and the rear sprocket?

How do you measure from axle to swing arm pivot? I know there tools that people make that center through the holes and then you measure the distance on both sides. If you know where I can get one of those tools, let me know.

 

Cheapie version is just a length of something plus a couple zip ties. Aluminum bar stock from the hardware store works great for this. Put two zipties on fairly tight, cut the tails so they're an inch or two long. One goes at one end, the other you slide as needed. Put one ziptie in the center of the swingarm pivot, adjust the other to the center of the axle. Now take your tool to the other side of the bike, and both zipties should land in the centers without moving anything.

 

Aluminum sprockets wear out fast.

And worn chains stretch out in places accelerating the wear. Also making setting chain tension hit and miss.

 

You can dick around with trying to use a chain alignment tool using bar stock and string and bullshit, or just use the motion pro alignment tool that clamps on to the rear sprocket and be done with it. Zero measuring required, which is fantastic for retards like me.

 

That tool only sets the sprockets up to point at each other, but can lie and say things are straight when they're not. Checking axle to pivot alignment provides another data point but also isn't a magic bullet either, doesn't mean it's not a good thing to keep in the toolbox.

 

basically rods through the hollow axles and fasten them with a rubber band on both sides so you have a straight edge to measure off of. Of course if you used a pitbull trailer restraint its possible the wheel axle could be tweaked.