clunking/knocking from drive train

[benparker]

Hi everyone,

I was riding home today and as I came off a roundabout I heard a clonking start as I accelerated, it was quite loud and I could feel it through the pegs so I stopped to check nothing was stuck in the wheel. Nothing unusual so I limped it home. It's most noticeable in first gear as I accelerate. Any ideas? I've had a look through the forum and it seemed to point towards rear wheel bearings. There's no movement at all if I shake the rear wheel and it spins perfectly freely. I took the wheel off to check the bearings though just in case and they all seem fine, nice and smooth. I put the bike in gear on the paddock stand and the chain slapped about a bit but is this just because its on the paddock stand. Surely if it was chain or sprocket wear it wouldn't be so sudden. It's very hard to locate exactly where the clunking is coming from. Any help or ideas at all would be very much appreciated.

Cheers guys.

[p4uls]

Is it possible the chain may be jumping teeth? Is the chain and sprockets front and back in good condition?

[Sid Squid]

Sprocket/s knackered or loose? Chain goosed?

Need a bit more to go than 'there's a noise'.

[benparker]

It is quite possible sprockets and/or chain are knackered, how do I check properly, I've pulled the chain off the rear sprocket and it doesn't there doesn't seem to be too much play, I just thought if it was this it wouldn't go so suddenly? The knock sounds a lot like when the front calipers knock on the sv's, that's the best thing I can relate it to. Thanks for the replies.

[muzikill]

Take the front sprocket cover off & check there too.

[garynortheast]

It does sound, from the scanty description, like you need to have a good look at that front sprocket.

[benparker]

I took the bike out for a ride this morning and to my surprise the knocking has gone. Maybe taking the wheel off put something back in place? I don't know. I readjusted the chain and lubed it too. If I spin the wheel very slowly on the paddock stand there is a very slight clunk and the chain shifts to the left on the rear sprocket every clunk. Is this normal or a sign the sprockets and chain need doing? Nowhere near as big as the clunk I had yesterday though. Thanks for the help.

[p4uls]

Sounds to me like either the rear wheel is misaligned or there is a stiff link in the chain making the clunking noise.

[muzikill]

Is the rear sprocket hub sitting on the damper rubbers correctly? Put the rear of the bike up on a stand and look down in line of the chain down into the front sprocket and turn the wheel and see if you can spot misalignment or a sticky chain link. For the time it takes remove the front sprocket cover.

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[benparker]

Right I've taken the sprocket cover off and had a good look down while spinning the wheel and it looks fine. Rear rubbers and hub are together properly and sitting right. I've just put it on the paddock stand and run it in first gear, it's far too often to be a sticking link, it gets really bad if I put a little bit of back brake on, the wheel goes really jolty and you can see the wheel stopping and starting. As I say I don't think it's misaligned. thanks

[muzikill]

How does the front sprocket and area around it look? Pics?

Rear brake seizing on causing the issues maybe?

[benparker]

Thanks for all the replies, the bikes fine now. I'm pretty sure that the initial knocking was unrelated to the one from the chain and sprockets. Dismantling the rear wheel fixed the first one and I think I just noticed the second one because I was listening hard. The second one has improved a lot today, I think lubing at and adjusting the chain helped. Ended up taking it in to the local bike shop this afternoon just to check it was safe because I've got a long ride tomorrow. They said front sprockets quite worn and will need doing soon but it's okay for the moment.

[muzikill]

Youd be suprised how cheap a front sprocket is and how easy it is to replace.

[benparker]

Just looked, really cheap like 10 or 15 quid, is it okay just to replace one sprocket though?

[Mark_h]

I had pretty much exactly the same problem on my SV1000 and it turned out to be one of the wheel bearings. You could not detect any play when on the bike only when you took it off and stuck your fingers in. <Link Here> (http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=164390)

[muzikill]

Just looked, really cheap like 10 or 15 quid, is it okay just to replace one sprocket though?

Well check the rear sprocket and the length of chain stretch before you go taking it to bits. Its cheaper to buy the whole lot together. ONLY if it needs it though. Check the basics first.

[benparker]

Okay, I'll have a properly check of chain and sprockets when I go home again. Thanks for that link Mark, seems exactly the same as what mines doing. Wouldn't be surprised if it all needs doing, the bikes done over 50k now.