surlyman Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 When checking my chain slack recently I noticed that when I rotate the rear wheel that it is not smooth or consistent. The tension or should I say how hard it is to rotate is smooth in spots and then gets hung up and takes a bit of oomph to continue turning the wheel in a few spots. Is this normal or is it possible my chain may have some kinked links. The chain is original to the bike which has 11K miles and gets oiled every 500 miles or so. I would appreciate anyone's insight on this. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted September 4, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted September 4, 2018 Sounds like your chain has developed some tight spots, pretty normal at 11K miles. I replaced my chain at about 16K miles, and it had a lot of tight spots around the length of the chain. You can slowly move the rear wheel (while on the center stand) and feel the chain links to see if you can identify which links are binding. sometimes, you can apply oil or lube to those links and loosen it up. But a new chain is in your near future regardless.......... good news is that it isn't that expensive, or hard to replace. Check your sprockets too, the front one is likely still ok, but I think it's a good idea to replace the rear sprocket at the same time as the chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duhs10 Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 I agree with @pcwizz analysis regarding the tight spots. I actually just ordered a new chain because I have several tight spots at 13500 miles. However, my front sprocket is showing signs of wear while my rear sprocket teeth look new. So I ordered a front sprocket and will leave the rear on until the next chain or it wears, whichever comes first. '15 FJ-09 w/ lots of extras... Fayetteville, GA, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfjniner Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 When checking my chain slack recently I noticed that when I rotate the rear wheel that it is not smooth or consistent. The tension or should I say how hard it is to rotate is smooth in spots and then gets hung up and takes a bit of oomph to continue turning the wheel in a few spots. Is this normal or is it possible my chain may have some kinked links. The chain is original to the bike which has 11K miles and gets oiled every 500 miles or so. I would appreciate anyone's insight on this. Nick Normal. It all depends on how you maintain your chain. I'm learning, and have found that a simple wipe down with a white terry cloth rag with a little WD40 on it before lubing the chain is a good thing to do. I also lube after a ride, when the ride is over 300 miles, or cumulative 300-500 miles. Now I have learned that the stiffness is in the "O" or "X" rings. They get hot and harden. They get hot because they don't have enough lube. Make sure you lube the "O" rings, which I think is more important than the chain centers. I lube inside "O" rings, outside "O" rings and center or sprocket area, wipe excess off. My current chain is doing better than the last three (3). Ken, Candy Ass L.D.R. Sleeps 8 hours (2)2005 FJR1300abs: 230,000 m 2015 FJ-09: 114,000 m (Replaced engine at 106K) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonardlloyd Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 What you describe seems like rusted sections in your chain. Try WD-40 to displace any water and possibly free up the stiff links. At worst, some internal bearings in the chain have failed and replacement is required to avoid chain breaking in use. This seems like premature failure for a sealed chain these days. You can expect twice the mileage you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsp Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Over the last couple of years, I've seen several posts here where owners have had to replaced the chain at 12-14,000 miles. It's probably the maintenance schedule or the quality of the lube. I'm at 22,000+ on the original chain but I have a chain oiler system and that seems to really extend chain and sprocket life. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenji Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Mine was doing the same thing and several of the links were very stiff. I replaced the chain only, but then after a week, I replaced both sprockets. That was 500 miles ago and it's totally smooth. I went with EK Chains, since it has a self riveting master link and JT Sprockets front and rear. The rear sprocket is a bright finish, but it looks good to me. The front sprocket was showing some slight wear, so I felt it best to replace everything. Total cost for parts was about $150, but I did have to buy a chain breaker and 30mm impact socket. It's my first time replacing a motorcycle chain. I probably could have done it within 1.5 hours, but since I had it apart, I decided to do a good cleaning (detail) even though it'll get dirty again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhchris Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 OMG that's beautiful! Just as an FYI -- on how to clean and lube a chain... on an FJ 09 no less! I use WD-40 to clean (O-ring safe) and chain Wax to lube. cb 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650 1971 Norton Commando Roadster 2002 Harley 1200 Sportster 2003 Honda ST 1300 2016 FJ 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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