Bugger me. Bike troubles

[avgas]

Your missing about 8 spacers from what i can see....these space the two sides apart....fucked if i know how they have gone (bike shop) joining links up to make a chain for you or what......
.....
WTF!!!
....
im still dumbstruck - its a bitch to remove spacers..... HOW THE FUCK!

[Mental Trousers]

It's down to either parts failure or wrong part (chain and/or sprockets) or workmanship. Parts failure may be the fault of the workshop if they didn't put the spacers in the chain or something like that. However, tough time proving that after 7800k. Hell, get them to check that the rear wheel is actually correctly fitted as someone may have put it back on with a spacer in the wrong place causing a misalignment between the 2 sprockets.

[Ixion]

Your missing about 8 spacers from what i can see....these space the two sides apart....fucked if i know how they have gone (bike shop) joining links up to make a chain for you or what......
.....
WTF!!!
....
im still dumbstruck - its a bitch to remove spacers..... HOW THE FUCK!

Nope . I've seen it. They don't get removed, they crack. As a result of slack chain, and cheap chain , and worn chain and sprockets. Then the two halves fall off, leaving just the pin. Takes a hell of a worn chain though cos what does it is the chain being so stretched that the rollers are coming round in line with the TOPS of the sprocket teeth , not the valleys. And the sprocket teeth tips crack the rollers open just like so many little chisels. If the bikes only done 7800 km, by the look of that sprocket and the chain, they must be made of compressed banana leaves.

[T.W.R]

The is the original chain (the bike was new november last year, it and the chain have done 7800km fullstop, ever).

If the chain was in bad shape before I took it in, surely when they looked at the chain today they would have noticed?

Blah who knows.

holy shit!

well with the way that chain has gone from new, its well worth seeing what can be done through the new bike warranty. for it to have stretched that much & to have basically collapsed the way it has, theres a manufacturing fault somewhere.
though with it obviously being adjusted up to full & the bike being new and under service schedule, it would have been noticed earlier. the arguement the shop will put forward will be neglect most likely, but someone has adjusted it recently though ( the clean mark of the axle head can be seen in the 1st pic).

[Zed]

My GN's been making some strange noises from its chain area lately, so when I took it into Road & Sport this arvo for a WOF, I asked them to have a look at it.

...Pics attached, the second two are a bit blurry but you can see where some of the figure 8 bits have moved over to the wrong side of the chain.

Sounds like the problem started before you took it for a WOF, but that chain looked like it had had a bath in lube, see it all splattered over the tyre. I suggest you try and get some compensation out of the bike shop, because they should have picked up on it when you asked them to check it out! Get them to go halves with you on the chain and sprocket set, then it'll only set you back $130-150 instead of $250-300. :spudgrr:

[Stevo]

Can't damage a chain by "over lubing" - a chain will run in an oil bath.

There has got to be a manufacturing fault in the chain. The clunking was almost certainly one of the links having moved - you would not have necessarily seen it unless you looked closely.

The dealer should definitely fix this - whether or not it is out of warranty. Still covered by consumer guarantee.

I agree wholeheartedly, as copious quantites of lube will NEVER hurt a chain.
My guess is, that one or more of these links were shifting when you were riding it hence why the clunk was intermittent. By the time you ever slowed down to have a look it would have been in normal position................. Soooooooo That being the case, What now?

When you bought the bike they give a year warranty, BUT in the interest of good consumer practice most (not dealers, but distributors) companies have a 3 or 4 week grace period. In other words as soon as the year if you miss by a day they don't screw you over.

Not sure if warrantees cover chain and sprockets though?????????

[Dadpole]

Saw a similar thing years ago. Chain had been run to death. No adjustment or oiling, then the rollers cracked when the owner finally adjusted the chain - too tight.
(was not me by the way)

[thehollowmen]

The other thought is that when the shop adjusted it, the rear wheel ended up out of line with the front wheel (and also the front sprocket.) This would place a lot of side pressure on the links.

Nah it is really hard to do that as the chain will 'step' and align itself with both sprockets.

I ain't seen anybody align their chain perfectly yet.

And yeah, as said above... don't believe that over-lubing bullshit, unless they're taking full responsability and replacing your chain. chains of old used to run in enclosed oil baths and would last 100,000+ km, I'll find a pic if you want.

[thehollowmen]

hrm that sproket looks fine.

I think the bike shop may have improperly adjusted your chain.

I wouldn't be going back there if they cause you to have accidents like that

[Sketchy_Racer]

flip!! look how much oil splatter there is on the tire!! i hope that was not oil coming off the chain while riding?? it could get a little slipery if it worked its way down the the contact patch of the tire.

[thehollowmen]

flip!! look how much oil splatter there is on the tire!! i hope that was not oil coming off the chain while riding?? it could get a little slipery if it worked its way down the the contact patch of the tire.

Speaking of that, I left my bike after oiling the chain to put the camera inside ... those stand photos..

And the little crotchdropping from around the corner (running around at what hour of the night unsupervised?) sprayed my rear tyre with chain oil!

I gave it a good scrub with warm soapy water but ... I'm still worried about it.

[Motu]

Ixion's got it - that chain is crap,and has been playing up for sometime.Sounds like the bike shop were suspicious,but just turning it around by hand was probably hard to pick up,blink and you miss it stuff.Your bike was built to a price,and the chain is one area to save money one.Make sure you buy a quality chain and replace both sprockets as well.

[Wolf]

When I rode his bike I noted the chain was loose and advised he tighten it, which he did. Afterwards I said it sounded like it still needed a tighten which he did again. After the first tightening it was running out of adjustment space.

I'm stunned that the damage is so bad after such a short distance - especially given that that is the factory-fitted chain and should at least be semi-decent quality. I've ridden more powerful bikes and lubed them less frequently than he has and gotten better service out of the (sadly abused) chain over longer distances. I've worn a few chains through lack of maintenance but I have never seen a chain in that state - all of mine the links were too stretched to line up with the teeth and valleys on the sprockets properly and I had already removed a couple of links but the spacers were never that rooted. And I've bought some budget chains in my time but none of them have gone to that sorry state!

[Lias]

Chain is as expected fucked, sprockets are thankfully fine.

Suzuki warranty apparently specifically excludes chains, according to the bike shop it could be in that condition at 2 weeks old and suzuki wouldnt replace it.

I'm pretty unhappy abotu it, but very little I can really do, other than not buy Suzuki ever again :-P

Which is okay cos I'm planning on a Triumph for my next bike :-)

[Waylander]

Lol you would fit the RocketIII quite wel I think.