Issues! HELP!

[Guy Ramsey]

Going to check this NOW!!!

--------------------------------------------------
From: "John Soliday" <johnsoliday at msn.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 2:07 PM
To: "'Guy Ramsey'" <ramsey.gc at hotmail.com>; "'Dave Daniels'" 
<dwaynedaniels at sbcglobal.net>; "'Kawasaki GPZ1100 discussion'" 
<gpzlist at micapeak.com>; "'Jonathon Jay'" <annihilator1100 at hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Issues! HELP!

> If the chain truly has 36K on it I would think that is some kind of world 
> record ;-)  Also, if it's worn out the shop should have noticed, amazing 
> if they said it was fine so something doesn't make sense.  Put the bike on 
> the centerstand and pull on the chain from the center rear of the rear 
> sprocket.  If you can pull enough chain off the sprocket to see a gap 
> between the chain and sprocket (at the low end between two teeth) then it 
> is really toasted.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Guy Ramsey [mailto:ramsey.gc at hotmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 1:10 PM
> To: John Soliday; 'Dave Daniels'; 'Kawasaki GPZ1100 discussion'; 'Jonathon 
> Jay'
> Subject: Re: Issues! HELP!
>
> John, I haven't noticed any unusual wear. Then again, I don't know what
> unusual wear is since this is my first chain drive. I had the bike in for
> the 36k service about two weeks ago and they stated that the chain looked
> fine. I asked them to adjust it, but I guess they forgot to do it because 
> it
> had the same amount of slack in it as before I took it in. I have noticed
> that the chain seems very warm almost on the verge of hot after riding it
> for 40+ miles. It almost seems like it is getting hot enough to re-liquefy
> the chain lube. I also noticed some red spots on the chain when using a
> different type of chain lube. I recently changed to Silkolene and I no
> longer have those red spots. I don't see any kind of rubbing on the rear
> sprocket and it seems to be meshing properly. The chain doesn't look like 
> it
> has any grooves being cut into it at any location. I posted a few weeks 
> ago
> asking what order the pieces went back together for the rear axle but only
> received one reply stating that it was correct. When I took the rear wheel
> off, everything just fell apart and I wasn't able to see what order and
> direction they were in originally. I'm pretty certain the manual has it
> wrong. Oh, and yes I am adjusting both sides of the swing arm. I even went
> as far as to pull the adjusters and set them using a digital micrometer 
> and
> then matching the turns side for side. The left side tab has moved rear 
> 1/2
> an alignment notch while the left has not moved at all and my chain is 
> still
> looser than it was. I found out that the chain has never been replaced and
> has 36k on it. How long is a chain expected to last? The manual just 
> states
> to check and replace if necessary.
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "John Soliday" <johnsoliday at msn.com>
> Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 9:31 AM
> To: "'Guy Ramsey'" <ramsey.gc at hotmail.com>; "'Dave Daniels'"
> <dwaynedaniels at sbcglobal.net>; "'Kawasaki GPZ1100 discussion'"
> <gpzlist at micapeak.com>; "'Jonathon Jay'" <annihilator1100 at hotmail.com>
> Subject: RE: Issues! HELP!
>
>> You might have a chain with uneven wear.  If you carefully rotate the 
>> rear
>> wheel and check the chain tension at different points, does the chain
>> tension vary like from 1/2" in one place to like an 1"+ in others?  If so
>> the chain is toast and so are the sprockets.  I never had a vibration 
>> from
>> this type of wear but if it were severe, maybe...
>>
>> John
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: gpzlist-bounces at micapeak.com [mailto:gpzlist-bounces at micapeak.com]
>> On Behalf Of Guy Ramsey
>> Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 7:18 AM
>> To: Dave Daniels; Kawasaki GPZ1100 discussion; Jonathon Jay
>> Subject: Re: Issues! HELP!
>>
>> I forgot to mention on the vibration. It doesn't vibrate while
>> decelerating or with the clutch disengaged. Only while trying to maintain
>> a speed or accelerating at the speeds already stated. No change while
>> using either brake. This leads me to believe it has something to do with
>> the drive line (clutch, chain, sprockets, wheel, etc.) or possibly the
>> transmission.
>>
>>
>> From: Dave Daniels
>> Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 7:42 AM
>> To: ramsey.gc at hotmail.com ; Kawasaki GPZ1100 discussion ; Jonathon Jay
>> Subject: RE: Issues! HELP!
>>
>>
>>      Stupid question, but are you tuning the adjustment screws on "both"
>> sides of the bike?
>>
>>      --- On Sat, 5/23/09, Jonathon Jay <annihilator1100 at hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>        From: Jonathon Jay <annihilator1100 at hotmail.com>
>>        Subject: RE: Issues! HELP!
>>        To: ramsey.gc at hotmail.com, "Kawasaki GPZ1100 discussion"
>> <gpzlist at micapeak.com>
>>        Date: Saturday, May 23, 2009, 8:35 AM
>>
>>
>>
>>        Ok, I may be way off, but maybe something I say may be a brain
>> nudger.
>>
>>
>>
>>        When new, my bike had a BAD front end shimmy when decelerating 
>> from
>> 70 to 45. The guys at the stealership who did final assembly checked it
>> and said they didn't torque the front whell to speck and it was loose.
>>
>>
>>        As far as the chain goes, what first comes to mind is to have its
>> alignment checked at a shop. The front centerline may be different than
>> the rear. causing it to sit out more on one end. that would affect it's
>> overall tightness, it would be looser on either the left or right side of
>> a sprocket. I say go to the dealer and have it checked. Perhaps they can
>> tell you what is wrong. In that case ask how much to fix and upon their
>> answer, say you're gonna have to go work out some finances cause things
>> are kinda tight right now, more than you anticipated, yadda yadaa. Then 
>> go
>> home and fix it and silently thank them for the free diagnostic. This has
>> worked for me for years on cars.
>>
>>
>>
>>        Unrelated to your problem, when I was breaking my clutch free
>> yesterday I just threw a seat on the holes in back real quick. Didn't
>> check to make sure it was on right in the front. Now my seat won't come
>> off. Any ideas?
>>        Regards-
>>
>>        J
>>
>>        What's The Difference Between Ignorance And Apathy?
>>        ~ I Don't Know And I Don't Care ~
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>        > From: ramsey.gc at hotmail.com
>>        > To: gpzlist at micapeak.com
>>        > Subject: Issues! HELP!
>>        > Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 07:26:41 -0500
>>        >
>>        > I'm having mechanical issues right now and it's confusing the
>> hell out of me. For starters it has a vibration that started happening
>> around 65mph, now it's worked it's way down to 40mph. So something's
>> getting worse. The other issue I'm having (which could be the root cause)
>> is that when I set my chain tension, the left alignment tab is moving aft
>> about 1/4 notch while the right doesn't move at all. The real confusing
>> part is, that despite the axel moving aft, my chain tension is becoming
>> more and more slack. I haven't pulled the chain yet to check the length 
>> on
>> it, but I don't think the chain has more than 10k on it. The chain is
>> getting loose enough that it's running along the chain guard on the top 
>> of
>> the swing arm and leaving black plastic flakes all over my left pipe. I'm
>> a bit paranoid to ride it long distances in it's condition. Any ideas? 
>> I'm
>> tightening the rear axle bolts to 80 lb/ft as stated in my manual so I
>> know that's not the cause...
>>
>>        _________________________________________________________________
>>        Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync.
>>
>> http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_BR_life_in_synch_052009
>>
>>
>
>