[Kristadoodle]

Hey 👋 just registered to ask a simple question regarding my 2021 xsr700 here in Cali, I've noticed when I clean my chain there's a lot of build up on one particular side, the left side-facing away from the bike. I thought it was due to my lack of cleaning maintenance on it, it had about 2k miles every clean and I've cleaned it twice now. I was going over my bike when I noticed on the chain guard there's a rubber protector that sits on the guard so then the chain sits on that rubber piece- and I get why my chain is so gunky when I clean it- the chain is grooving over this rubber protector as it moves when I ride, I was in the process of doing a chain adjustment but I'd like to know if there's anything I could do to stop the melted rubber from getting on my chain or to stop the chain from going over this protector, I'm not sure if I could remove it since the chain would then be doing the same thing on the steel chain guard, or is this normal? I'd imagine not, my chain looks filthy.also any tips for realigning axel on both sides during chain adjustment. Any help is very much appreciated 🙏

 

[Kristadoodle]

Hey 👋 just registered to ask a simple question regarding my 2021 xsr700 here in Cali, I've noticed when I clean my chain there's a lot of build up on one particular side, the left side-facing away from the bike. I thought it was due to my lack of cleaning maintenance on it, it had about 2k miles every clean and I've cleaned it twice now. I was going over my bike when I noticed on the chain guard there's a rubber protector that sits on the guard so then the chain sits on that rubber piece- and I get why my chain is so gunky when I clean it- the chain is grooving over this rubber protector as it moves when I ride, I was in the process of doing a chain adjustment but I'd like to know if there's anything I could do to stop the melted rubber from getting on my chain or to stop the chain from going over this protector, I'm not sure if I could remove it since the chain would then be doing the same thing on the steel chain guard, or is this normal? I'd imagine not, my chain looks filthy.also any tips for realigning axel on both sides during chain adjustment. Any help is very much appreciated 🙏 View attachment 27399
View attachment 27400
View attachment 27398

To share my steed!

 

[fastenova]

Hi there, and welcome to the forum. Good looking XSR you have there, I like that color combo a lot!

I had similar issues and opted to replace my chain guide (the rubber protector you mention is meant to guide the chain along its path, and keep the chain from touching the swingarm) with a Delrin piece around 13K miles, after reading about similar issues on the FZ-07 / MT-07 (which our XSR700s share the frame/engine/drivetrain with). I got mine from Matt over at Robem Engineering. When I was fitting this, I had to do some mild modifications for it to fit, due to the welds on the swingarm being much larger and in a different location than the bikes that were used to design the Delrin part. However, 11K miles later, the new guide is wearing very slowly and I expect it to last much longer than the OEM part.

I've never seen a chain guide wear as quickly as it does on my XSR. I've got a few other Japanese bikes (Suzuki & Kawasaki) and I've never had an issue on those. I've heard that some people have no issues and others say they replace them once a year. It may have to do with how many of these bikes Yamaha makes, and there is some variation on the guide mounting points on the swingarm?

Anyway, to see if you have the same issue, clean your chain and guide. With the bike on the side stand (or pit stand) in neutral, lift the top run of chain so you can see the 'ridge' running along the top of the chain guide. If this ridge has a line sort of cut through it at an angle, that means the side plates of your chain have been riding on the ridge instead of the rollers, and it could be indicative of improper chain tension or real wheel (sprocket) misalignment. If this is the case, you should fix these issues and replace the chain guide with an OEM part (p/n 1WS-22151-01-00) as they're super easy to swap out. If it continues to wear quickly or at a weird angle, you might consider the guide made of Delrin.

Attached are a couple of pictures showing the abnormal/angled wear on my OEM chain guide. I never did figure out why this happened.

Cheers,
Aaron

 

[bungle]

I had the same issue, they replaced the whole swing arm, bearings and the buffer for warranty. The new one has been better (though I have had just some 1000 kms with it). I am not 100% sure, but I feel the new one is not as soft (but it might be that if one has this problem, the buffer starts to stretch and gets softer by that). It is not delrin either, but I once asked Robem about it, and he replied that ask again at the end of season, so it is a slightly hard to get. Please keep your chain within the spec. I believe that loose chain makes this issues far worse. I also think that the buffer is not well aligned (or that swing arm might not be aligned), I also had the problem that bump in middle of the buffer didn't align with the chain. Eventually it also started to scratch the swing arm too, and rust started to build on it.

 

[bungle]

This has been out of the stock as long as I remember:

Product Page | Robem Engineering | Lightweight Twins Racing| United States

www.robemengineering.com

I suggest you to try to get swing arm replaced under a warranty, if possible. Your chain buffer definitely starts to look S-shape too. I used some strong double sided tape to hold it for one longer trip, but that works just as a temporary solution. Also hotter the weather, the softer that chain buffer gets. It is bad, but I think the problem comes from misalignment or not up with spec swingarm or bad installation (rear wheel alignment may also be off).

 

[Kristadoodle]

Thanks so much everyone, I will take it to a shop since I still have warranty on it, I'm guessing when I had it fitted with new tires is when this started happening, which is also when I noticed it's slight power lack compared to before the new tires but they chalked it up to it being 50/50 tires as the cause but I don't know, I just ride for the thrills. Thanks y'all are awesome!

 

[dan1]

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[dan1]

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[dan1]

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[dan1]

Here's what I have on chain alignment View attachment 27406 View attachment 27407 View attachment 27406 View attachment 27407 View attachment 27406 View attachment 27407

How to Adjust a Motorcycle Chain - webBikeWorld

adjust motorcycle chain, motorcycle maintenance

www.webbikeworld.com

http://www.cartestsoftware.com/fz1/chainslackadjustment.html

DIY - Motorcycle Chain Tension Adjustment & Rear Wheel Alignment

DIY - Motorcycle Chain Tension Adjustment & Rear Wheel Alignment: Next to tire pressure and chain lubrication, chain tension (slack) and rear wheel alignment are among the most ignored simple maintenance tasks. This despite it being a major factor for both the longevity of the chain and tire...

www.instructables.com

 

[Kristadoodle]

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Thanks. I was going off my manual and I initially read check slack on kick stand as adjust on kick stand too, fml

 

[nycamc]

On my 2018-2021 printed manual it says to put the bike on the side stand... is there a big difference?

 

[Toxana]

Yes. There is a difference. The position of the bike will affect the swingarm position and that changes the tension in the chain. The reference in the manual is for the case the bike is resting on the side stand.

I ignore that part once and adjusted the chain tension with the bike standing up right and ended up increase the tension too much. Luckily I noticed before riding it and contracted it.