How much play in rear wheel when engine is off and bike is in first gear??

[phoneman91]

I was wondering how much drive train free play should be at the tread of the rear tire when the engine is off and the bike is in first gear and on the center stand? I know that all shaft drive bikes will have some play in the drive train. What is normal for these bikes??

I am also noticing that if I have the bike in first gear with the clutch disengaged-and I rock the bike slightly forward and back and then slowly let out the clutch-and before the clutch completely engages,I can hear a subtle slight clang-like metal to metal noise. I can only get this to occur if I first rock the bike forward and backward before letting out the clutch. The noise isnt loud and the bike doesnt seem to have more than normal play in the drive train when riden in stop and go traffic .

I normally use ear plugs and don't hear these subtle engine/transmission noises-but I test rode the bike after adjusting the shift level height and didnt use ear plugs.

Is this normal?

 

[ionbeam]

Excerpted from one of my posts waaaay back in '07:

For those that are newer to the Forum, back in the dark ages the cave men that original purchased the ‘new’ FJR arbitrarily set up a drive line lash test. This test is highly technical and requires a specialized tool: A ruler that measures in either metric cm or inches. Put your motorcycle in first gear and deploy the side stand. Roll the motorcycle forward until it will roll no more, put it down on the side stand. Place the ruler so that some major mark on it is aligned with the tip of the side stand. Now roll the bike backwards until it will roll no more. Read distance on the ruler I vaguely remember that almost all the readings were between 1.75” to 2.5” (4.44 cm to 6.35 cm) for ’03 to ’05 bikes, in any case this is the typical span range. My '04 started life with ~2.5 inches of play (63.5mm), after 50k miles it now has ~2.5 inches of play

 

[RadioHowie]

Excerpted from one of my posts waaaay back in '07:
For those that are newer to the Forum, back in the dark ages the cave men that original purchased the ‘new’ FJR arbitrarily set up a drive line lash test. This test is highly technical and requires a specialized tool: A ruler that measures in either metric cm or inches. Put your motorcycle in first gear and deploy the side stand. Roll the motorcycle forward until it will roll no more, put it down on the side stand. Place the ruler so that some major mark on it is aligned with the tip of the side stand. Now roll the bike backwards until it will roll no more. Read distance on the ruler I vaguely remember that almost all the readings were between 1.75” to 2.5” (4.44 cm to 6.35 cm) for ’03 to ’05 bikes, in any case this is the typical span range. My '04 started life with ~2.5 inches of play (63.5mm), after 50k miles it now has ~2.5 inches of play

Count on you to build a watch when someone asks you what time it is.

To answer the OP's question, the appropriate answer is "just a little bit less than a shitload."

 

[Zorlac]

Is that a metric or troy shitload?

 

[phoneman91]

And I was worried that I would get a sarastic response....

This new fangled EFI seems to make any lash or free play in the drive train more apparent than the old carbureted bikes.

I guess that no one is hearing any muted noise ( very soft clang) when letting out the clutch-right before engagement?? I usually hear it when starting from the middle of a hill. Where the bike will roll back several inches before the clutch completely engages. Seems that the free play or lash is being taken up right before engagement. I dont think that it is really a problem-just wondering if others have the same noise under the same circumstances.

I know that all shaft driven bikes have some type of damping of lash (spring loaded and/or rubber damping in the wheel hub and drive shaft) in the drive train. I just havent noticed this noise before.

 

[user 213]

And I was worried that I would get a sarastic response....
This new fangled EFI seems to make any lash or free play in the drive train more apparent than the old carbureted bikes.

I guess that no one is hearing any muted noise ( very soft clang) when letting out the clutch-right before engagement?? I usually hear it when starting from the middle of a hill. Where the bike will roll back several inches before the clutch completely engages. Seems that the free play or lash is being taken up right before engagement. I dont think that it is really a problem-just wondering if others have the same noise under the same circumstances.

I know that all shaft driven bikes have some type of damping of lash (spring loaded and/or rubber damping in the wheel hub and drive shaft) in the drive train. I just havent noticed this noise before.

A. You're doing it wrong. Use the brake to hold the bike still, apply power as you let out the clutch, ease off the brake as the bike takes off. Rolling back is bad form, and may bite you some day if you don't practice to avoid it.

B. Check your throttle cable play. Often it's a little excessive and this can make it difficult to shift smoothly, or engage and launch with good timing. Often resulting in jerky, excessive lash feelings, when it's really just an issue of throttle and clutch timing. EFI is more abrupt than Carbs, but taking nearly all of the play out of the throttle cable will give you much better control.

C. Put the ear plugs back in.

 

[Bustanut joker]

2.5 inches to play with?

Geez alan, :lol: I don't think I'da posted that. Now Howie on the otherhand..

Sarcastic enough for ya phoneman??



:jester:

 

[RadioHowie]

And I was worried that I would get a sarastic response....

Just be glad it wasn't Friday when you asked.

Plus, Ionbeam's answer wasn't sarcastic. It was a carefully thought out and well informed answer. Just don't ask him how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, okay?

He's got graphs 'n shit and we'll be here all day. :blink:

 

[RadioHowie]

2.5 inches to play with?

Only when it's being used in anger.

Otherwise it's about 1.975. :****:

 

[zzzzip]

Don't we count the links anymore?

B)

 

[dwhartwell]

My 07 behaves the same way. Add to that if I spin the rear tire in neutral, engine off on center stand I also hear a noise that comes and goes with rotation that sounds like something is rubbing. Can't figure out what it is. Can't pinpoint it even using a stethoscope. It is present for about 1/3 of the tire rotation but if you mark a spot on the tire where the noise is happening, the more you rotate the tire, the noise then shifts position on the tire. I bought used with less than 6K, at 7.8K, the noise is the same. Some have noted the importance of removing the excess throttle cable slack. Do it, it makes a huge difference. I'm planning to try either modding a throttle grip to change the initial ramp rate, or purchase a G2.

 

[RadioHowie]

Add to that if I spin the rear tire in neutral, engine off on center stand I also hear a noise that comes and goes with rotation that sounds like something is rubbing. Can't figure out what it is. Can't pinpoint it even using a stethoscope. It is present for about 1/3 of the tire rotation but if you mark a spot on the tire where the noise is happening, the more you rotate the tire, the noise then shifts position on the tire.

If you're up for a fishing expedition to pinpoint this noise, drop the rear brake caliper and do your rotation test.

I'd be willing to bet it's your rear pads touching the disc rotor as you turn the wheel. If so, the noise only occuring 1/3 of the rotation would indicate a slight runout on the disc rotor. Not enough to be a problem unless you notice pulsating through the brake pedal

Simply remove the 2 bolts indicated by the red arrows, drop the caliper away from the disc and spin away...shouldn't be more than a 10 minute experiment.

DON'T press the brake pedal while the caliper is off the rotor!

 

[RadioHowie]

Don't we count the links anymore?
B)

ONLY on the camchain.

 

[zzzzip]

Don't we count the links anymore?
B)

ONLY on the camchain.

Turbines have camchains???? Lutzie, you got some 'splain' to do... nobody said anything about a cam!

B)

 

[RadioHowie]

Don't we count the links anymore?
B)

ONLY on the camchain.

Turbines have camchains???? Lutzie, you got some 'splain' to do... nobody said anything about a cam!

B)

Ummmmm....if you're FJR looks like THIS

You're on the wrong forum. :rofl:

 

[jcyuhn]

Izzat the Chrysler turbine car? Back when I still lived in Michigan I was at an event at the Chrysler proving grounds in Chelsea. They had that thing lapping the high banked track at a pretty good clip - perhaps 130MPH. Unsurprisingly, it sounded like a jet plane accelerating down the runway for takeoff. Very wierd.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Their day may still come (Rover Jet 1):

I doubt it, tho -- it appears we're headed, in the near-future, for electric/diesel (compression ignition)....?

 

[dwhartwell]

Ahh, nope. Thought about that and made sure the pads were not touching the rotor. The other clue is that I noted is that if you mark the tire where the noise is heard, rotate it several times, and the point where the noise is now heard is not where the mark on the tire is.

Thanks for the suggestion though. I appreciate it.

Add to that if I spin the rear tire in neutral, engine off on center stand I also hear a noise that comes and goes with rotation that sounds like something is rubbing. Can't figure out what it is. Can't pinpoint it even using a stethoscope. It is present for about 1/3 of the tire rotation but if you mark a spot on the tire where the noise is happening, the more you rotate the tire, the noise then shifts position on the tire.

If you're up for a fishing expedition to pinpoint this noise, drop the rear brake caliper and do your rotation test.

I'd be willing to bet it's your rear pads touching the disc rotor as you turn the wheel. If so, the noise only occuring 1/3 of the rotation would indicate a slight runout on the disc rotor. Not enough to be a problem unless you notice pulsating through the brake pedal

Simply remove the 2 bolts indicated by the red arrows, drop the caliper away from the disc and spin away...shouldn't be more than a 10 minute experiment.

DON'T press the brake pedal while the caliper is off the rotor!

 

[Bustanut joker]

Ahh, nope. Thought about that and made sure the pads were not touching the rotor. The other clue is that I noted is that if you mark the tire where the noise is heard, rotate it several times, and the point where the noise is now heard is not where the mark on the tire is. Thanks for the suggestion though. I appreciate it.

Seems pretty simple now....

The only thing that's going to effectively change location while rotating is the wheel bearing.

:jester: