Clanking grinding noise solved

[06 Greyhound]

I noticed this just the other day and I'm stumped.
There is an odd clunking noise like gears not meshing.  It happens when I start moving, not when I put the bike in gear.  Just when I let the clutch out, and only in first gear. The other gears all seem smooth, and power delivery is normal.

I am wondering if it's a clutch adjustment issue or a worn chain. I have 26000 on the bike, and am very religious about oil changes and keeping the chain lubed. I had a new tire mounted two weeks ago and they did a quick once over and mentioned nothing, beyond adjusting the chain, which they did, and that seems fine.

[Red01]

With 26k (km or miles), my first suspect would be the chain.

The 1200/1250's have a hyd clutch, so no adjustment.

[06 Greyhound]

With 26k (km or miles), my first suspect would be the chain.

The 1200/1250's have a hyd clutch, so no adjustment.

I'm starting to think chain as well.  I noticed that I can reduce the noise if I apply the power carefully on start up.  And yes it is a hyd clutch so nothing much to fool with there.

[speedwaymaniac]

I had exactly the same noise on my B6 only a few months ago. Replaced the drive chain and true to form the weird noise stopped.

I came to the conclusion that it was the chain a. By mileage and b. Tried to pull the chain off the rear of the wheel sprocket which it very nearly done. This is a sure sign that your chain is well past its use by date and needs replacing.

[06 Greyhound]

Yes I agree,  I adjusted the chain and I'm at the end. one more turn of the screw and the bolts fall out. 

I see a new 530 in my future.  yipeee 

[06 Greyhound]

 I had the chain replaced today and following a series of mishaps I finished up a front sprocket one cog smaller than stock.

SWEET    I like it.     

[jeffw]

Don't see anything indicating what bike, but if it is a Gen 2 or more, the speedometer is going to be WAY off.  You may need a speedo healer to fix that, but you will LOVE the acceleration improvement.

[06 Greyhound]

Yes I do love the change to the bike --- but I didn't realize there could be a problem with the speedo.  I have an 06 1200 with abs,  and I really don't need a ticket. 

Is there something that will correct the a problem if there is one.

I will contact the dealer and see what they say this morning. 
 

[mademiriam]

the problem with your speedo is it now is even more 'optimistic' if you will, it will read faster than you are actually going. You can either figure out what the 'real' speed is at any given speed, or as mentioned get a speedo healer (http://www.healtech-electronics.com/ annoying site but thats who makes them) pricey but it works some of the guys do it to stock bikes because the slight variance from reality bothers them.
I run 1 tooth down in the front and 2 up in the back...can't tell you how far out my speedo is as I don't have the stocker anymore. But for me personally I won't go back to the stock setup. Too much fun  .
Use this site http://www.gearingcommander.com/ it can show the changes in gearing a draw a graph for the speed/rpm with some different set ups. One down in the front certainly shouldn't be a huge change, considering they thought making the speedo accurate within +/- 5mph was ok from the factory.

[06 Greyhound]

I set up my GPS and will take it for a ride tomorrow night and see what happens 

[06 Greyhound]

I took my gps for a ride today and found that my speedo is about 20 percent out.

I don't know how far off it might have been prior to the gear change but it is way out now.  118 seems to be 100 on the gps.   Now I'm wondering what to, replace the gears with the standard or buy the healer.   

 

[jeffw]

Just remember, if you go back to the stock front sprocket, your speedo will still be between 7-10 percent off.  Pretty typical for most motorcycles, they make the odometer dead on, and the speedo optimistic.

[Red01]

I was pretty impressed with my new Connie's speedo... 140 mph indicated was 135 mph on the GPS, only ~4% error.

[06 Greyhound]

I am starting to think that the healer is the best option.  I'm so far off now that I could be charged with blocking traffic.