Makes And Models > Energica

Chain Ticking

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Specter:
So my chain, has about 8k on it, was extensively cleaned, and re adjusted (seems to be happening fairly often now) and it has a tick in it.  I can feel it when riding, tick tick tick every time it goes around the front sprocket.

I am aware this is probably a significant wear spot, the chain has a fairly large slop span, it can get tight to the point of barely making minimum clearance of 30 mm to over 50 mm at it's loosest spot when rotating the wheel to look for the loose spot to adjust from.

anyways, the ticking.   Is this something that,
A.  yes aaron chains do that when they get old, it's probably a worn flat / or sticking area but it's still safe to ride for a while, the tick alone is not major

or
B. Yes aaron you molested your chain very well here, you should probably replace it sooner rather than later (permanently)
or
C. This is very dangerous you really need to get that thing off the road now before it lets loose and takes your leg with you.

Is this something that is a really bad thing to be riding on or am I safe for a bit.

I do have a new chain and what I have been doing is, once a month taking the current one off, put different chain on, so i can take the dirty one and givce it a good bath in a soaking bucket and a brush to get it genuinely clean deep down, the lubricating it and putting in a bag to hold until next change out.

im overall looking at my chains about once a week now, or once every 100 miles or so, or if I burn a battery down in under 100 miles (riding really rough, like track day or wot at 8 am on sunday morning for 15 miles straight thing), adjusting if needed, lubing .. quick brush spray and deep clean once a month needed or not.

Given how much dirt and dust is flying everywhere with all the construction, and the gd silt that's in everything now being blown all over, I feel this extra level of chain care is really needed to keep from replacing them every 5 or 6k miles, at 230 dollars a pop :(

Chain ticking - ticking time bomb or reminder to put new one on?

thanks
Aaron

Pard:
How are you swapping chains so often?  New master link/rivet every time?

If my chain was doing anything other than running smoothly, knowing it has been well maintained, I would swap it ASAP.

There could be corrosion hidden in the pin of one of the sealed links that could cause a catastrophic failure.

Treat these machines like aircraft.  You do not want to ever experience a failure.  Change for quality components BEFORE the operational items expire on you.

Specter:
You can fiddle with the spacer and it'll slide off by pushing the wheel all the way forward.  Might be that I have enough stretch in it already to allow me to do that,  this one has been re tensioned several times now.

Im pretty sure the wear is not so much corrosion but erosion by me not cleaning it as often as I should have done so initially due to ignorance.  Originally thought Id be able to get away with 300 to 500 mile increments, then UNDERSTANDING that all the silt all over the roads where we are and with the construction, and hitting water and that shit just coating onto the chain, then drying on, and then getting ground in, is eating them pretty badly.

Picture if you ran your bike around sand dunes all day, not necessarily ON the dunes but in the parking lot, where they could pick up a lot of sand and silt, and that gets into the grease on your chain and you give it a good working thru, what that'd be doing to you.  This is florida and they are building EVERYwhere.  The dump trucks are dropping sand/clay/silt all  over the roads, it rains, the silt just sits there, waiting for tires to grab it up and coat everything.  When it's dry, you can see and feel this shit blowing all over when it's windy, you can feel the silt stinging you.  Now you KNOW that's gotta be getting into your chain grease too! you really can't help that.  Even using that Chain Wax stuff the chain is still a bit sticky.

Im sure high torque accelerations and a few prolonged high speed runs have taken their toll on it as well, but would think the startup is doing more wear to them than a steady state-ish run would.

I just ordered another new one, and some sprockets with different teeth count to play with my other bike on the track to try somethings out, so figured id ask if this one was safe as an emergency spare or if it just needs to goto recycling.  Sounds like it's better off being recycled.

Aaron

EvaMuc:
Had something similar in the first months when i had my Ribelle, a ticking from somewhere in the drivetrain. That tick-tick-tick was changing with speed.

Thought it came from the axial play of the drive shaft and expected the worst (damaged transmission).
At the end it was an uneven lengthened chain, although the chain was just 1500km old and the free play adjusted correctly.
Probably the several hefty accelarations during a track day and a safety training within a few days damaged it permanently.
Got a new chain from the dealer on his own cost as it was still under warranty.
Recommend to get a complete new chain kit.

Best, Jens

Specter:
That's what I ended up doing.
Hmm replacing the chain, another nice Learning Curve.  Real simple right?  umm yah there are plenty of things you can do to booger yourself a bit there.  At least I learned how to take apart the ass end of the bike and put it back together.  My only concern now and it LOOKS like I did it right but not sure I swaged the master link properly. 
It's holding, I am watching it like a hawk but have a feeling on it.  Also not entirely sure I got the wheel totally aligned properly, although I DID use the tool, and it looks /feels pretty well think it might be cocked a bit.   I'll have to clean it, do a fast run up and down the street and look for the dirt mark, that's generally a real good  indication if it's cocked or not.. 
Maybe IM just being paranoid but I don't need a chain flying off at 120 MPH and locking up the rear axle.  Looking at the old chain, although you can't physically really see it, you sure can feel it, there are some real loose sloppy links and some very tight ones. 
The regen is stupid powerful now too, which I do understand, without the slop of a flappy crappy chain, there's a lot better feedback on your tire traction condition and it'll put more oomph to the regen because it don't feel like the tire is slipping... at  least that's my theory.

Aaron

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