Rattly drive chain when on stand and in gear

[Friar]

Hi all,


I've had my FZS600 since last summer and put it to bed for the winter in late Oct due to the weather and a slow leak in the rear tyre.


I brought it out of the shed last week to get it ready for riding again, and to pump the tyre up so I can ride the 3 miles to get the tyre changed, and had it on the centre stand.


I figured I'd see how things faired by putting it into gear and making sure it was running smoothly but as I start to release the clutch and the gear engages the drive chain (I think that's the name. The chain that links the engine to the rear wheel at any rate) starts to slap around something silly - even once the gear is fully engaged.
I didn't want to leave it running in gear with this happening so pulled in the clutch and turned the bike off. I tried again after letting the engine warm up for a few minutes in case it was a cold engine thing but this didn't improve things. I haven't taken the bike on the road since this.


I thought it might be incorrect chain tension, but I haven't made any adjustments to the position of the rear wheel since owning the bike.


Is this something that is normal for the FZS600 and am I concerned about nothing, or is this something I should be looking further into?


I took a video to demo what I mean.


Any help would be really appreciated!


https://youtu.be/LyelcxZPwSI

[Frosties]

Hiya fella, that chain movement is genuinely nothing to worry about - they all do that sir  .


It's caused by the chain effectively running without any resistance....if you hunt through youtube/google you'll find videos of other bikes doing far worse but are still perfectly ok. Even GP bikes do this when they throttle off.


Stop worrying and go and and enjoy the bike before we all start posting up similar vids.


Good to be cautious though fella  [size=78%]  [/size]

[mtread]

Yep, on the stand the chain isn't under tension, so it will flap about. Try not to change into second!


If with the engine off the middle of the chain can be moved up and down within the specified limit, then it's good to go.


Good luck with the tyre.

[darrsi]

Totally normal, the wheel gets momentum but the chain stops it moving forward resulting in chain slap.
If you SLIGHTLY give it a bit of throttle the engine will then pull the wheel and it will work fine.

[Friar]

Fantastic. Thanks to all three of you for the prompt replies and putting my mind at ease!


Looks like all I've left to do is get the tyre sorted out ASAP
 

[celticbiker]

You haven't mentioned lubing this chain.
Have you done that yet?

[fazersharp]

Oh great - thanks for that. I have now wasted 10 mins of my life watching a cat stalk a snake which was the next vid that came up.
 Clean your bike and lube you chain