[Gonzohead]

Given that I've just noticed when looking at the rear sprocket/chain from the rear of the bike and spinning the wheel by hand, I notice my chain 'wanders' slightly across the face of sprocket. It's only obvious when comparing the gaps between the chain side plate inner edges and the sprocket at different points. Given the bike has only 4000km on the clock I didn't bother to check the sprocket run-out and went with the attitude that 'she'll be right'.

Today I tried aligning my chain with a Motion Pro laser aligner which I just got. Problem I had was that after successfully aligning the chain, I'd tighten the axle nut, spin the rear wheel and bugger me dead the alignment would be a out. What I also noticed was using the laser aligner could result in a 2-3mm difference between the swing arm alignment marks. As it's quite hot here at the moment, and I had to first fix the MP laser aligner (that's another story 🤬), I cracked it and reverted to using the swing arm alignment marks. Though I'm not totally satisfied things are as they should be, and then coming across this thread, I'm gonna check sprocket runout, so to speak.

 

[Flashp]

Given that I've just noticed when looking at the rear sprocket/chain from the rear of the bike and spinning the wheel by hand, I notice my chain 'wanders' slightly across the face of sprocket. It's only obvious when comparing the gaps between the chain side plate inner edges and the sprocket at different points. Given the bike has only 4000km on the clock I didn't bother to check the sprocket run-out and went with the attitude that 'she'll be right'.

Today I tried aligning my chain with a Motion Pro laser aligner which I just got. Problem I had was that after successfully aligning the chain, I'd tighten the axle nut, spin the rear wheel and bugger me dead the alignment would be a out. What I also noticed was using the laser aligner could result in a 2-3mm difference between the swing arm alignment marks. As it's quite hot here at the moment, and I had to first fix the MP laser aligner (that's another story 🤬), I cracked it and reverted to using the swing arm alignment marks. Though I'm not totally satisfied things are as they should be, and then coming across this thread, I'm gonna check sprocket runout, so to speak.

Keep us updated as you go won't you
My dealer asked me to drop the bike in for them to have a look at as soon as restrictions allow, which I'll do.

 

[Gonzohead]

Keep us updated as you go won't you
My dealer asked me to drop the bike in for them to have a look at as soon as restrictions allow, which I'll do.

Yep will do 👍

 

[Gonzohead]

Keep us updated as you go won't you
My dealer asked me to drop the bike in for them to have a look at as soon as restrictions allow, which I'll do.

Unfortunately for me, my rear cog has a similar runout to yours and I can see the wheel bearing seal wiping the face of the axel. So the problem is internal. However, the wheel bearing seal on the other side runs true.
Bit dissapointing given it’s a 2018 model with only 4000k on the clock and hasn’t been abused.
Not sure when I’m gonna get a chance to look at it but I’ll keep you posted. Let me know if you get yours looked at. 👍

 

[mike d]

@gritty

I tend to do things in ways others do not think to.

There are a lot of very smart and experienced riders on this forum. You might want to keep the ego in check.

 

[gritty]

I'd tighten the axle nut, spin the rear wheel and bugger me dead the alignment would be a out.

Other times the chain can tighten as the axle nut is tightened. I had to set one bike chain super loose as I would lose a good 1/2 inch of catenary as I tightened the nut.

 

[gritty]

There are a lot of very smart and experienced riders on this forum. You might want to keep the ego in check.

Quit the opposite. I am a knucklehead a lot of the time. Others will make suggestions after the fact where I think why didn't I do it like that? That is what I mean. Better to say my methods are unorthodox? But that is what I mean by I do things in ways others don't think, oftentimes much to y regret!

 

[Gonzohead]

Keep us updated as you go won't you
My dealer asked me to drop the bike in for them to have a look at as soon as restrictions allow, which I'll do.

Getting straight to the point:
Pulled out the rear wheel, removed the smh (sprocket mounting hub), inspected (looked for odd markings etc) and measured everything that is measurable and to my surprise and somewhat disappointment I found nothing amiss. At this point I suspect that when installed one of the rubber drive dampers snagged and didn’t seat properly. When I do the final reassembley I will put a bit of soapy water on them and lightly tap them home with a soft hammer.

More detail (any ideas / suggestions would be welcomed):
Before removing the wheel I measured the run-out at the dust seal face (measured from the outer sprocket face) and it was exactly 0.5mm (not happy). I referenced the workshop manual diagram to get an idea of the most likely cause as most of my mechanical experience is with cars 😖. My initial thought was the smh bearing wasn’t seated properly. I marked the sprocket at the point where the runout was greatest then removed the wheel. Checked the height of the dust seal protruding from the smh and it was uniform, which I didn’t really expect. I was also expecting a bit of resistance when sliding the axle out, but there wasn’t any. I removed the smh from the wheel, had a squiz, and nothing unusual. I removed the bearing retainer and I could see that the bearing was fully seated. I measured the depth of the bearing in the smh at 3 places and it was sitting square. I tried to take other measurements but rounded edges etc didn’t allow for accurate readings. Nonetheless, I couldn’t identify anything that could cause the 0.50mm runout at the seal face, which was evidenced by the tell-tale mark it left on the bearing retainer.

My attention then turned to the rubber drive dampers. Being rubber, I measured them as the best I could and the maximum variance was only 0.03mm.

After piss-farting around looking and thinking for an hour or so, I placed the dampers back in the smh and one of them snagged and wouldn’t seat properly until I removed it and refitted it. After refitting the smh and tapping it home, I measured the distance between the otter sprocket face to the machined wheel face where the smh slides into and there is a 0.25mm variation between 3 points. So, at this point I‘m thinking and hoping a damper became snagged during the original assembly as I‘m unable to find anything out of place. One last thought - the smh floats on the dampers. The only thing that keeps the smh assembly running true with the wheel/axle is the smh bearing and it’s retainer. So one would think it would overcome a poorly seated damper.

I’ll let you know the outcome when I put it all back together - maybe tomorrow. 👍🏻

 

[Gonzohead]

Others will make suggestions after the fact where I think why didn't I do it like that?

My life story mate... (-:

 

[gritty]

Getting straight to the point:
Pulled out the rear wheel, removed the smh (sprocket mounting hub), inspected (looked for odd markings etc) and measured everything that is measurable and to my surprise and somewhat disappointment I found nothing amiss. At this point I suspect that when installed one of the rubber drive dampers snagged and didn’t seat properly. When I do the final reassembley I will put a bit of soapy water on them and lightly tap them home with a soft hammer.

More detail (any ideas / suggestions would be welcomed):
Before removing the wheel I measured the run-out at the dust seal face (measured from the outer sprocket face) and it was exactly 0.5mm (not happy). I referenced the workshop manual diagram to get an idea of the most likely cause as most of my mechanical experience is with cars 😖. My initial thought was the smh bearing wasn’t seated properly. I marked the sprocket at the point where the runout was greatest then removed the wheel. Checked the height of the dust seal protruding from the smh and it was uniform, which I didn’t really expect. I was also expecting a bit of resistance when sliding the axle out, but there wasn’t any. I removed the smh from the wheel, had a squiz, and nothing unusual. I removed the bearing retainer and I could see that the bearing was fully seated. I measured the depth of the bearing in the smh at 3 places and it was sitting square. I tried to take other measurements but rounded edges etc didn’t allow for accurate readings. Nonetheless, I couldn’t identify anything that could cause the 0.50mm runout at the seal face, which was evidenced by the tell-tale mark it left on the bearing retainer.

My attention then turned to the rubber drive dampers. Being rubber, I measured them as the best I could and the maximum variance was only 0.03mm.

After piss-farting around looking and thinking for an hour or so, I placed the dampers back in the smh and one of them snagged and wouldn’t seat properly until I removed it and refitted it. After refitting the smh and tapping it home, I measured the distance between the otter sprocket face to the machined wheel face where the smh slides into and there is a 0.25mm variation between 3 points. So, at this point I‘m thinking and hoping a damper became snagged during the original assembly as I‘m unable to find anything out of place. One last thought - the smh floats on the dampers. The only thing that keeps the smh assembly running true with the wheel/axle is the smh bearing and it’s retainer. So one would think it would overcome a poorly seated damper.

I’ll let you know the outcome when I put it all back together - maybe tomorrow. 👍🏻

Excellent detail. Thanks.

 

[Flashp]

Getting straight to the point:
Pulled out the rear wheel, removed the smh (sprocket mounting hub), inspected (looked for odd markings etc) and measured everything that is measurable and to my surprise and somewhat disappointment I found nothing amiss. At this point I suspect that when installed one of the rubber drive dampers snagged and didn’t seat properly. When I do the final reassembley I will put a bit of soapy water on them and lightly tap them home with a soft hammer.

More detail (any ideas / suggestions would be welcomed):
Before removing the wheel I measured the run-out at the dust seal face (measured from the outer sprocket face) and it was exactly 0.5mm (not happy). I referenced the workshop manual diagram to get an idea of the most likely cause as most of my mechanical experience is with cars 😖. My initial thought was the smh bearing wasn’t seated properly. I marked the sprocket at the point where the runout was greatest then removed the wheel. Checked the height of the dust seal protruding from the smh and it was uniform, which I didn’t really expect. I was also expecting a bit of resistance when sliding the axle out, but there wasn’t any. I removed the smh from the wheel, had a squiz, and nothing unusual. I removed the bearing retainer and I could see that the bearing was fully seated. I measured the depth of the bearing in the smh at 3 places and it was sitting square. I tried to take other measurements but rounded edges etc didn’t allow for accurate readings. Nonetheless, I couldn’t identify anything that could cause the 0.50mm runout at the seal face, which was evidenced by the tell-tale mark it left on the bearing retainer.

My attention then turned to the rubber drive dampers. Being rubber, I measured them as the best I could and the maximum variance was only 0.03mm.

After piss-farting around looking and thinking for an hour or so, I placed the dampers back in the smh and one of them snagged and wouldn’t seat properly until I removed it and refitted it. After refitting the smh and tapping it home, I measured the distance between the otter sprocket face to the machined wheel face where the smh slides into and there is a 0.25mm variation between 3 points. So, at this point I‘m thinking and hoping a damper became snagged during the original assembly as I‘m unable to find anything out of place. One last thought - the smh floats on the dampers. The only thing that keeps the smh assembly running true with the wheel/axle is the smh bearing and it’s retainer. So one would think it would overcome a poorly seated damper.

I’ll let you know the outcome when I put it all back together - maybe tomorrow. 👍🏻

Great report, thank you. Valuable and informative
I'll look forward to the update

 

[dekker]

I always use talcum powder on my rubbers, less friction, good preservative, cush-drive rubbers that is.

 

[gritty]

I always use talcum powder on my rubbers,

Lubriplate grease on mine. Just enough to refit into the wheel.

 

[Gonzohead]

G’day guys

Got it back together and it appears to be fixed 😁.

I say appears because for some reason the bloody bike won’t start so I could only check by spinning the back wheel by hand. Gee Suzuki did some unbelievably stupid things on this bike. Not being able to remove the chain guard. Placement of the hugger bolts and putting thread locker on them. Access to the rear master cyl looks like an absolute nightmare (It’s a serviceable item!). The other week I had to pull half the bike apart to program a new spare key. That idiot clip they have at the bottom of the LHS front fairing that holds that little front piece on behind the front wheel. Now after removing / refitting the back wheel it won’t start 🤬 What little moronic safety feature have they installed that disables the engine if it thinks the back wheel has been removed? 🤬🤬🤬

It’s a great bike to ride etc but with only 4000km on the clock it’s really beginning to push its luck.

Now that I’ve taken three deep breaths, had a glass of cool water and read a passage from my Little Book of Calm-

Back to the problem (these things have a problem?) The only thing I can put the sprocket runout it to was a cocked drive damper(s). Though I can’t explain why the sprocket hub bearing and bearing retainer didn’t correct it over a short period of time. During reassembly I smeared a very small amount of rubber grease over the sides of the dampers and the contact edges in the sprocket hub. It all slotted together nicely without any persuasion from my hammer (Which I’m ready to take to the rest of the bike!).

Modern vehicles seem to be getting stupider and stupider by the day. Our work van waits till you get to 20-30kph before it alerts you to the fact a door isn’t properly shut! I figure it would be most beneficial to know these things before pulling out into traffic. Not sure why the Kia brains-trust think otherwise.

Rant, rant rant... gonzohead doing what he does best 👍🏻

FYI - I cut a slot in the side bolt holes of the hugger so I can get the thing off by just loosening the bolts. I also cleaned the threads and applied a bit of slippery stuff to the bolts.

 

[Gonzohead]

Hey people, sorry for the negativity above. I’ve got a back problem which is giving me a heap of grief at the moment. Should have left the bike go till I felt a bit better. 😊

 

[Flashp]

Hey people, sorry for the negativity above. I’ve got a back problem which is giving me a heap of grief at the moment. Should have left the bike go till I felt a bit better. 😊

Thanks for the update, and I hope you feel better very soon!

So, in summary, remove back wheel and sprocket mounting hub. Remove cush rubbers and clean these and the pockets they sit it and the sprocket mounting hub engagement points. Apply a little red rubber grease to rubbers and assemble ensuring they sit down fully. Reassemble and refit wheel.

I actually considered the GSX to be a relatively uncomplicated bike by today's standards but I'm not so sure now!
I've yet to deal with that idiot clip on the fairing, I'm due to remove the fairings next week to fit some wiring for satnav. How does it work? Hopefully i won't break it before it becomes clear

Hope you get it started shortly

 

[RAS]

Hey people, sorry for the negativity above. I’ve got a back problem which is giving me a heap of grief at the moment. Should have left the bike go till I felt a bit better. 😊

It is honest and true as I myself don’t understand why Suzuki did what they did.

 

[Gonzohead]

So, in summary, remove back wheel and sprocket mounting hub. Remove cush rubbers and clean these and the pockets they sit it and the sprocket mounting hub engagement points. Apply a little red rubber grease to rubbers and assemble ensuring they sit down fully. Reassemble and refit wheel.

Yeah mate spot on. You’ll realise how tight of a fit these things are when you try to get them out. Compare how much easier to fit them lubed than dry. All it takes is a very fine film around the sides of the rubbers and the mating surfaces in the hub. Too much grease only holds dust and dirt.

Yeah the bike is relatively uncomplicated by today’s standards, it’s just stupid unnecessary little things manufactures do that make simple things difficult and a quick job time consuming. Getting old doesn’t help cause time is something you know you’re running out of 😭

As for that clip - It’s the one that holds that piece just behind the front wheel that joins the LH and RH side fairings together. At the LHS you’re supposed to sort of twist and pull it apart. Didn’t work for me at alI. After reading a passage of my little book of calm (-: I squirmed my way in there with a small flat screw driver and gently pried the clip open then pulled it apart.

I’m thinking that if you have problems with it, leave it connected and just drop the fairing as a whole on to the floor - though that may not give you the unobstructed access that you need.

 

[Gonzohead]

...I myself don’t understand why Suzuki did what they did

It’s not just Suzuki mate, it’s all of them across the board - cars and bikes.

Gave up being a motor mechanic 20 yrs ago cause it was doing my head in.