So im putting a new drive chain on the old DR200 today. In my many years of owning and maintaining bikes I have somehow managed to avoid ever doing a chain before... so here goes the questions.. The front drive sprocket has some side to side "play" and was wondering if this is normal ?? The bolt is tight and my guess is since the bike only had about 2K on it that the sprocket has never been removed. Sprokets are good. Replacing the chain due to dry rot on the O Rings. before I go taking off the sproket and trying to solve a problem that may not exsist... is this side to side "play" normal ??? thanks in advance
WTF I have literally the same problem with my VFR 750! Tighten the bolt and the drive sprocket can slide laterally along the splines about a millimeter. Can't get a straight answer if this is normal or not. Note that it is NOT the shaft moving in and out of the case -- it is the sprocket sliding ON the shaft, even with the bolt tight.
Hold on a minute. Is it the countershaft that has endplay or the sprocket moving on the countershaft?
Thanks for the replies.. for me its 100% the sproket wiggling a bit.. not much.. just enough to notice that it seemed loose.. but the bolt was tight. New master-link chain on and rode out 50 or so miles.. all is well.. EXCEPT.... 4 bikes with chains... the DR is the ONLY one that "clicks" (chain noise) when I roll it around... it did this before and after the new chain.. not sure what the "clicking" is... its almost like the chain/sprockets mayh not be lined up correctyl.. but the adjusters are matched and tire spins evenly...any ideas???
I bet one of the sprockets is worn like this. My Tuono does this to C/S sprockets so I replace them every 15K miles.
I'm about to do the chain/sprocket swap on my DR, so I'm reading with interest. It seems in this thread, a little slop is acceptable, but that doesn't reconcile with the thread a few doors down. I don't want to end up in this situation.
If the sprocket is sliding on the C/S something isn't right. The C/S on my Tuono has .040" end play but the sprocket is solid. 80K miles and no problems. But you've got something that needs attention.
Thank you all. Just came here to check on my new bike, which has 1800 miles on it and yes, the countershaft sprocket slides left and right on the shaft. Glad to hear it's normal :) Charles.
Yes.......it’s very common for the front sprocket to float on the splines. Often held on witha cir-clip or retainer ring with 2 small bolts.
Possible.........but..........there are literally half billion motorcycles on the road at this moment with the floating sprocket design.
I don’t know that it is such a bad design, the minimal float allows the chain to more easily accommodate small mis-alignment of the rear sprocket, something that is all too common on many bikes.