chain noise, possible sprocket alignment issue

I finally got everything lined up for my KZ305 belt to chain conversion (my belt broke, cant find a good one at a good price). Today was the big day! I put the sprockets and chain on and everything looked good. I spun the wheel and the front sprocket-chain sound was a bit noisy. On closer examination, the chain is catching a little bit on the front sprocket. When I spin it real slow I see that some (not all) ) links hang up as they enter the sprocket and start to settle into the valley between the teeth, then as tension of the sprocket increases they drop in. Its just a small hangup, and if I stop the chain at that point very gentle pressure from a finger will drop the link in place. The master link has a slightly more pronounced hang when I spin the wheel fast.

I've never had a chain motorcycle so this is all new ground for me. I know its not desirable, but I dont know how bad it is.

Here is a pic of the chain-looks straight, doesnt it?














But a (crappy) closeup shows a bit of a jog to the left as it nears the front sprocket.




I cant actually see the jog when sighting along the top, it looks dead straight though this photo shows it (I hope). I can see it looking along the bottom edge of the chain. Its not extremely pronounced, but its there.

I don't see any way of changing this. The front sprocket is on straight. The rear sprocket is on straight and true, flat against the wheel coupling. The rear wheel is straight. I can adjust the rear wheel to lessen the problem but that starts to misalign the back wheel and we dont want that. So, I'm not sure if this is nothing to worry about, or if this is the end of my chain conversion experiment. I suspect that if someone rode it a while like this that it would soon smooth out with some minor wear, just not sure I want to be the one riding it until I have more confidence that its safe this way. Unfortunately the closest reliable motorcycle service is 30 miles and I have no trailer.

Whadya think?

What size chain are you running? 530? Also how tight is it. You should be able to push up at the bottom on the chain about 1 1/4" .. If adjusted properly I'd try riding it and see what it does.

Yup its a 530. I've got it adjusted to 25-30mm now. It may have been a tiny tad taut in that picture.

I dont know what a new chain on new sprockets should look or sound like. I do know the rear one is quiet and the front one makes a little noise. I'm thinking of riding it a few miles at very low speed (<25) and then rechecking it. I'm not keen on going too fast till I'm sure. There is an auto mechanic about 5 miles away who owns several KZs so he might be able to tell me if I should worry.

Its not real bad, it just seems like that front sprocket could be smoother and quieter. Maybe it will be after a few miles. certainly people have ridden on worse.

measure from the center of axle bolt to center of swingarm pivot bolt on each side to make sure wheel is straight

What pieces did you swap? The entire wheel assembly, hub, rear brake assembly, etc. is the same on both the belt (KZ305-B1) and chain drive (KZ305-A2) '82 KZ305 models. However, the 2 models use different engine sprocket collars and output shafts. Take a look at the parts diagrams on Kawasaki.com and you'll see what I mean. I'm wondering if it's possible that the 2 different engine sprocket collars may be slightly different widths, possibly to accomodate differences in thicknesses of the belt sprocket and chain sprocket, thereby offsetting the engine sprocket a tiny bit. It appears in the diagram that the collar determines the position of the sprocket, but I may be wrong. Hopefully the output shaft isn't the problem. Ed

82KZ305Belt wrote: Yup its a 530. I've got it adjusted to 25-30mm now. It may have been a tiny tad taut in that picture.

I dont know what a new chain on new sprockets should look or sound like. I do know the rear one is quiet and the front one makes a little noise. I'm thinking of riding it a few miles at very low speed (<25) and then rechecking it. I'm not keen on going too fast till I'm sure. There is an auto mechanic about 5 miles away who owns several KZs so he might be able to tell me if I should worry.

Its not real bad, it just seems like that front sprocket could be smoother and quieter. Maybe it will be after a few miles. certainly people have ridden on worse.

is that the chain youre using? looks hammered to me anyway,maybe just the picture doing it :unsure:nice speedos! :sick: :woohoo:

650ed wrote: What pieces did you swap? The entire wheel assembly, hub, rear brake assembly, etc. is the same on both the belt (KZ305-B1) and chain drive (KZ305-A2) '82 KZ305 models. However, the 2 models use different engine sprocket collars and output shafts. Take a look at the parts diagrams on Kawasaki.com and you'll see what I mean. I'm wondering if it's possible that the 2 different engine sprocket collars may be slightly different widths, possibly to accomodate differences in thicknesses of the belt sprocket and chain sprocket, thereby offsetting the engine sprocket a tiny bit. It appears in the diagram that the collar determines the position of the sprocket, but I may be wrong. Hopefully the output shaft isn't the problem. Ed

Yeah, I knew from the start (or early on) the output shaft was the possible glitch. I put a 1980 KZ440 front sprocket on and fastened it with a KZ440 splined lock washer. I put a rear sprocket onto the rear coupling where the pulley had been, like you say everything is the same back there.

I see now that the output collar is also different-one is 92027-1322 and one is -1302. I didnt notice that before. So that may be the problem. Question is, is there a solution? I'm not changing the output shaft, I know that...does that collar mount from the inside or outside? I cant tell from the diagrams.

wireman wrote:

82KZ305Belt wrote:

is that the chain youre using? looks hammered to me anyway,maybe just the picture doing it :unsure:nice speedos! :sick: :woohoo:

Thats my example of "worse than mine", lol. I dont think you can beat that for bad, lol.

I've determined that the collar should come off, though I am not sure what comes next do if I get it off. The collar from an 82KZ 305 chain drive went on a different output shaft, so it may not be the answer, and there dont seem to be any available out there. Its clear that my chain is riding the inside of the front sprocket, so if I can move that sprocket inward a shade it should improve.

My collar is a pretty widely used one, so I should be able to replace it if I ever have to revert to belt. I wonder if I can have a machine shop shave a couple mm off and make it work? Any better ideas?

I found a NOS collar for the chain drive model, part number 92027-1322. It's located in the Netherlands (no joke). I couldn't find one anyplace in the USA. Here's the link. Ed


www.cmsnl.com/searchparts_other.php?s_pr...t=92027-1322&make=KA

Wow, Netherlands...this may take a while. Thanks

I could probably find a used one but a shop I just called said they are often no good once they are taken off, and it sounds like they can be a real PIA to get off. Esp since I dont have a slide hammer. Agggg, %$#@, I'm so close!

Are you working on your bike in a ****ing speedo? LOL

Can you play with the axle spacers and move the hub to the right?