Rubbing noises

[mykat]

If I have the bike up on the centerstand, should the rear wheel spin freely?

Today I was riding, and I noticed that if I had the clutch in or was in neutral, I got a periodic grinding noise that I could feel in my foot, the period was long enough that I suspect it is something with the chain.

I lifted the bike up and slowly let the engine spin the rear wheel, and the chain is bouncing up and down and the whole bike is jerking. Also, with the bike on the centerstand, the chain rides on a rubber piece on the swingarm, not sure if it should.

I recently tightened the chain, there is a bout an inch of play in it, and I noticed there was no more lag when I opened the throttle, so I don't think the chain is too loose. There however more room to adjust it if I needed to.

[tankerfarmboy]

When you have your bike sitting on the center stand yes the wheel should spin freely. When the bike is running in neutral the wheel may spin because of the friction of the clutch plates and the viscosity of the oil.

If I were you I would first check that the rear axle is tightened evenly on both sides, then I would put the bike up on the center stand and spin the rear wheel while watching the chain to make sure that it does not have a slight kink to it which will cause it to grind a little and make it jump when it goes around the sprocket.

[paul.miner]

Rear brake dragging?

[mykat]

I don't think its the rear brake, the sound doesn't happen frequently enough. It seems to happen about once every chain rotation.

I checked for kinks, didn't see any. I'll try cleaning and lubing it, see if it helps.

[bob393]

A break caliper hanging up would be my first guess. I suppose the rubber shock blocks in the hub rear could be making a slight noise when you rotate the wheel though I have never heard it myself. The chain seems a tad loose but should be OK but you may want to take up another quarter of an inch or so because if my memory serves me the chain is tightest when the swing arm is all the way down like it is when it's on the center stand and the swing arm rub block is there for the chain to rub on when the rear shock is compressed and the chain is loose. It should not rub when the wheel is all the way down.

O crap I just saw the date of this post and I'm to lazy to hit the delete button!

[mykat]

I posted this yesterday!

And thanks. I'm going to clean and lube the chain in an hour or so.