[net.cycle] KAWA chain problems

johnw (07/23/82)

Reading the article about the CSR 750 reminds me of a similar
problem that I had about a year ago with a KZ750(4) Mod. E2.
  At about 4000 RPM the CV carbs are right on the verge of
crossing between the midrange jets and the high speed jets,
this caused an extremely annoying "flat spot", it actually
felt like the bike was out fuel, ran fine @3800, or @4200revs.
This could be part of your problem. Hopefully not.
  A good thing to check for your situation is the type of 
chain that you are using, if it is of the "O-ring" version as
most KAW's come with nowdays, immediately suspect it, these
units display some degree of lateral tensioning because of
the added friction of the O-rings, thus making it harder to
straighten out the chain after making it through the sprockets.
As is well indicated by chain temperature after riding.
Of course by now you probobly have applied some commercial 
version of "super glue" lubricant to your chain such as "chain
kote" or some other high viscosity type oil, unfortunately 
the compounds used in these lubricants do not really "loosen
up" until the chain becomes rather hot, possibly compounding
your problem.
 For starters you should check for broken motor mounts which
could cause possible misalignment of the sprockets, then
take off the rear wheel and see what type of shape your "cush
drive" rubber pucks are in, they should be semi-soft, yet
not have any cracks in them. If all else fails then
for the cost of ~$40.00 - 100.00 you should be able to solve
your problem, start with a TSUBAKI (nothing else) #530 chain,
don't bother with another O-ring chain, I have had these chains
last over 10000 miles, of which many were put on at a standstill,
if this still does not clean things up a bit then head for
the big bucks, nylon sprockets, yes they do last, as well as
asorb some of the "slack" in the drive chain.  If you run out
of ideas after this point, try a chain tensioner off of something
like a  RM 465X dirt bike, about 25.00, works great on my moto
bike, with about an inch of chain slack.

If all else fails, buy a shaft drive bike with the optional training
wheels for when you try to "gas it" on the way out of a sweeper.

				ihps3!ihldt!johnw
				ihuxt!johnw
				J. P. Wrycza