Thanks in advance for anybody that can help me out with this. My '89 CB-1 is my only vehicle, and so I put a lot of miles on it (over 10,000 miles in the past year). Since I rely on it for daily transportation, I can't just let it sit in a shop for two weeks while they fiddle with it. I know a lot of what it needs already, and am assembling parts so I can just drop it off at the shop with a to-do list and parts, since they're kind of hard to find.
The one thing I can't diagnose, however, is this clackety sound from the drive train, almost like a ratchet wrench but louder. It started after I had the rear tire replaced a few months ago, and it's getting worse. The other day I took the tire off and poked around. It's definitely not the wheel bearings, and depending on how taut I let the chain go, it changes the pitch of the noise. The chain is thousands of miles overdue for replacement, but I know now what to look for in regards to the sprockets.
Any ideas greatly appreciated!
I've actually been debating between doing all this work (brakes, chain, tuneup, carb overhaul, fork seals, and more!) or just selling it and getting something newer with easier to find parts, but I really do love this bike!
Thanks again!
-Jassen
Are all spacers present and correct? You'd likely have worse problems if not, but gotta check.
Could be the sprocket carrier bearing. Grab the rear sprocket and check it for play in the same way you check the rear wheel bearings. Or, take the wheel out and test it by sticking your finger in and turning it. Sometimes they're on their way out and removing and refitting the wheel is enough to finish them off, as the spindle is banged in again.
Is there anything that might be touching the chain itself?
Is the speedo ever erratic? There's a little plastic bit in the drive cover that can break.
But option "a" seems most likely if it started when the tyre was changed last. It's a very easy fix, you can let the shop do it when they do the chain, shouldn't cost you any extra labour as they already have the rear wheel out.
