Chain suddenly rubbing rear tire

[themess]

Please post a few photos.

[OldVet66]

Also the clearance on the right side of the tire with the frame is minimal (less than an inch) so I don't think that its somehow just out of alignment otherwise the other side would have more clearance.

The chain is touching the tire at rest no matter the position of the wheel.

If the spacers are installed correctly, the tire should be dead center in the swing arm. If it is not, your chain and sprockets are probably already toast. If the tire is too big, and worked before something still had to move to cause this. Chewed up bearings in the swing arm could conceivably cause something like this but you would be able to get play from side to side with the bike on the center stand. Whatever it is it is a very dangerous situation and should be off the road until you figure it out.

[sam000lee]

The tire on the bike is 130/90 - 16. So thats a little bigger than pete's right? Maybe this was happening all along and it took me a couple weeks to notice?

The wheel appears to be centered, there is no play with the swingarm, and the chain (which is new as of february) and rear sprocket both are in good condition.

Heres some pictures that I hope are not too dark:

Clearance of chain with tire:


The chain:


The Sprocket:


Right side clearance with swingarm:


Left side clearance with swingarm:

[ptexotik]

Too much rubber! (like what she said!)

[pete]

Yep, should be a 120 on there max...

[greg78gs750]

tire pressure? too big a tire installed?

there ya go.

[Jocalopse]

tires too, low pressure will cause the tire to go flat, but only on the bottom. To big of a tire size sounds like the culprit. also never trust the chain adjustment marks, especially on an older bike, always eyeball it real good, us a tape measure if you;re not comfortable eyeballing it. By the way is that a studded leather belt holding your exhaust on, must smell like roasting hide when it gets warmed up.

[sam000lee]

Haha the leather is for aesthetic purposes only - thanks all!

[themess]

Can someone with a GS450L do the following?

> Measure the closest separation between the tire and the chain.
> Measure the distance between the tire and each side of the swing arm.

This should be done with the tire fully inflated and the bike on the centerstand, for reference purposes. (Do GS450Ls have center stands?)

It seems to me that going one tire size wider should not be enough to make the tire interfere with the chain to this extent.

SamOOOlee: It seems to me quite possible that the previous owner had the rear tire replaced, but that the wheel was not correctly installed in the motorcycle. Several spacers and washers are involved. To get an idea of what is in there, go to Alpha Sports, and look up the parts fiche (exploded diagram of every part) for 1981 GS450L. Lots of washers and spacers.

Possible errors:
Switching parts between left and right side of wheel
Omitting a washer on one side.
Losing a washer or spacer and substituting an incorrect part.

It is also possible that the swing arm has been damaged.

[earlfor]

(Do GS450Ls have center stands?)

Yes, my 81 450L did.