boneyardbanshee. Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 You dont have to put the bike on a stand to check the bearings. Just grab both tires and roll them in oposite directions. If they are bad you will know it. The axle will move back and forth. If the swingarm moves then they are bad. Only takes a second and I do it before every ride. I have never thrown/broke anything in the rough PA terrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlocal22 Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 blessedwithdeath seems to think that by watching your swingarm and carrier bearings will negate the need for a case saver. he thinks that by neglecting them, you will throw chains.. so i wanna know who here has had a chain break or thrown due to bad bearings, because i think hes a retard and his theory is ridiculous. i feel that bad bearings is far less likely to make you break or throw a chain than any of my other choices.. i threw a chain once due to breaking a front sprocket into 5 pieces... EDIT: i changed it so that you can vote for more than one. it seems several people have had more than one happen. never broke a chain yet but i do have a TM design case saver in case i do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 You dont have to put the bike on a stand to check the bearings. Just grab both tires and roll them in oposite directions. If they are bad you will know it. The axle will move back and forth. If the swingarm moves then they are bad. Only takes a second and I do it before every ride. I have never thrown/broke anything in the rough PA terrain. na man i hate to disagree but you can't be checking the bearings with the quad on the ground. You can get a general idea on the axle bearings, but you can't get a good feel for the swingarm bearings until you raise the rear off the ground. The swingarm can have some play and the chain still won't pop. Its tough to keep swingarm bearings in good shape. Its a bitch of job to replace swingarm bearings, you'd like to use em as long as possible. As long as the chain is not coming off, riding with bearings that are beginning to wear is fine IMO. Does the stock swingarm come with grease fittings for the swingarm bearings ? But I do agree with you about rough terrain and chains. I know it happens but Iv never banged off a rock hard enough to jump the chain. I'v always rode with a swingarm skid plate, but iv taken it off years ago and I'm pretty good at straddling trail obstacles. I hit my big bulky swingarm skid plate more than I have my sprocket and rotor. You lose so much ground clearance with a swingarm skid that it negates any protection advantage the plate give ya. Thats why these new rotor and sprocket guards are selling like hot cakes. They offer the protection without the ground clearance issues a skid plate has. I have ruined a few brake rotors though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Sitting here trying to think about how many times my chain popped because of swingarm bearings and I can only honestly remember it happening to me only twice. But its vivid in my memory because the last time it happened was 3 summers ago on my red 250r. The time befor that was on my Quadracer back in the late 90s. So I'll admit it is a rarity. I would say that I do the average or slightly more than average maintenance on my quads compared to other folk. Not sure how much you guys ride and in what conditions, but I like to stay dry when Im riding so I avoid mud and water, and during the peak riding season, I like to get out a three times during the week and try to get some riding on the weekends. I usually ride during the weekdays tho. When my bearings died on my 250r, I was pissed at myself for riding it. I should have known better But it happens all the time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 I think a bigger chain problem is the fucked up axle carrier design on stock banshees. Especially the older style like I had to deal with. It had four nuts and bolts instead of two long ones. Trying to keep everything tight and straight was a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 more thoughts :biggrin: over the years iv been pretty damn lucky with chains. Iv got a few thrown chain stories, but overall derailing chains have never been much of a problem. Prolly the worst chain experience I have is with my old '88 Banshee and the axle carrier design that quad had. So... yea I should prolly drop out of this conversation because of lack of experience :biggrin: But out of Loco's list, "bad bearings" is the problem that got me the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPEN Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 My chain has poped off beacuse of the following.. When I first got my bike the moron before me didn't put any sort of rear chain slide on the stock extended +6 swinger.. Well after I had it ported from Jeff and started making good power it would toss the chain hitting second hard.. So that was several times that happened.. Once the bolts of the swinger became a bit lose and allowed the carrier to "walk" poped the chain, that sucked because I was at the bottom of a climb. Another time it simply broke, wasnt THAT old of a chain I don't believe probably just cheep. Another time I bounced the rear end HARD off a tree and pitched the chain(again without slider) broke my cases.. Thats when I realized I had to fix that-lol.. Have seen plenty get pitched from sand building up under the chain in nasty ruts and popping them.. Shit its basicly endless as far as ways or reasons.. RIPPEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locogato11283 Posted January 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 well, just like i figured, bearings causing chains to come off is less likely to happen according to the poll.. as far as swingarm pivots is concerned, mine wont ever go bad because i use polyurethane ones that are tough as nails. bearings in the swingarm pivot to me is just a bad idea. and it seems like the banshee uses really short small ones. my 450 uses a longer bearing on each side, which would even the load out more. carrier bearings can and will happen, but i disagree with checking it before every ride. if its gonna happen, they will just go.. not gradually wear down to the point its causing chain issues. i had forgotten i also had a chain pop off due to a rock riding my 450 one time, and also my banshee at a hillclimb. the hill was very rocky and i had come off a jump and landed right on the stupid rock.. sticks may be less likely for most, but people who ride in very wooded areas would probably experience this more. to say that a chain saver is not necessary if you do routine maintenance is one of the most ridiculous statements ive ever heard. no one plans on their chain failing. lubing it before every ride will not keep it from snapping or being thrown. and checking your bearings before every ride does not negate the need for a chain saver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastrthnu Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Ive only ever thrown one, and it was because I put my g-force together wrong and the sprocket shifted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001Stroker Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 Mine is in the "other" category. Didn't realize that my slider mount was bent a little, and it was pushing the chain right off the side of the rear sprocket. Did it to me twice. Now, I'm awaiting some cases to arrive in the mail, because of something so stupid. A free fix, that cost me $175.00. Oh, well. The way that I'm looking at it, I'm just helping boost the economy. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXBlessedWithDeathXx Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 by the reading i see on my monitor the pole says Bad swingarm or carrier bearings is the top cause of a chain popping but seeing we are a few hours away maybe your computers time zome need to catch up. you have a Dell dont you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 the last time i threw a chain, the bolt holding the front sprocket fell out, causing the front sprocket to come off the shaft and the chain got bunched up real bad. My case saver saved my case. When I threw the chain on my red 250R it busted my case save in two pieces and knocked off a small piece of case that didn't cause any leaks or any real damage at all. Case saver saves the day once again. I was 2 miles from home and the chain was wrapped around the sprocket and case so tight I couldn't remove it. So in my heavy riding boots, I walked home to get tools. Fuckin chain poppin bastard. I later found the swingarm bearings were toast, causing the chain to pop. This was with my stock Honda aluminum swingarm, it didnt have a grease fitting for the bearings. I honestly didnt know about the polyurethane ones. I heard of polyurethane A-arm bushings but I'v never seen the swingarm bearing/bushing version. I'd try those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 damn Speedy thats some nasty looking pictures. So your sayin it didnt break the case right away, but it popped off and everything was fine for a split second and then bam, it catches the sprocket and next thing you know your locked up and got a hole in you case. The last time I threw a chain I was on a big long downhill grade, I felt the chain pop and then clunk-bang the bound up chain brings you to a real quick stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiobanshee Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 My brother in laws banshee had the left swingarm bearing worn so bad that whenever the front would come off the ground the quad would shoot left.Had to replace the swingarm because it wore thru the bearing into swingarm and oblonged the hole.Never did throw a chain.The two times I thru a chain,the axel nuts came loose,and I forgot to put the clip on the master link once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locogato11283 Posted January 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 by the reading i see on my monitor the pole says Bad swingarm or carrier bearings is the top cause of a chain popping but seeing we are a few hours away maybe your computers time zome need to catch up. you have a Dell dont you? uhh not quite.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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