sprocket

[jn1972]

i have a 26 tooth front sproket on my 1940 chief ,to get a little more top end would a 23 tooth work ? thanks

[tfburke3]

i have a 26 tooth front sproket on my 1940 chief ,to get a little more top end would a 23 tooth work ? thanks

No,a 23 is stock,bigger trans sprocket gives more speed at same engine rpm.26 is uusually about the limit for a chief.I ran a 27 for a long time but the bike was an 80,lighter than stock,and no chain guard.
Tom

[jn1972]

thanks ,i could not remember ,i just put the bike together and i have some vibration about 50-55 mph .i had the wheels tured and tires mounted at bucannens and the motor and trans have about 200 miles on them.never have ridden a chief before but it has much more vibration than my scout any ideas? thanks jerry

[Yellow53Chief]

Hi,
It is pretty easy to spin your wheels by hand with the bike off of the ground a little. If something is out of round/true, or if a knot in a tire has developed, you should be able to see it. If you spin your rear wheel using the running engine, be careful as there is some danger in doing that. It sounds like your engine is fresh. If the engine was balanced during the rebuild, the way it was balanced could influence how smoothly the engine runs at various speeds. Are you absolutely sure that both cylinders are running well? I have run Chiefs until one or the other cylinder is totally tired (usually valve issues), and when one of the cylinders becomes weak, the engine will seem to be strangely out of balance. Power will, of course, be down. I'm shooting in the dark here - so I may be way off base. If you go faster, does the vibration go away - or get worse? Be careful - something might not be quite right.
As tfburke3 mentions; a 74 inch engine will usually have trouble pulling a 26 tooth sprocket. Changing to the 23 tooth sprocket is a good compromise choice. You will have an easier time taking off from a stop. Please let us know what you find.

[jn1972]

Sprocket

I took the chief for a ride today after work ,the vibration is at 50 mph I pushed it up to 60mph and the vibration seemed to get less,the tires spin easily off the ground.not sure of the alignment of the back wheel to the front wheel.the person that did the motor does a lot of chief motors here in mass so I think the balance should be fine.would the back wheel not tracking to the front wheel give me a vibration only at a certain speed ? Thanks

[Yellow53Chief]

Hi,
I would think that tires that are not tracking would lead to handling problems more than vibration problems - especially when negotiating a curve in the road. A piece of string across both tires will show if there are any tracking problems. The string should be able to hit both tires at two points each. If your front and back tires are different sizes, you have to compensate for the width difference. If your problem is wheels/tires - it won't matter when you change sprockets - the vibration will happen at the same speed. If the vibration problem starts showing up at a lower speed when you change to a smaller sprocket, you can look for a powertrain problem somewhere. Another thing to look for is a rear brake drum sprocket that might have loose or missing rivets. A loose engine sprocket might also give trouble. Is the bike newly acquired? Did the bike have vibrations before the engine was rebuilt? There are other things that can cause problems, but are probably not (hopefully); these are things like a bent frame or one or more broken springs in the rear spring assemblies. A bent frame or broken springs are probably going to show as handling problems rather than vibration problems. Another thing you have to consider - is that you might be chasing a ghost. Chiefs do vibrate some, and differently than a Scout vibrates. One option is to have a trusted Indian rider check out your bike and find out what they think of it. Maybe your vibration is in the range of 'normal'.

[hairynob24]

see if all engine mounts are tight ,one may be lose , Rob

[tfburke3]

Leaf springers are prone to wearing the rocker mount holes on the fork leg oblong and the rocker bushings also wear quickly.Any looseness or out of round or balance in the wheels,loose wheel or brake drum bearings etc could contribute to your problem.ALso important is the steering head bearing adjustment.If you put the front wheel up how much can you wiggle it around?
Tom

[fillibuster]

Leaf springers are prone to wearing the rocker mount holes on the fork leg oblong and the rocker bushings also wear quickly.Any looseness or out of round or balance in the wheels,loose wheel or brake drum bearings etc could contribute to your problem.ALso important is the steering head bearing adjustment.If you put the front wheel up how much can you wiggle it around?
Tom

don't forget to check that rear brake-drum bearing.