Thanks for the input chaps -
Ambergnat, I have the older wee, but changed the front sprocket to an 'one-damped' one, didn't notice any change in noise or vibes! Is it worth checking your chain + rear sprocket (wheel) alignment?
Definitely! - I'll be doing that this week. I
did wonder about hub alignment, having replaced all bearings on the back recently (just after changing the chain/sprockets) the sprocket bearing having eaten half it's cage and using the rest of it to file down the spacer! - and had a discussion with others here (
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=25733 ) about the wheel bearing seating positions and subsequent wheel alignment as I'd put the wheel bearings on in the 'wrong' order (according to Messrs Haynes & co anyway) but had been reassured that it would only be a matter of a mm or less, which shouldn't have made a difference...
However, in my zeal to 'improve' things as much as possible whilst I had the back wheel off the bike I also gave the cush drives the inner tube treatment too (small strips of bicycle inner tube on the outer edge of each cushion - revitalizes the rubbers and effectively extends their lifespan) but the rubbers didn't look that worn and the newly refurbished hub was as tight as a nuns chuff to get back on - and may conceivably be further out of line than I'd realised...so its possible I might have over done it...?
When I changed mine I still had noise, turned out the noise was actually coming from a fecked hub bearing, changed that as well and all was good.
The front sprocket noise started immediately after I'd changed the chain & sprocket and was running on the old sprocket bearing - sans cage, (after 2 hours twisting bits of broken metal out of the damn thing) - I'd only just discovered the damage to it and hadn't had time to order new bits yet (and before I'd actually decided to tighten the hub rubbers) - and I can safely say that was a fraught weeks' riding! - loose bearing balls and a movable inner bearing ring made for a sphincter factor of at least 6.8! but, like you had experienced I'd also assumed that it was the fecked up old bearing making the racket - and got a very unpleasant surprise when it carried on
after replacing all of the bearings....
Soooo - I'm not at all sure of myself at this point.
I'm off for a week, so I plan to do some tinkering and I'll see if I can't get the noise down somehow, as well as wiring in the new tuono mirrors (with led indicators
) and fixing the (newly home made) heated apparel controller which doesn't seem to be behaving properly either...
+1 to Gassoon's statement and also check the chain tension.
Checking that almost daily as I neglected the old chain horribly, didn't oil it for weeks (in winter!), noticed a kink in it - oiled it and it sagged almost immediately, so I tightened it to the correct tension - only to have to repeat it three days later, and again three days after that - at which point I ran out of space to push the wheel back and had to order a new chain/sprocket there & then;most embarrassing!
Definitely need to invest in a chain oiler of some kind... (or make one...
)