I moved a whole whopping 10 feet when...

[cmyoch]

I got the "honey do's" done for the evening and the kids in bed. There was no rain in the immediate forecast so I thought it would be a great night to take a little jaunt around town and show my bike some love. Pulling out of my driveway and onto the street, the bike make an abrupt halt and wouldn't budge. Apparently a rag that was laying on the garage floor was picked up by my kick stand and then wrapped into the sprocket. After cutting the rag out in the middle of the street, all the while diverting traffic, I managed to free the wheel. I noticed now that my chain had stretched. I'm on the 4th adjuster mark knowing I have plenty of adjustment room left. Is there anything else I need to be checking? Luckily I was not traveling faster than 2 mph when this happened.

My loving wife was surprised to see me back in the house so soon. After explaining what had happened, all she had to say about it was "You have two bikes, why don't you still get your ride in?" God love her, she surprises me sometimes. Unfortunately, my mood had changed after this incident and I knew my head would not be in the game had I continued to go out. It's best to stay in for the night.

 

[Tomterrific]

What a strange way to stop a bike. Now that you have told how the rag got kicked up I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

I hope nothing was bent. The first thing is to loosen and reposition the axle and adjust chain tension. Spin the wheel to check sprocket ecentricity, the chain getting loose and tight as the wheel spins. You may need to loosen and reposition the sprocket.

Tip for all. Check the axle nut torque. It is 108 ft. lbs. Much higher than most folks expect.

Tom

 

[XSLeo]

My bet is that the only thing hurt is the chain.
Put it up on the center stand and spin the wheel. Watch the chain. Does it appear to get loose and tight? They all do to a small amount.
Where the rag got between the sprocket and chain is where the worst of the stretch will have happened.
How old is the chain and sprockets? If fairly new you might just replace the chain and be ok.
Leo

 

[cmyoch]

Thanks for the responses. The chain and sprocket were on the bike when I bought it several years back. Who knows how old they really are. I know when I tore the bike down to rebuild the engine I inspected them and both appeared to be in good condition. These items aren't terribly expensive and I figured last night that I would have to replace them now sooner than later. I'll tighten the chain back up and inspect closely and report back.

I assumed given the short distance at a very low speed the only damage done was stretching the chain. I wiped some road grime off the underside of the bike and laid the rag down not thinking about it because I was anxious to ride. Lesson learned!!