Bike acting weird

[Dom]

So I hung out with davipu this weekend and installed the 2003 gsxr rear shock.  It rides great as far as I can tell but my front fork seals are in such poor condition that I am not ready to give a review.

Anyway I ended up taking off from dav's place after dark and in the pouring rain.  After about a 1/2 hour of driving in 4th and 5th gears I discovered that my chain was too tight, like banjo tight, but didn't feel the effects of it until I tried 6th gear.  Well I was too far to ride back to dav's so I took backroads into Portland instead of the freeway.  I guess that when I checked the chain tension it was before I sat on it and threw the saddlebags on...big mistake.

The next morning I readjusted the chain but it was still acting weird.  When I get into 6th gear the fuel flow feels like it's starved, air bubbles or something.  I'll get up to around 6000 rpms and it will lug for almost 2-3 seconds and it's all hurky jerky.  I used to have a minor flat spot at 6250 but it was an instantaneous blip.  Now it's highly exaggerated and last all the way from 6000 to 7000, with intermittent blipping on either end, around 5500 and 7500.  If I ride anywhere outside this range it runs great.

Ok so some of you know that I have K&N pods.  They might have gotten wet.  But I let the bike sit overnight and in the morning it was dry outside and I still experienced the same troubles.  I also pulled the tank off and checked to see if I had pinched any hoses putting the tank back on.  Is it possible that the carbs were damaged by the water and wouldn't it have dried out over night?

I think I'll try to drain the float bowls and see if that helps.  Also when I put my #40 pilots in I'll give the carbs a good look over and resynch...otherwise I am afraid my valves my have suddenly gone to hell...which I feel would be less likely...but hey, you never know.

To summarize; my bike runs like crap and that's sad.  Up until now it ran virtually perfect.

[scratch]

And you shimmed the needles? It sounds like it's lean and it's hesitating exactly around where the needle controls fuel in the rpm band.

Chain tension is supposed to be checked with the bike on the sidestand, without rider (but maybe with load or saddlebags).

[cheesy]

And you shimmed the needles? It sounds like it's lean and it's hesitating exactly around where the needle controls fuel in the rpm band.

Chain tension is supposed to be checked with the bike on the sidestand, without rider (but maybe with load or saddlebags).

how exactly tight should the chain be

[Dom]

Yeah, it might be lean.  The shock is touching my pods and might be bending the intake boot up and a little air might be seeping in.

[scratch]

how exactly tight should the chain be

.8 to 1.2 inches, err to the loose side, and check in at least three spots, if not the whole chain, and adjust the tightest spot til it is between .8 and 1.2 inches.

[mjm]

[/quote]how exactly tight should the chain be[/quote]

The chain should be just tight enough to have "some" slack when it is at the tightest position.  That will be when (approximately) a line connecting  the center of the rear axle, the center of the swingarm pivot and the center of the front sprocket.  The Suzuki directions for setting chain tension assume a stock shock length and a fudge factor for the pre-load.  Your new, longer shock threw everything off.  

When I installed a GSXR shock (one of the earlier, shorter ones) I had the same problem at first.  Setting slack according to the manual left it too tight.  So, I got some good rachet tie-downs and, with the bike on the center stand,  cinched the back of the bike up to that point to set my tension the first time.  Then I took off the straps and put it on the sidestand.  I measured the slack and decided that was the right amount of slack for my bike.  Seems to have worked since then.