Grinding/rubbing noise/chain sprocket weirdness

[upsguy]

Hi folks,

My chain had loosened up and was clanging off the center stand at low speed, so today I finally got around to tightening it up.  The clanging obviously stopped but there is a pulsing rubbing/grinding noise that sounds almost like a car's break pads rubbing on warped rusted rotors (but obviously isn't) and it seems to be getting worse in the 2 rides I took today.  The noise is audible whenever the bike is moving & engine noise is low and has nothing to do with braking.  (If you pull in the clutch or turn off the key while driving to make the bike quiet, you can hear it.

So just now I decided to buy a new chain, chain breaker/press kit and new sprockets but before placing the order figured I better go open up the sprocket case and inspect things.  The chain definitely is old, doesn't move great & needs to be replaced and the sprockets show some signs of wear so I'm going to replace them too, but inside the case, in addition to all the gunk, I found a small broken metal sleeve of some kind & a small metal ring (see the photos).  I also noticed the clutch push rod to the left of the front sprocket pulled right out easily and seemed almost loose.

Soooo, my questions are:
1) Is it likely putting on a new chain & sprockets will get rid of the pulsing metallic rubbing noise? 

2) Is the clutch push rod supposed to be easily pulled right out?

3) Any idea what the small metal pieces are that I found mixed in with the junk?  I know they can be from pretty much anywhere as the chain would deposit any junk that falls onto it into that case area.

Thanks,
Jay
Here are the pictures:
https://ibb.co/3Yxr22B
https://ibb.co/R6t7TTb

Edit: I just went out and looked at the marks on each side of the axle and sure enough while I made the same number of turns on each side, on one side it's totally off the gauge and on the other it's at the very end of the gauge so I'm guessing the rubbing is probably because the sides aren't aligned and I definitely need a new chain since to have it at a decent tightness it's so far back.

[HPP8140]

1) Umm...probably the drive chain is rusty bad shape

2) yes

3) looks like shift shaft oil seal

[upsguy]

Thanks for the response.  Since the inside of the case is bone dry I'm thinking the shift shaft seal is probably okay?

[Bluesmudge]

The other thing next to the seal looks like part of a chain roller. Have you inspected your chain to see if one is missing? That could be contributing to the noise. 

[HPP8140]

Thanks for the response.  Since the inside of the case is bone dry I'm thinking the shift shaft seal is probably okay?

Not sure, take a look and see if you see the rubber seal.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=64074.msg762252#msg762252

[upsguy]

Not sure, take a look and see if you see the rubber seal.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=64074.msg762252#msg762252

Thanks for the link and pictures.  I opened my case again and it's all caked with dried on gunk but I could see/feel that it's intact under the dirt.  Thanks for having me check that though.

I'm guessing that when my new chain & sprockets arrive in about 6 days I'll find that the issue was primarily the chain.  I put my bike up on the center stand just now and turned the tire around a few times in neutral and it moves pretty freely most of the way around but appears to rub/bind at one spot in the revolution where I'm assuming the chain is stuck or bent somehow and is rubbing on the front sprocket.

[upsguy]

Just folllowing up on this thread in case anyone comes across it in the future. 
I've replaced the front & rear sprocket, rear tire and chain and everything is quiet and smooth.  The noise was a combination of an old chain in need of replacement and the rear wheel being out of alignment. 
For those coming across this thread, in the past when I had adjusted my chain tightness I had followed a video which said to just do the same number of turns on each side until the appropriate tension.  What the video didn't say is that each side has alignment marks at the rear axle to make sure both sides are even.  The other thing that many of these chain adjustment videos don't tell you is that on our bike the axle will move decently on the left side, but not the right because the axle goes through the brake caliper & the arm that it's on, so you often have to loosen up that arm in order for the axle to move forward evenly on both sides.  I found that even with that arm fully loosened I still had to fight to get the right side to move forward (I ended up having to smack the right end of the axle with a mallet which is not recommended).

The new chain I bought feels great, but it was a complete nightmare.  After not finding a consensus about what type of chain is best I bought one that came with two different master link styles.  An O-ring rivet style and a clip style.  I started off all gung-ho and bought a chain breaker/press/riveter kit.  I went to break the old chain with my fancy new chain breaker and the chain breaker pin actually broke in half even though it was centered on the chain's pin like it was supposed to be.  I even used a grinder to grind off the head first to make it easier for the tool.  I ended up saying screw it at that point and used the grinder to just cut the chain in half.
Next, I watched a video about how to use the chain tool because it came with no instructions of any kind.  Again the video gave bad information and said when pressing the press plate onto the master link to tighten it as tight as you can during that first press plate phase.  This is nonsense.  You CAN overtighten the press plate contrary to what the video said and...I did.  The press plate was so tight it made it so the master link would barely move.  I drove to the tool store and bought a second chain breaker...this one was cheaper and was just a breaker but enabled me to get that now ruined master link off the new chain.  I then was about to reluctantly order a new chain but instead decided to research the clip master link.  I felt less secure about it as I was worried about the clip coming off or failing.  I found that clips aren't recommended on high power/torque bikes, but on our little 50HP bikes many many people have run clip master links for years with no issues at all.  That made me feel safe enough to give it a shot and I couldn't believe how fast and easy the clip master link was to install.
The last tip I'll give is if you're going to remove the rear wheel like I did to replace my rear tire & sprockets, put the bike up on the center stand, but put it down on the side stand once you're ready to do the final chain tension adjustment as it's totally different when it's up on the center stand.  Replacing your sprockets is super fast, easy and inexpensive and just makes sense to do when you're replacing the chain.