Do I need to reinstall my front sprockets chain case guard?

You mean the steel plate and chunk of foam? No. That will reduce the bikes weight by 3/4 lb if you leave those off. It doesn't do anything other than protect your foot if the chain should come busting through. Mine have been off a few years.

The steel strip that wraps around the front of the sprocket I would leave on. It might help keep the chain on if it gets flung forward under back torque. I decided to leave that on. Looked like it had some wear on it from what I recall so it's doing something. Definitely keeps grease from flying everywhere.

Mine have been off a few years.

, ggumbs.

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/14/2018 @ 11:30 PM *

Supersprox only had an 18-tooth front in stock when I ordered new sprockets, so I went with it. A low speeds, the chain now rattles against the guard that encircles the sprocket. I may go back to a 17 because it sounds like something is hanging loose when you push it around the garage.

Probably just brushing against that front chain gaurd. The chain is loose with only the bike's weight on the suspension and no centrifugal force on the chain.

Thanks for the advice, what happened was the chain somehow burst and broken the front sprocket cover and bent the chain guard. I wasn’t planning on putting it back on but I eventually ordered one.

Cover was broken into pieces

ouch!

youch!

I would put it back on especially after that.

Were the steel plate and foam armor installed to the inside of the cover? Probably not, huh?

The steel plate and rubber were still there. What happened is I hit a pot hole going up hill and the chain just came off and got wedged between the swingarm and the rear sprocket.

WOW--double whammy! The rear wheel must have flown up allowing the swingarm to open all the way. The chain was under minimum tension. The hard jar knocked the chain over the edge of a couple teeth and the wheel turning spun the chain right over the rest. The chain spools off of the bottom teeth of the engine sprocket, piles up on top of the slave cylinder and bursts out the side of the cover.

Looks like you rolled a couple lemons this time. It could have been much worse if the chain didn't stop in the swing arm. ...and it's possible that steel plate and foam slowed the chain down enough so it couldn't all wind up around the front sprocket and tear the engine open.

The housing on the slave cylinder push rod got chewed up pretty bad too and looks like there is a rubber seal there that is damaged. I'd replace those too. ..and the chain. The sprocket doesn't look worn too much. You might want to check the rear sprocket for warpage incase it was bent by the chain. Also your speed sensor may have been damaged or the wire might have taken a pretty hard tug. The wires in that retainer clip look ok.

I haven't heard of this happening so it was probably really crappy luck or the chain was just too loose. I wouldn't start running the chain tight now although I understand that is probably tempting. You could have the same disaster happen again from going too tight.

You probably know how to adjust a drive chain but to give you an idea of how tight I keep mine you may want to have a look at this.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=6AE7FFEE-D56B-84E2-15072A3BDDB69729&page=1

I hit a monster pot hole last fall too. Fortunately I was going slow and had enough time to stand up and lean back. No damage.