Chain noise

[Oskar]

Hi all! New to forum and riding a -21 MT 07. 

Great bike overall but there is one (big) downfall for me and a few other people I think. It's the noise from the chain, especially from the front sprocket area. I honestly thought something was broken or poorly installed. Had it checked by two different Yamaha dealers and both said that the sound is normal. But still I wasn't pleased so took it to another bike mechanic and paid for a search. He went through it all, checked for wheel misalignment, sprocket misalignment, countershaft, sprocket nuts, re tensioned the chain, cleaned and lubed it - the lot. But nothing. So it all comes down to the actual chain, it's noisy and it's bothering me quite a lot. Maybe or probably more than other people. So question is, has anyone changed the chain or the whole drive package with a better (quieter) outcome?  Any vice input is highly appreciated. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by Oskar

[Oskar]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qctJp1CXGshF2jCS8

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vbksDbaucirpJNLD9

[Triple Jim]

I hear mine a little, especially if I don't have my left leg tucked in to the tank.  When it starts to get louder I lube the chain and it's less obvious.  It's not unique to this motorcycle though.  I think part of the reason we're noticing it is that the engine and exhaust are so quiet.  Another reason may be the large amount of slack specified in the manual.

[M. Hausknecht]

There are 520 conversion kits 

Driven 520 Chain and Sprocket Kit Yamaha FZ-07 / MT-07 2015-2020

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Purchase the Driven 520 Chain and Sprocket Kit Yamaha FZ-07 / MT-07 2015-2020 from SportbikeTrackGear.com Get the lowest...

(this is just an example) but I don't know that the drivetrain is any quieter. My 07 is track only, so all I hear is motor noise and wind noise.

[Oskar]

39 minutes ago, Triple Jim said:

I hear mine a little, especially if I don't have my left leg tucked in to the tank.  When it starts to get louder I lube the chain and it's less obvious.  It's not unique to this motorcycle though.  I think part of the reason we're noticing it is that the engine and exhaust are so quiet.  Another reason may be the large amount of slack specified in the manual.

I recognize this, spread my left leg out and literally my ear is hurt by chain noise. My best investment so far is a pair of race design in ear plugs, with them the ride is amazing. Although a new exhaust has been ordered and will be installed asap. Hope this will improve the feel of the bike and take away some of the noise. 

[Triple Jim]

3 minutes ago, Oskar said:

I recognize this, spread my left leg out and literally my ear is hurt by chain noise. My best investment so far is a pair of race design in ear plugs, with them the ride is amazing.

I always wear earplugs.  Even riding a silent motorcycle would cause more wind noise than I want to expose my ears to.  I've tried several types including custom molded ones, but my favorite is the inexpensive ones you squeeze down, put in, and they expand to fit.  They're so comfortable that I sometimes forget to take them out.

[GoldenMT07]

Thanks for asking the question @Oskar I hear the same chain noise on my 2021 and was planning to take my bike to the Yamaha dealer. Good to know that this is normal. 

[Gogo]

I have a 2021 MT-07 and the chain noise is very noticeable.  It came from the dealer super loose (I missed that on inspection) so I tightened it up to spec and it's still very noisy.  I was out riding with my buddy who has an XSR700 and I noticed his chain is also very noisy, so my assumption at this point is that it's just a natural thing with these bikes.  I plan on putting an exhaust on so hopefully the added noise drowns it out a bit.

[shinyribs]

There's been lots of talk about chain noise on these bikes. I think we've all asked about it at one point or another. I don't know why it seems more prominent than every other bike I've owned/ridden, but my chain on this bike had outlived every chain before. Whatever is going on, it's apparently not hurtful to anything.

That said, some bikes have had distorted chain guides which caused even more, unusual chain noise. Trimming the central rib seemed to fix mine. There's a thread with pictures on this forum somewhere. Just something to think about.

[Nealsmo]

My buddy's MT09 is also very loud.  I've never noticed it on my bike, but his is very noisy when I ride near him.

Guess it's a Yamaha thing

[ElGonzales]

The chain guide may be distorted, it can move around ( I taped it to the swingarm in perfect alignment of rib and chain)...and then the swingarm is hollow like the body of a classic guitar. Maybe not so good acoustically.

[seven]

Please correct me if I am wrong, the stock front sprocket has a rubber damper on it to help lessen the chain noise right (at least on the 2020 and older models)? Not sure if the 2021 is any different. But from what I saw with doing a 520 conversion is that most (all?) 520 sprockets do not have the damper and I thought people talked about the chain noise being even worse.

I can't say I recall a lot of chain noise though. I now wear ear plugs all the time but I do recall that I was surprised at how much engine noise I heard until I remembered I was sitting right on the engine so no real difference to sticking my head under the hood of a car.