What Are These Mysterious Things?

[Ebayru]

I removed the clutch actuator and sprocket cover on my 1974 GT550 and a number of these "things" fell on the floor. They were all about the same size, about 5 mm by 2.5 mm. They are not metallic and can be broken with a fingernail. They are a very dark green. I found some in the area of the gear indicator switch also.

Everything on the bike is working perfectly including the gear indicator. Nothing sounds unusual. It almost looks like something that was extruded from a tube and broken off at the 5 mm length. They closely match the length of the rollers on the chain, but I can't see how the chain could have formed them.

This is like the weekly puzzler from "Car Talk" on NPR. The only problem is that I don't know the correct answer.

I'd appreciate any ideas about what these are.

Thanks!

[Cliff]

When was the last time you had that cover off?
What chain lube are you using? It looks thick!
The two cables at the bottom of the pic are the alternator and starter wiring.
I wonder if those Mysterious Things in the pic are a mixture of chain lube and dirt. As the lube gets thrown off the chain, it builds up between those two cables. Vibrations from the motor may make that mixture roll around on the sheathing, forming a roll of crud, which over time breaks off into the shorter lengths.
Sound possible??

[Ebayru]

Hi Cliff,

Thanks for your reply!

I, also, was thinking that the "things" were a mixture of oil and dirt. I just can't figure out how they would form into the cylindrical shape of such a consistent diameter. Your hypothesis is good. It would have been nice if there was one "in progress" on the wire looms, but I didn't notice one. I also noticed the the last picture, there was another "thing" under the switch which the flash revealed. This morning I noticed a few more resting on the side stand bracket.

I last had the cover off a few years ago when I was getting the bike running after finding it in a junk yard. I changed the push rod seal at that time. Come to think of it, I may have had it off some time later when I was tracing out the shift indicator circuit, to see why it wasn't working properly, sometime before I came up with the inexpensive replacement that I posted. I didn't notice the "mystery things" at that time. I think I would have, if they were there because they were very obvious to me yesterday when I removed the cover.

I'm using Bel-Ray chain lube, but the chain is obviously in need of cleaning. It's the original chain and, actually, hasn't worn much as there is a lot of adjustment left. I was planning on changing to an o-ring chain and a 17T sprocket. That's why I took the cover off. Now, I'm thinking I'll just try the 17T sprocket for now before I break the chain. I need to buy a chain break, anyway.

Shel

[advant63]

it's a long shot but it looks like pet rodent food pellets. maybe stored by a mouse?

[Ebayru]

advant63,

Good thought. At first I thought mouse poop, but it wasn't the right shape.

When I haven't used a car in a while, I've found dog food stored in the engine compartment on the ledge in front of the windshield. We don't have any pet rodents so we don't have food pellets. I live in the mountains of North Carolina and we're not close to the next house and I know our neighbors don't have pet rodents.

I don't know if I'll ever find out for sure what those things are. I didn't keep them. I changed the chain to a new o-ring chain and also changed the sprocket to 17T. My GT has so much bottom end that I thought I'd take advantage of that in order to have lower rpm on the highway. I haven't been on the road with it yet other than the 1/4 mile to our mailbox. Actually, I forgot I had changed the sprocket because I didn't notice any difference, even coming up a reasonably steep section of the driveway.

I'll be looking for those "things" the next time I have the sprocket cover off.

Shel