Chain Tension/tightness?

[pitmaster]

Hi,

only had my bike for a day, and my chain is fairly tight (not much slack chain hanging)

ive been looking through the galleries and am noticing alot of the bikes look to have heaps more slack in there chain....

can someone please tell me how its best to have it?

the manual doesnt even mention it!

Cheers

 

[slayer]

about 25 of movment is a good place too start

 

[foolsp33d]

keeping in mind ALOT of the guys on here have changed from the OEM chains to a quality stronger chains..

 

[sik-pj]

yep i have on my agb29 and my avenger... agb29 soon will be gone. gana miss her i put a RK heavyduty one on cost me $70... my avenger i put a D.I.D heavy duty one on that cost me $50..i like the RK chain better then the D.I.D its allways better to buy a heavyduty chain... cheers PJ

 

[pitmaster]

cheers fellas

i just went and checked it, and i have 20mm slack, but if i rotate the wheel 180, i than have on 5mm...

so does that mean the wheel needs to be squared up better, or is there a diff problem?

if its a alignment prob, whats the trick to getting it perfect,

Thanks for the quick replys guys

 

[motoluver]

cheers fellas

i just went and checked it, and i have 20mm slack, but if i rotate the wheel 180, i than have on 5mm...

so does that mean the wheel needs to be squared up better, or is there a diff problem?

if its a alignment prob, whats the trick to getting it perfect,

Thanks for the quick replys guys

That would indicate a worn chain.

 

[Matty J]

Tight spot

Not necessarily true...

the difference in tension of your chain when you rotate your wheel might be because your chain has a natural tight spot... rotate your wheel and adjust in the tightest spot (25mm movement)..

If your chain only moves 5mm in the tightest spot, I think its too tight!! It may snap!~!

Too loose your chain will come off... too tight..SNAP!!!

 

[FiddyRider]

Also could mean that you've bent your axle. Speaking from experiance here people. 12mm axle in the chinese bikes are made of hardened cheese.

 

[darb110]

it just means you have a tight spot and yeh check your alignment make sure you back wheels straight and the chain is feeding onto the sprocket correctly not off to one side

 

[Cactus Jack]

Stretched chain

cheers fellas

i just went and checked it, and i have 20mm slack, but if i rotate the wheel 180, i than have on 5mm...

so does that mean the wheel needs to be squared up better, or is there a diff problem?

if its a alignment prob, whats the trick to getting it perfect,

Thanks for the quick replys guys

It means that you have a stretched chain OR (doubtfully) your rear sprocket could be running out of true from the axle centreline ! The best thing you can do for ANY bike is invest in a top quality chain BEFORE you even think of riding it from new !

The absolute BEST way to know for dead certain the minimal chain tension you can get away with - would be to get the bike up on a stand - remove the rear shock - then swing the swingarm thru its full range of movement while adjusting the chain tension to see where it gets tight and loosens up again . You need to make sure that there's just enough play to prevent the chain from pulling on the engine countershaft at the tightest point in the range of swing - then if it gets looser in other points - you just have to live with it making sure you have a good tensioner !

Too tight a chain tension will stretch chains , damage sprockets and sprocket shaft bearings in the engine - too loose a chain can allow it to come off and smash engine cases and ignitions .

 

[ilikemotorbikessoverymuch]

How much play should I have from the top swing arm chain slider in mm? Say whether you sit on the bike or not too? Thanks

 

[ilikemotorbikessoverymuch]

6 year old thread revival! That's gotta be my record... haha