Right way to tighten a chain?

[madmaze]

Hello everyone..
I finally have my bike together.. and running..
I just put on the back wheel on and I was wondering how much i should tighten it..
I have it right now that there is no slack in the chain..
But im not sure to how to verify that the wheel is straight.. it looks ok.. but thats not enough lol

Anyone have some tipe?

[Killer2600]

Hello everyone..
I finally have my bike together.. and running..
I just put on the back wheel on and I was wondering how much i should tighten it..
I have it right now that there is no slack in the chain..
But im not sure to how to verify that the wheel is straight.. it looks ok.. but thats not enough lol

Anyone have some tipe?

The chain is supposed to have slack, 20-30mm of deflection midway between the front and rear sprocket. As for verifying the wheel is straight, there are marks on each side of the swingarm--they should be equally matched on both sides. There are other methods that are more precise but the marks have always worked well for me.

[TheCafeKid]

The deflection should be measured with YOU on the bike as well...

[yaddy]

make sure its out of gear too

[Killer2600]

The deflection should be measured with YOU on the bike as well...

Now how are you gonna take a measurement and sit on the bike at the same time?

I just do it on the center stand, with the positioning of the front sprocket and swing arm pivot, full compressed and full relaxed make little difference.

[earlfor]

Now how are you gonna take a measurement and sit on the bike at the same time?

I just do it on the center stand, with the positioning of the front sprocket and swing arm pivot, full compressed and full relaxed make little difference.

Easy, sit on the bike and have a friend do the measuring. Unless of course, you're one of those people that have no friends.

Earl

[81gs1100]

The deflection should be measured with YOU on the bike as well...

That is a bad myth that has been around for way too long.

You should always check chain tension with the bike on the side stand, unless the unit has a center stand then use that.

20 - 30mm Sag is correct between the engine and rear sprocket, however its sag, not how far you can strech the chain, just how far you can move it without applying much force. It will seem a little loose the first time mainly because most people to do it wrong to begin with.

Using the markings on the swing arm will get you close. once you believe you have the correct tension and alignment, spin the wheel in the forward rotation as if the bike was rolling forward. Spin it a few times and let it come to rest. Now take a look at the chain and how its aligned on the rear sprocket, you should be able to see a gap on both sides of the sprocket between the sprocket and chain.

[]() [] <-- not

[] () [] <-- correct

[] ()[] <-- not

Once you are centered and have to correct tension, tighten your axle nut, and always use a new cotter pin.

Double check everything.. if good.

Tighten the adjuster support bolts and lock nuts..

Always lube your chain after the ride...

[Killer2600]

Easy, sit on the bike and have a friend do the measuring. Unless of course, you're one of those people that have no friends.

Earl

Work to make money to buy parts, working on the bike, getting parts for the bike, sleeping, and eating and now I'm supposed to have time for friends other than my beloved bike?

[recycled64]

The one thing I learned a long time ago having to do with chain adjusting was that you need to tighten the axle nut by putting your wrench on the nut at about a 3 o'clock position, and push forward to tighten it. If you put your wrench, or whatever you use, at a 12 o'clock position and pull backwards towards you, it will pull the axle back and out of line just enough to over-tighten the chain, but not always enough to mis-align the marks. If you've already covered that contingency, my apologies. My 1st real bike, a '67 X-6 drove me crazy that way until I managed to figure that one out!!

[robertbarr]

The one thing I learned a long time ago having to do with chain adjusting was that you need to tighten the axle nut by putting your wrench on the nut at about a 3 o'clock position, and push forward to tighten it.

Good suggestion, but did you mean down instead of forward?

[TheCafeKid]

That is a bad myth that has been around for way too long.

You should always check chain tension with the bike on the side stand, unless the unit has a center stand then use that.

20 - 30mm Sag is correct between the engine and rear sprocket, however its sag, not how far you can strech the chain, just how far you can move it without applying much force. It will seem a little loose the first time mainly because most people to do it wrong to begin with.

Using the markings on the swing arm will get you close. once you believe you have the correct tension and alignment, spin the wheel in the forward rotation as if the bike was rolling forward. Spin it a few times and let it come to rest. Now take a look at the chain and how its aligned on the rear sprocket, you should be able to see a gap on both sides of the sprocket between the sprocket and chain.

[]() [] <-- not

[] () [] <-- correct

[] ()[] <-- not

Once you are centered and have to correct tension, tighten your axle nut, and always use a new cotter pin.

Double check everything.. if good.

Tighten the adjuster support bolts and lock nuts..

Always lube your chain after the ride...

Myth?? Look bro i respect that you have probably been riding a long time, and race and all that, but people who've been riding, building and winning since you and I were in diapers are the ones that taught me, Im gonna have to defer to them. Ive been adjusting chains for 20 some odd years, never had a problem arise from this method yet. Just as the suspension should be set with the riders weight on the bike as well...

[Agemax]

Myth?? Look bro i respect that you have probably been riding a long time, and race and all that, but people who've been riding, building and winning since you and I were in diapers are the ones that taught me, Im gonna have to defer to them. Ive been adjusting chains for 20 some odd years, never had a problem arise from this method yet. Just as the suspension should be set with the riders weight on the bike as well...

agreed. the chain should be checked with the rider sat on the bike. if you adjust it to 20-30mm with it off load on the centrestand, you will lose a good 5mm as soon as you drop it off. then obviously according to the riders weight,(fully kitted up) it will tighten up a lot more.
also dont forget if you ride with a pillion often then you have to take that into account as well.
as for alignment then yes the marks on the swingarm are a good guideline but not always deadly accurate. the easiest and most accurate way to get it spot on is to measure the distance between the centre of the rear wheel spindle and the centre of the swing arm pivot bolt on both sides

[derwood]

bikes are different, re the previous post, the thing to remember is the chain should never lose all its slack through out the rear suspension travel. depending where the frt sprocket is relative to the swing arm pivot... etc blah blah ... this may vary from model to model. once you get to know your bike ....

[Agemax]

bikes are different, re the previous post, the thing to remember is the chain should never lose all its slack through out the rear suspension travel. depending where the frt sprocket is relative to the swing arm pivot... etc blah blah ... this may vary from model to model. once you get to know your bike ....

true mate but how you gonna measure the chain tension with the suspension on full compression when its sat in your garage?

[derwood]

true mate but how you gonna measure the chain tension with the suspension on full compression when its sat in your garage?

take the shocks off i guess,
but why would you want to adjust your chain like that , that sounds stupid to me