how to tighten chain

i havent seen this one yet!!

1. Loosen the rear axle. 2. Measure slack 3. Use the tightening screws equally to pull the chain tighter. 4. Make sure wheel is straight. 5. Tighten axle. 6. Ride it around and make sure it feels right.

thanks r6 thats the way i did it but i wasnt sure that i had done it right!! hey also do u just eye ball the wheel to make sure its straight? or is there a way to measure or what

There are little markings on the swingarm.. by the axel nut... count how many bars are used/away from the edge.. match it on the other side.. and tighten down your axel nut

How much slack are you allowed to give?

check chain tenison with your weight on bike.:fact

check the owners manual. other than that, it's pretty self explanatory...although, I have been known to dissassemble an entire engine without consulting any manuals, then put them together again. :lol

Originally posted by r1randy check chain tenison with your weight on bike.:fact Isn't that kinda hard? I mean, if you have a foot down to support the bike, your full weight isn't on it, and the chain slack stays constant throughout swingarm travel I think.

Originally posted by R6 Untouchable chain slack stays constant throughout swingarm travel I think. No is isn't.. It'll tighten up once you sit on the bike... as for the slack.. you'll want 1 1/2 inches of slack on the bottom chain.. when yer not on the bike..

Originally posted by R6 Untouchable Isn't that kinda hard? I mean, if you have a foot down to support the bike, your full weight isn't on it, and the chain slack stays constant throughout swingarm travel I think. even with 1 foot on ground most of your weight is on bike. close enough.

Originally posted by tidbit No is isn't.. It'll tighten up once you sit on the bike... as for the slack.. you'll want 1 1/2 inches of slack on the bottom chain.. when yer not on the bike.. 1 1/2 inches away from...? swingarm?

No.. when the bike is sitting WITH NO WEIGHT on it... put a finger under the lower chain.. pull up.. there should be about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of slack

I always spin the tire to check for tight spots in the chain after I've tightened everything.

I don't trust the marks on the wheel aligners. When I remove the wheel for whatever reason and then replace it, I set-up the alignment with 2, "perfectly" straight, six foot pieces of ally extrusion (nicked / permanently borrowed from a double glazing firm of all places). With the bike on the paddock stand, and the chain slack about right, I place one of the ally bars against each side of the rear wheel and secure them with a bungee strap taking care not to deform the rear tyre where the bars touch. Now the bars run forward past the front wheel. Using a steel rule, I make sure that the front wheel is exactly paralell with the bars, and thus in line with the rear wheel, by moving the chain adjusters. That done, I adjust each side adjuster by quarter or half turns until the chain is adjusted to 1" total vertical movement. Subsequent running adjustments, over the life of the chain, are then made again by identical turns of the adjusters in the knowledge that my wheels were well lined up to start with. Hope this helps John Y

Yes, check with your foot or hand and you should get 3-4 cm of slack. 1in.=2,5cm. (when bike on kickstand).

Originally posted by jdyzf750 I don't trust the marks on the wheel aligners. John Y john you make it alot harder than it is... if the wheel markers arn't "worthy" of your trust.. there are 1 of 2 things wrong (maybe both).. your swingarm is bent.. or your rim is torked.. The markers are there for a reason :fact

Oh and lets not forget the last reason.... You could be crazy :D :yesnod jk bro

be sure your chain isn't too tight though. too tight can ruin your transmission. i've experienced that on my motocross bikes...it's not fun. just my $0.02.

Eh. The markers do not always make it line up. There are wheel alignment tools that can show how off the stock marks can be from one another.

aye.. that's why i mentioned that he's making it harder than it actually is.. sometimes the markers dont line up.. but that is a very rare case.. I haven't owned a bike that has been off enough to worry about it.. :fact

Originally posted by tidbit I haven't owned a bike that has been off enough to worry about it.. :fact Agreed. I havn't had a bike off yet either. I havn't touched my R1 though.

Originally posted by tidbit john you make it alot harder than it is... if the wheel markers arn't "worthy" of your trust.. there are 1 of 2 things wrong (maybe both).. your swingarm is bent.. or your rim is torked.. The markers are there for a reason :fact I think my problem is that I've got too much time on my hands :lol . Whilst I don't know if the aligners are out or not, I probably come from an era when there were either no aligners on the bike or they were no more than scratches on the swing-arm and that eara is probably carrying over to this. Remember that I only use the ally bar method after the rear wheel has been out or completely loosened off for whatever reason. The method I outlined gives me a good and accurate start point and a resulting "confidence" in the set-up. In any case it only takes about 5 minutes to carry out the procedure. From then on, I rely on the accuracy of the adjusting threads. One more thing ..... If I over tighten the chain when adjusting, I always go over-loose again and then carry out the adjustment again by tightening the adjusters. This way I again have confidence in that there is no back-lash in the setup.

Originally posted by tidbit No is isn't.. It'll tighten up once you sit on the bike... as for the slack.. you'll want 1 1/2 inches of slack on the bottom chain.. when yer not on the bike.. Hmm, is that why my chain seemed to be lose when my bike was on the rear stand while the back wheel was moving? I have about 2,000 miles on my bike, and I recently cleaned the chain. While the bike was on the stand and in first gear, I could hear my chain "jumping" or touching the chain guard. ( I couldn't tell which) Does sitting on the bike or having the rear tire on the ground make that much difference? Sorry for the dumb question, but I thought it was kinda weired that I only heard that noise when my bike was on the stand...

When your bike is supported by a rear stand under the swingarm, it's the same as if the bike were on the ground, as far as compressing the rear suspension is concerned. If the bike were supported in such a way that the rear suspension was premitted to extend freely, the chain would be looser.