Driving chain

[thevincent]

I found that the method for checking the tension of the chain is different which stated on workshop manual and owner manual, which one should I follow?
Workshop manual said the rear wheel should be elevated; however, owner manual said the bike just stand by the side-stand.

p. s. Sorry for my poor English.

 

[Gee]

I check mine elevated on a paddock stand.

 

[sdrio]

Probably makes little difference, but logically having the wheel on the floor would be more accurate.The only difference would be the slight movement in the suspension.

Having said that I always adjust mine on a paddock stand, it's easier, and I've never noticed any problems.

 

[Ralph]

Always done mine on the side stand.

 

[nobull]

Always on paddock stand, and push the wheel forward hard before tightening axle nut, ALWAYS recheck once the nut is torqued up correctly too - on some bikes, the swingarm distorts slightly as you tighten it up the last few degrees, was really noticeable on my K5 gsxr1000 - adjusted it correctly then did up axle nut & chain would be like a banjo string! Same thing on cbr 600 and R1. Just done my MT07 & didn't seem to tighten up any more though. Personally I wouldn't do it on sidestand as weight of rear of bike is pushing obliquely on rear wheel which could affect it once riding, depending on how careful you were doing it.

 

[thevincent]

Thanks for comments.
Someone say owner manual suggest to use side-stand because the manual is for general user and not expect they have paddock stand.

 

[mac]

always with the back wheel off the ground , in my experience chains don't stretch evenly so you need to find the slackest point ( in the middle of the bottom run) and then adjust it

 

[bobh]

For me the main thing is to do a final check with someone sitting on the bike, so the chain's at (or near) its tightest (i.e. when the centres of the swing arm pivot, the gearbox sprocket and the rear wheel spindle are in line.) Under these conditions you want to see just a hint of slack, otherwise the bearings at either end are going to be overstressed, as well as putting excess load on the chain itself.

In my experience, dealers' workshops can be very bad at overtightening chains, so it's one thing I always check if I've had a service done by a dealer. The worst example I came across was a Tenere. It didn't come with a centre stand as standard, so the manual said to adjust on the sidestand. I'd fitted a (official Yamaha) centre stand, and the so-called technician (at a main Yamaha dealer) went and adjusted the chain while it was up on that. So once the bike was on its wheels and the suspension compressed a bit, the chain was like a bowstring, even without a rider. Fortunately I spotted it (though unfortunately not until after the guy had road tested the bike) and made a fuss, but I'm not going there again. It makes you wonder, if they can't get something as simple as chain adjustment right, how can you trust them to do something more major?

By the way, the rear wheel alignment marks on most bikes are often some way out. I check it with a simple pointer-type alignment tool that clamps on the rear sprocket to see that it's aligned to the chain run - not perfect, but better than relying on the marks. You can get fancy laser versions, which are presumably more accurate. It's easier than messing about with straight edges or bits of string, though it does mean taking off the chain guard. If the alignment is significantly out, you'll see polishing on the inner faces of the chain sideplates and/or on the sides of the rear sprocket teeth.

 

[Yaminator]

For me the main thing is to do a final check with someone sitting on the bike, so the chain's at (or near) its tightest (i.e. when the centres of the swing arm pivot, the gearbox sprocket and the rear wheel spindle are in line.) Under these conditions you want to see just a hint of slack, otherwise the bearings at either end are going to be overstressed, as well as putting excess load on the chain itself.

In my experience, dealers' workshops can be very bad at overtightening chains, so it's one thing I always check if I've had a service done by a dealer. The worst example I came across was a Tenere. It didn't come with a centre stand as standard, so the manual said to adjust on the sidestand. I'd fitted a (official Yamaha) centre stand, and the so-called technician (at a main Yamaha dealer) went and adjusted the chain while it was up on that. So once the bike was on its wheels and the suspension compressed a bit, the chain was like a bowstring, even without a rider. Fortunately I spotted it (though unfortunately not until after the guy had road tested the bike) and made a fuss, but I'm not going there again. It makes you wonder, if they can't get something as simple as chain adjustment right, how can you trust them to do something more major?

By the way, the rear wheel alignment marks on most bikes are often some way out. I check it with a simple pointer-type alignment tool that clamps on the rear sprocket to see that it's aligned to the chain run - not perfect, but better than relying on the marks. You can get fancy laser versions, which are presumably more accurate. It's easier than messing about with straight edges or bits of string, though it does mean taking off the chain guard. If the alignment is significantly out, you'll see polishing on the inner faces of the chain sideplates and/or on the sides of the rear sprocket teeth.

Im similar on this reply bobh but i use my chain alignment tool to check if the swingarm markings are accurate ...