Chain Tightening

[Sniper]

When do you guys tighten your chain? How many kms?

[Yokai]

When do you guys tighten your chain? How many kms?
You have to tighten it? eep.... I only just found out that I need to lube it! good grief!

[Sniper]

Hehehe, you said lube.

I check and tighten my chain every 500km or so, is that ok?

[MrMelon]

Just check it every 1000km's or so and if it's got more than 25mm of free play then tighten it till it's got 20-25mm. It shouldn't need tightening every time.

Some more info here with pics (http://www.ambackjournal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=650&format=html)

[BM-GS]

Depends how many kms you do. If I was doing 100km/day, I'd check it when I checked my tyre pressures/condition - every week. If I was doing 10km/day, probably every coupla weeks.

Or if I'd been riding in the rain a lot, or in the dust, or if the gearchange gets loud/difficult/whatever (check others with your type of bike to find out the peculiarities), then at the weekend or when I was fiddling with something else on the bike.

However, I'm a smug, shaft-driven bugger now - so I don't care... until service time...

[bugjuice]

depends on what bike, how old the chain is, the weather, and how you ride..

EG - a new chain in the summer on a kamakasi rider on a Busa will need tightening more often at the beginning of the chains life, cos it'll stretch heaps..
On the other hand, if it's on a CBR250, the chain has been on for donkeys years, but still free to move (no stiff links) and lubed up well, and isn't overly stressed, you'd probably forget it needs doing!
That's what I've been led to believe

Just check it every so often. I tap my foot under the chain, see how loose it is, and how much slaps the swing arm. If it's heaps, might be time to tighten it.. Should be like MM said, about 20mm or so from top to bottom at the tightest point of the chain..

[Sniper]

Yep, my manual says 20-25mm of slack

[MikeL]

I have just tightened my XJR chain at 30 000 and it was only just nearing the maximum play (30mm). The last time it was done was at 23 500. With the Scottoiler you tend to forget about chain maintenance...
But it's a good idea to check it at least every 1000 km anyway.

[vifferman]

When do you guys tighten your chain? How many kms?
When it needs it.

[Motu]

And I sold my shaft drive bike,damn,that was dumb!

[scumdog]

Chain? wassa chain? They had them at the freezing works when I was there! :shake:

[Biff]

I'm with the, "when it needs it" gang. Read your bike destruction manual and it'll tell you what kind of slack there should be.

On average I believe that it should be between 1-1.5". Don't forget to turn the back wheel in order to check the chain in different sections; you'll be surprised (I was) how much difference there can be in some areas compared to others.

If anyone can explain why this I'd love to know.

[MikeL]

If anyone can explain why this I'd love to know.

Presumably because the individual links wear/stretch at different rates?

[Biff]

Presumably because the individual links wear/stretch at different rates?

Yeah - that would be my guess too. But then why did my Bird's chain also show different degrees of 'slackness' when it was brand new?

[Motu]

It's not tight spots in the chain,it's eccentricity of the sprockets - the chain wears evenly throughout it's length.

[scumdog]

It's not tight spots in the chain,it's eccentricity of the sprockets - the chain wears evenly throughout it's length.

At last a sensible answer!! And I doubt the chains physically "stetch", it's wear of the pins and rollers that do it.

[Biff]

It's not tight spots in the chain,it's eccentricity of the sprockets - the chain wears evenly throughout it's length.

Could you please just clarify what you mean here? Do you mean that this is due to the fact that the chain takes an eccentric path from the sprocket, as in an elliptical curvature? That would make sense. :niceone:

[Motu]

Could you please just clarify what you mean here? Do you mean that this is due to the fact that the chain takes an eccentric path from the sprocket, as in an elliptical curvature? That would make sense. :niceone:

Um?....the holes aren't in the middle of the sprocket? They are not turning in a true circle like.You could prove or disprove this theory by marking your tight spot,turning the wheel a few times and checking where the tight spot is again.

[Biff]

Um?....the holes aren't in the middle of the sprocket? They are not turning in a true circle like.You could prove or disprove this theory by marking your tight spot,turning the wheel a few times and checking where the tight spot is again.

Right - I think we're both on the same wavelength here. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

[vifferman]

A couple more things.

When you're checking your chain and it's cold, the links sometimes don't pivot easily around the pins, so the chain 'kinks' and tension thus varies. (You can see this, especially when the chain's new, because the links aren't nicely lined up). You also sometimes get the master link being rivetted on a bit tight, so it binds more, thus making the chain tighter on the length that the master link is on.

When the chain and sprockets are a bit worn, the chain doesn't always sit evenly on the sprockets and can ride up the teeth a bit, particularly if the sprockets are eccentric, as Motu said. This can also lead to uneven tension.

I reckon that while in theory a chain wears evenly along its length, in practice this isn't always the case, with the odd 'rogue' link's pins loosening / wearing into the links more than others. This is particularly true for chains that aren't well-maintained or that are made of inferior materials.

Remember: Better to have the chain slightly loose than slightly too tight, as it's easier on the chain and sprockets, even if it does make for slightly sloppier gearchanges.

[jrandom]

Well, I don't know about all this techkernickeral chain-tightening stuff.

I just ride round to vifferman's place every so often, hand him a spanner and an oilcan, and tell him to let loose with the OCD. :2thumbsup