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An idiots guide to chain tension. Is this tight enough?

23K views 25 replies 17 participants last post by  steveinsandiego 
#1 ·
What's up guys. I need to adjust my Cbr500R's chain for the first time and I'm not 100% confident that I know what I'm doing. I've tried to measure chain slack and I end up getting different measurements, getting confused about where to measure from, etc. Does anyone have any ideas for a FOOLPROOF way to measure chain tension? Maybe someone knows of a homemade tool with a wooden dowel, 2x4 with screws, etc. The last thing I want to do is over tighten it.

I have a rear stand and sprocket alignment tool which should help.
 
#2 ·
You are going to measure in a number of places because the measurement needs to be made where the chain is the tightest.

I simply use a mechanical measuring tape with ~ 4-5 inches out of the case. Rotate the rear wheel and measure how much you can lift the chain in the middle between the two sprockets. Your tightest point should have 1.5 inches of movement (yes this is a tad greater than the minimum listed in the owner's and shop manuals).
 
#3 ·
Using the rear stand does make it easier. Otherwise JSonder is right on.
I tie on a twist tie to the chain so I can keep track of when I make a complete revolution.
I also use the twist tie idea when I clean & lubricate the chain.... which is a good thing to do after checking/adjusting the tension.

I do lube the chain every 500 miles and clean it every 1000 miles.
Depending upon how your chain wears, 1000 miles may be a good time to check the chain slack.

ride safely,
 
#4 ·
Make sure your bike isn't in neutral so there is no tension on the chain. There should be an inch or so of play in the middle between the front and rear sprocket. I forget what the spec says.

Better loose than to tight. When I stand the bike up to get on it sometimes I move the chain with my toe to check.
If you can pull the chain more than half way off the teeth on the back of your rear sprocket then it's definately too loose.
 
#6 ·
i use a locking tape measure that can stand on it's back. with bike on rear stand, i set up the tape measure to sit under the chain then extend it enough to hook over the chain and rest on the ground at the same time and lock it so it won't retract. then i hold the tape measure case with one hand and lift the chain with the tape hooked over it with the other hand. the tape now will extend and be locked at the upward travel height of the chain... now i can the just read the slack from where the chain goes back down to where the tape measure is indicating above. i adjust, if needed, to right around 1.5 in.



the service manual calls for 35mm-45mm or 1.4 in.-1.8 in.
 
#7 ·
I just tighten the chain a bit when it looks like it's hanging.

When I'm done, I ride it around the block, check it again, if it's not too tight it's a wrap.

Never used a tape measure for chain or clutch lever play.
 
#10 ·
How long have you owned the bike and was it new or used? After about the first year I made it a habit to start checking the chain slack every day I rode, along with the other essentials, even though I didn't know how to adjust it at the time. What it did was give me a ballpark for what's good and when it started to tighten up on its own it gave me alarm that adjustment was needed. Ultimately though I just held a tape up to the chain and measured the distance that the slack moved. When I finally did have to adjust it after 11000 km and almost 4 seasons I just did my best, used common sense, and took it easy for a test ride when I was done (I also cleaned and lubed it in the same process so that was taken care of also). I've only adjusted it once so far so I'm by no means an expert, but I think routine inspections of the slack helped in understand what was normal and what was not.
 
#14 ·
from another thread:

replaced the original sprockets, chain, and chain slider at 17,000 miles. pretty easy job but messy... spent half the time cleaning all the gunk that had collected behind the sprocket cover. bought a D.I.D km500r rivet tool to break the chain then rivet new master link and a vernier caliper to measure the rivet widths and link press width. used a rotozip with cutting wheel to grind off one of the OE pin stakes to avoid bending chain breaking pin. parts used were OE front sprocket, OE rear sprocket, OE chain slider, D.I.D 520vx2 112 link x-ring gold chain and 520vx2 x-ring gold rivet master link.

pics:




 
#16 · (Edited)
yeah, i cleaned and lubed every 500 miles or so and got to the last safe mark in adjustment, but had a few links starting to get tight. this new D. I. D chain hasn't needed tightening yet almost 5000 miles since installed, no sticky links at all. checked slack a few days ago at around 1 2/3" (installed w/ 1.5" slack) so will probably need to tighten to 1.5" again before too long.
 
#18 ·
This chains full of tight links, rust spots, stretched almost to the red line already. Sounds like that DID gold a much better chain. I've been doing a lot of twisty road riding, on and of the throttle and using lower gears a whole lot, that could have put strain on this chain.
 
#20 ·
I got 17 000 km out of my stock chain and it had 4 tight link's.Replaced with another cheapo chain so i don't expect much out of it.
 
#21 ·
The OEM chain is made by DID, i think same as the one on the 300 but its made for the Asia market as its not for sale here. My 300 chain stretched to half it limit in 3000 miles then settled down, if i check chain tension on paddock stand its 25mm tight spot and 30mm for the rest but on the side stand as it says to check its 35mm mostly. The DID gold x ring is the best on the market in my opinion.
 
#24 ·
Kinks are obvious. The links don't move freely. Main causes are the o-rings have let lube out. You can't get lube back in. Or, the chain has rusted solid in some parts.
 
#25 ·
And I haven't noticed anything like that. I'm not religious about lubing my chain, but I think I do an adequate frequency. Probably about once per month, but I inspect the chain nearly every day I ride and if it looks dry/dirty/etc. I prioritize a cleaning and lubing cycle. I'd hope that I'd notice a kink, but maybe kinks are breaking themselves free after a cleaning? :confused2 I really found it quite strange last season how the tightness seemed to fluctuate. My assumption was environmental factors like weather, but it was only a guess. It didn't make sense.
 
#26 ·
hmm, somewhat short-lived chains in my experience, which included an 09 ninja 650 and now a 2015 v-strom 650 waiting to be replaced by a CB500F, maybe, wink, wink.

on the ninja i couldn't do much better than about 18K miles, despite religious cleaning and lubing - that is to say, every 500 miles. some riders were claiming 30K miles+.

my v-strom's rolled a tad beyond 13,500 miles and the chain still looks great. whatever...
 
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