Chain(again)

[mal]

How much play should there be in the chain whilst on the centre stand ? I am not convinced i've adjusted mine properly.

[YEN_POWELL]

70mm from the underside of the swing arm (cut a piece of tube or snap a pencil to length) equates to the 40mmish when in neutral (important that)on the side stand.

[mal]

Thanks I'll recheck it again.

[miggy]

70mm from the underside of the swing arm (cut a piece of tube or snap a pencil to length) equates to the 40mmish when in neutral (important that)on the side stand.

?? Doen't seem to make sense that. Are you implying that if set at 70mm on the main stand it reduces to 40mm when put on the side stand?

According to this little piece off the ATIC site it should be 70mm when on the side stand in neutral. It says 40mm on my AT swingarm but doesn't specify if that's on the main stand or side stand.

I set it to 40mm on the main stand and when I put it on the side stand it stays at 40mm. I've set it to 70mm on the main stand and it remains exactly 70mm when put on the side stand in neutral. So which is correct? I've set it at 70mm.

http://www.atic.org/faq/chain.html

[YEN_POWELL]

Just looked at the link and I reckon it's a typing mistake. The top picture doesn't look to me as if the bike is leaning onto it's sidestand in fact I suspect the whole wheel is clear of the ground. It also seems strange that 7cm or 70mm is what I get on the centrestand when the chain is correcty set on the sidestand as per the handbook and service manual.

Don't know why you are getting the same reading on the side stand and the centrestand. The difference should surely be caused by the swingarm being pushed higher when the bike is carrying its own weight (on the sidestand) as opposed to the swingarm hanging lower under its own and the rear wheels weight only.

When a chain is unevenly worn or has tight spots, then I have had dodgy readings on and off the centrestand. The problem is that on the centre stand you can look for the tightspot and measure it, but on the sidestand you have to push the bike along and recheck constantly to find that same spot. If you measure a different spot on an unevenly worn chain you might hit a loose part and get 70mm as well. This sounds similar to what happened to the original equipment chain that came with my bike as new. It drove me mad as it snatched noticably when riding until I bought a new chain.

[miggy]

It does look on the ATIC link as though the bike is upright. Don't know about it being off the ground tho'. Maybe they've shown it upright for illustration purposes?

I definately get the same readings for side/main stand with only a few mill' difference way but will try this yet again and check for tight spots.

I only have an old RD04 manual and in that there's no mention of specific distances between swing arm and chain but a 35-45 vertical 'slack' chain movement requirement when on the side stand and in neutral.

What does the RD07 manual say?

[YEN_POWELL]

The wording is the same in my genuine service manual and my handbook (just nipped out to the garage). It says bike in neutral on the sidestand, midway between the sprockets, on the lower run, the chain should have 35-45mm of play. When I do check on the sidestand I measure the distance between the chain pushed as far down as it'll go with my fingers and pushed as far up in the same way. This equates to 70mm from the underside of the swingarm to the inside of the chain pushed down when on the centrestand and with the wheel in the air. Obviously this lessens when the bike is being held upright with no stand at all.

[miggy]

So really, the 70mm measurement has no official authority at all. It's been invented by others. As it happens if other adjustments are correct you can use the 70mm measurment.

It seems the most simple option is to maintain a 35-45mm vertical slack as the manual says.

[robelst]

So really, the 70mm measurement has no official authority at all. It's been invented by others. As it happens if other adjustments are correct you can use the 70mm measurment.

It seems the most simple option is to maintain a 35-45mm vertical slack as the manual says.

The 70 mm works perfectly for me. It seems slack, but the "official" values are dangerously tight imho.

[YEN_POWELL]

So really, the 70mm measurement has no official authority at all. It's been invented by others. As it happens if other adjustments are correct you can use the 70mm measurment.

It seems the most simple option is to maintain a 35-45mm vertical slack as the manual says.

You are quite correct. But I believe in making keeping my bike in reasonable condition as easy as possible, me being a lazy so and so. My favourite quote "Efficiency is intelligent laziness".