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If you cut 2 long "L shaped" pieces of wire then use a couple of pieces of lighter wire twisted around the two L shaped heavy gauge, the straight ends of the L shape can pass each other and it becomes adjustable for different bikes or chain stretch if applicable. Tighten the wrapped wire as needed to hold the measurement.
Thanks man. I'll try that for next time. Any tips on how to accuratley adjust the belt tension? I'm a chain-kind-of-guy..have always ran with a half link in my tool bag in case I had to repair a chain on side of the road....now I have a belt and am like a fish out of water.
Like to add this for Softail people since most Swing arm thru bolts does not have a center hole to eyeball.
My system requires two nylock lock nuts added to adjusting bolt and a dial caliper. With the axle still tight, back off lock nut and run adjuster bolt out and install the lock nut on as in my attachment. Use your dial caliper outside inner to set the dimension A = from both sides. Now simply put it back together.
Now when setting belt tension which on older Softail, you need them laden with your weight over the seat. Just use the inside outer edge of your caliper to make B dimension while getting belt tension with proper 10 lb gage. That milled flat where the locknut for the adjusts set is equally from the swingarm swivel bolt.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Jul 2, 2019 at 01:21 PM.
And just for grins. This is a silly amount of money for what this is, but I have one and they work very well.
RIPSAW, on my Softtails I just measured across the flats of the swing arm through bolt and put a scribe mark at the center point from 3 different flats. The scribe marks intersect right on the center of the bolt. Little trickier on the nut side, but the same process gets you a center mark. Axle on mine are center drilled on both side.
I usually use a coat hanger with one end in the shape of an L and with the short part cut to a point, then I use a zip tie with the tail cut at an angle to make a second point. Do the belt/chain side tape the zip tie into place then just adjust second side to same length..
And just for grins. This is a silly amount of money for what this is, but I have one and they work very well.
RIPSAW, on my Softtails I just measured across the flats of the swing arm through bolt and put a scribe mark at the center point from 3 different flats. The scribe marks intersect right on the center of the bolt. Little trickier on the nut side, but the same process gets you a center mark. Axle on mine are center drilled on both side.
My 04 is smooth covex on one side. On the other is a big glob of uneven weld. Not sure what Harley was thinking. An did not mention above, tolerance on a Softail is +/- 1/32 since the front really aligns bike. Belt track is most important .
For my Sportster, I took a piece of brass brazing rod, put the L bend at one end, and cut it long enough to extend past the rear of the swing arm. Then I went to one of the box store hardware and found an O-Ring that would fit the rod. Slid the O-Ring on and that is what I used to "match" the center hole on the axle. So I would loosen the axle nut, made the adjustment, used the rod and checked from the marker hole to the axle using the O-Ring as my marker making sure both sides were the same. Easy process. After adjusting for chains on dirt bikes for so many years, this was an easy task. One last thing i always do is to sight down the chain or belt to make sure it ran straight from the rear sprocket to the front sprocket.
The bottom line is this.... there are no marks at the rear of the swingarm.... just make sure the dimension is the same from the axle shaft to the swing arm front mounting shaft.
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How to set rear wheel alignment
