Rear Drive Chain Adjustment
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Road Master
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,161
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From: Potter County, PA
Rear Drive Chain Adjustment
I have always (well over 40 years) adjusted my rear chain like the book says, tightest part of chain with rider seated to 1/2" play midway between the sprockets. I have a jig made out of copper pipe that I reach down and pull the chain up with.
But, I see lots of videos on YouTube of people adjusting the chains on the side stand with no rider seated or even while the rear wheel is raised off of the ground on a jack. I never rally understood why you had to have weight on the bike as the swing arm pivots and unless the bearings are so worn out it should not matter if it is loaded or not????
It would surely be a lot easier on my old bones to do it while raised on the jack; one and done: jack it up, find the tight spot, adjust the chain, check alinement, Done!
What say those in the know?
But, I see lots of videos on YouTube of people adjusting the chains on the side stand with no rider seated or even while the rear wheel is raised off of the ground on a jack. I never rally understood why you had to have weight on the bike as the swing arm pivots and unless the bearings are so worn out it should not matter if it is loaded or not????
It would surely be a lot easier on my old bones to do it while raised on the jack; one and done: jack it up, find the tight spot, adjust the chain, check alinement, Done!
What say those in the know?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 7,736
Likes: 1,524
From: Coromandel Peninsula New Zealand
I use the same jig...
Jack up a Shovel so the rear wheel comes off the ground and you will see a huge amount of slack appear in the chain, put it back down and it mostly goes away, sit on the bike and it will tighten still further...this is why you have been doing it right as tension needs to be correct for a bike that is being ridden.
Evos with belt drive are different, they are designed to be adjusted on the stand with no weight. It is all to do with the alignment and separation of the centre of the tranny sprocket and the swing arm pivot.
Jack up a Shovel so the rear wheel comes off the ground and you will see a huge amount of slack appear in the chain, put it back down and it mostly goes away, sit on the bike and it will tighten still further...this is why you have been doing it right as tension needs to be correct for a bike that is being ridden.
Evos with belt drive are different, they are designed to be adjusted on the stand with no weight. It is all to do with the alignment and separation of the centre of the tranny sprocket and the swing arm pivot.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 8,852
Likes: 2,493
From: Decatur, Alabama
Here's what a graybeard taught me years ago:
Lay on the seat on your belly and reach down to check the chain tension. Tighten to about an inch of up/down (total) mid chain. You'll want to put as much weight into the seat as you can.
carl
Lay on the seat on your belly and reach down to check the chain tension. Tighten to about an inch of up/down (total) mid chain. You'll want to put as much weight into the seat as you can.
carl
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