The service manual as well as the owner's manual both say the primary chain hot adjustment is 3/8"-5/8" and the cold is 5/8"-7/8". I know the sprockets are going to expand when hot. But the chain should also grow longer. I am an industrial maintenance tech by trade and every chain drive system I have ever seen loosens as the temperature increases. Therefore, the hot and cold adjustments seem to be transposed. Can anybody tell me if the info is correct, that this chain drive system tightens up when hot? Or has anybody seen a correction to the SM? I have seen the videos and have not had any problems with my chain. I always adjust to the middle number anyway, to be safe. But I have wondered about this for years. It is the factory 2004 touring service manual.

 

Sprocket growth will be minimal.
And yes the chain will grow. And the numbers you quote from the service manual indicate that. The hot measurement is greater by 1/4
So I guess I fail to see the problem.

 

It wouldn't be the first time a factory manual had an error.

 

Max slop on cold adjustment is 5/8" where hot adjustment is 7/8". More slop when hot.

 

My bad! The specs were so nonsensical to me, I couldn't even type them correctly. The cold is 5/8-7/8
The hot is 3/8-7/8
As I said before, these numbers don't make any sense to me.

 

My bad! The specs were so nonsensical to me, I couldn't even type them correctly. The cold is 5/8-7/8
The hot is 3/8-7/8
As I said before, these numbers don't make any sense to me.

 

sorry 4 double post

 

The aluminum case expands more than the steel chain.