I
Irish John
Guest
A good 415 chain from a motorbike shop is a good investment but the stock chains on Grubees are pretty good these days. I take out as many links as necessary when new to get the chain quite tight. Then after a good day of riding it stretches to about its maximum and I can normally shorten it a bit more which is then final. I like to get it so eventually it has a good line over the tensioner wheel which I ALWAYS keep low down on the slider so it can't suddenly slip down and cause enough slack for the chain to get sucked into the drive sprocket chamber and lock up as happens if the chain suddenly slackens for any reason. The attached picture shows a 2-stroke with chain how I like it. Not too tight and not too slack with minimum deflection over the tensioner wheel. I use hard steel bolts for the tensioner bracket so the threads don't strip but the stepped bolt on the tensioner wheel is a stock special and I can't replace that so I know it can't be tightened too hard without stripping so I keep it at its lowest setting for added safety. I slide the whole tensioner backwards or forwards along the chain stay to get the tension right and once set it is usually fairly permanent after the initial stretch of first 60 kms.
When mounting the rear sprocket I take time to get it as true as possible but never get it so the chain is the same taughtness through one revolution of the 44 or 48T sprocket because no sprocket or chainring ever seems to be pefectly round.
When mounting the rear sprocket I take time to get it as true as possible but never get it so the chain is the same taughtness through one revolution of the 44 or 48T sprocket because no sprocket or chainring ever seems to be pefectly round.